Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Nanotechnology can help us to grow more food
30 May 2016
With the world’s population expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, scientists are working to develop new ways to meet rising global demand for food, energy and water without increasing the strain on natural resources.
What they said ...
27 May 2016
Budget – what they said on the removal of the one-for-two carbon subsidy:
$100m water package fails to impress scientists
27 May 2016
The Government's $100 million package to clean up water ways will do little while pollution is allowed to continue, scientists say.
Farming’s dirty needs have a deadly effect
27 May 2016
Farming is a dirty business – so dirty now that, according to new research, air pollution from agriculture in the form of fine particles of lung-choking dust outweighs all other human sources of that kind of pollution.
NATS' 19%: Bennett blames population growth
26 May 2016
New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions have gone up 19 per cent under the National Government – and Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett is blaming population growth.
Road taxes will pay for trains under Green government
25 May 2016
A Green government would fund rail from taxes, with an aim of getting half of the country’s total freight off roads by 2027.
EATING AUSSIES: Dining on kangaroos and camels could help the environment
24 May 2016
We might be what we eat, but our dietary choices also affect the health of the environment, and farmers' back pockets.
CARBON CRISIS: Our emissions up a whopping 56%
23 May 2016
New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions – the amount it actually contributes to damaging the climate – rose a whopping 56.7 per cent over 24 years in which it was supposed to be cutting emissions, new Government data shows.
Scientists can't do it alone, says PM's adviser
23 May 2016
The Prime Minister’s chief science adviser has told a United Nations forum that scientists and policy-makers need to work together on issues like climate change.
Climate food shocks not good news for us, says report
23 May 2016
Climate change-induced food shocks will have a negative effect on New Zealand’s economy, researchers say.
Farming needs to play a lead role to meet Paris targets
23 May 2016
Researchers say new technical and policy solutions, plus major investment, are needed for agriculture to help to make the emissions reductions required to meet Paris targets.
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND: China's desertification dust is even reaching our shores
19 May 2016
Dust and sand storms in China have intensified and now pose provocative geopolitical challenges. Traces of China’s deserts have been found as far away as New Zealand and the French Alps.
Future climate could cast shade on renewables
19 May 2016
Fighting climate change will involve massive changes to the way Australia produces and distributes energy.
ETS ANSWERS: Three ways to make it work
17 May 2016
Bringing agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme, setting an emissions cap, and building cross-party support to cut emissions and lift carbon prices should all be part of the ETS review, says one of its architects.
New RMA proposals won't cut it, say farmers
17 May 2016
Federated Farmers told the select committee considering the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill yesterday that current proposals will reduce the opportunity for public input, reduce opportunity for local decision making, and increase process costs.
Coal-free SA could fill the gap with batteries
17 May 2016
South Australia’s last coal-fired power station closed last week, leaving the state with only gas and wind power generators.
Troubled Brazil prepares to roll back green laws
16 May 2016
Amidst the turmoil of the presidential impeachment process, members of Brazil’s Congress are set to dismantle environmental protection laws.
Vanadium the ‘beautiful metal’ that stores energy
16 May 2016
An unheralded metal could become a crucial part of the renewables revolution. Vanadium is used in new batteries which can store large amounts of energy almost indefinitely, perfect for remote wind or solar farms.
Forest carbon storage risky, warns thinktank
12 May 2016
Storing carbon in forests is risky and should be used to meet no more than a fifth of New Zealand’s emissions reductions, says a group of prominent scientists and other New Zealanders.
FAIR GO: What to make of our emissions targets
11 May 2016
New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target is fair - if you don’t expect rich countries to bear the brunt of fixing the climate change problems they’ve caused, a new government paper shows.
Can we save the algae biofuel industry?
10 May 2016
Algal biofuels are in trouble. This alternative fuel source could help to reduce overall carbon emissions without taking land from food production, like many crop-based biofuels do.
Cow-gas fix no silver bullet for us, says researcher
9 May 2016
A new feed-supplement shown in trials to cut methane emissions from dairy cows by 30 per cent is exciting, but no silver bullet for New Zealand, says the head of the research consortium charged with cutting the country’s agricultural emissions.
Wary forest investors watch climbing carbon price
6 May 2016
Gun-shy forest investors are watching with interest as carbon creeps up to the magic $15 mark, but they’ll need at least another $3 a tonne to make up for the political risk of investing in carbon forestry, the industry says.
Enviro scorecard shows Australia again in decline
6 May 2016
After some unusually wet years, Australia's landscape and ecosystems have once again returned to poorer conditions that were last experienced during the Millennium Drought.
CREDITS CRUNCH: We'll need millions of international units
5 May 2016
New Zealand is likely to need up to 220 million international credits to meet its 2030 emissions reduction target because even a domestic carbon price of $300 a tonne is unlikely to drive enough domestic emissions cuts, the Government says.
Busy Bennett draws up climate to-do list
3 May 2016
Higher carbon prices, scrapping the one-for-two, and a detailed plan to decarbonise the New Zealand economy are on Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett’s to-do list.
Run carbon prices like the dollar, says academic
2 May 2016
Carbon prices should be managed like the Reserve Bank manages the value of the New Zealand dollar, a submission on the Emissions Trading Scheme is recommending.
Why cities need to add up the economic value of trees
2 May 2016
Your parents were wrong: money does grow on trees. Cities routinely rake in tens of millions of dollars from their urban forests annually in ways that are not always obvious.
Purse strings now open for forest planting
28 Apr 2016
Applications for the second round of the Government’s Afforestation Grants Scheme are open.
We need an emissions cap, says business council
28 Apr 2016
New Zealand needs a cap on emissions and to include all sectors in the Emissions Trading Scheme, says the Sustainable Business Council.
Labor’s climate policy puts it back in the game
28 Apr 2016
The Australian Labor Party has announced the climate policy it will take to the federal election, including a return to carbon pricing under an emissions trading scheme.
There's no need to fell forests to feed the world
28 Apr 2016
People don’t have to go hungry to conserve the planet’s forests. And farmers don’t have to bulldoze, burn or clear woodlands to make way for agriculture, according to new research.
Carbon budgeting big success, says UK expert
27 Apr 2016
Carbon budgeting and an independent statutory body that reports on the Government’s performance have been critical to the United Kingdom’s success in cutting greenhouse gases, says a visiting expert.
Drought forecasting isn’t just about water
27 Apr 2016
The Millennium Drought taught Australians many lessons about living under extremely dry conditions – not just about how to conserve water, but also about human suffering.
What we must change to get emissions under control
26 Apr 2016
A cross-party forum on climate change, efficient agriculture, and using revenue from auctioned carbon credits to stimulate innovation are some of the measures necessary for New Zealand to get to net-zero emissions, according to a paper to be released later today.
PARIS PACT: New Zealand's world, according to Bennett
26 Apr 2016
On Saturday in New York, Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett signed the Paris Agreement on climate change on behalf of New Zealand.
PARIS PACT: How should we compensate the poor countries?
26 Apr 2016
Written within the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is an article on “loss and damages,” the notion of providing aid to vulnerable countries that suffer damages from climate change.
NZ court fines Australian carbon farmer
21 Apr 2016
An Australian carbon farming company that used a New Zealander to buy land has been fined $40,000.
Dodgy units aside, we could make money from ETS credits
20 Apr 2016
Accusations that almost all the international units brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme are fraudulent are an exaggeration, says an expert who believes that the scheme could generate a nice international export in carbon credits.
Feeding cows brassicas might solve the nitrogen problem
20 Apr 2016
Could feeding cows brassicas help to reduce nitrogen loss from the soil?
Nature is neglected in election at nation's peril
20 Apr 2016
Economic issues undoubtedly will dominate the looming Australian election, but are they highest priority on the political agenda?
Soil could save Earth from overheating
19 Apr 2016
New research shows that changing the way we farm and manage soils so they store carbon rather than lose it would help to avoid dangerous climate change.
NZ international credits dealing is fraud, says report
18 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s determination to use carried-over international carbon credits to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target make it party to an international fraud, a new report says.
Farming fund backs 25 sustainable projects
18 Apr 2016
Twenty-five projects have been given a total of $6.9 million in the latest round of grants from the Sustainable Farming Fund.
Why carbon price is key to forestry worth billions
15 Apr 2016
Carbon prices will need to hit $35 a tonne by 2017 or forest owners will quit the Emissions Trading Scheme, leaving New Zealand unable to meet its emissions reductions targets, an expert is warning.
Wasted food places heavy burden on climate
15 Apr 2016
As obesity levels soar, cutting the vast amount of food we waste could have a major impact on reducing the effects of climate change, as well as alleviating world hunger.
Big powers in push for small nuclear reactors
14 Apr 2016
Concerns are being raised about the billions of dollars being spent on research to design and build small nuclear reactors for electricity production.
Nine ways steel could build a greener economy
13 Apr 2016
Steel might be the largest industrial carbon dioxide emitter, but Britain’s troubled industry could be a big part of a cleaner, greener future.
Could this be a fair dinkum climate policy for Australia?
12 Apr 2016
An Australian think-tank claims to have done the impossible – come up with an effective climate policy that both sides of the political divide can live with.
There's a sea of our soil ending up in the ocean
12 Apr 2016
Soil is a farmer’s most precious resource, but, in New Zealand, we lose it to the ocean about 10 times faster than the rest of the world, with between 200 million and 300 million tonnes sliding into the sea every year.
Ticking time-bomb in Govt’s failure of leadership on climate – Carr
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The coalition Government’s failure to slash emissions is like pulling the pin on a grenade, handing it to a kid, and saying “hold on tight, she’ll be right”, says former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
Second fire tears through Tongariro National Park
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fire crews have returned to Tongariro National Park this morning as a fast-moving fire that started yesterday threatens unburnt vegetation and nearby communities, just a month after a major blaze scorched 3000 hectares in the same area.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Minister not concerned about potential economic impacts of ruling out offshore mitigation
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts isn’t worried that ruling out using offshore mitigation is effectively reneging from the Paris Agreement with potential to damage New Zealand’s economy and access to export markets.
Still possible to divert from disastrous climate path to sustainable, healthy planet, says UNEP
Today 12:15pm
A baby born today will turn 75 in 2100, and the world that child will inherit as an adult – if governments don’t act in the next five years – could be 3.9°C hotter, economically shattered, and ravaged by pollution. But there is still a choice, a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report demonstrates.
Is Govt rushing through changes to climate framework to avoid litigation?
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says the Government’s motivation for proposed changes to the country’s climate framework law are unclear: “The only reason I can think of is one grounded in potential litigation risk.”
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
Today 12:15pm
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
Today 12:15pm
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Australia has new laws to protect nature. Do they signal an end to native forest logging?
Today 12:15pm
Reforms to Australia’s nature laws have passed federal parliament. A longstanding exemption that meant federal environment laws did not apply to native logging has finally been removed from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Media round-up
Fri 5 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Labour’s chronic evasiveness as the Government reneges on climate change; newly released documents reveal the country's new methane target is associated with 'perilous' 2.7C of warming; and New Zealand's 'pitiful' decision on emissions targets comes with costs.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
Fri 5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
Govt ‘scaremongering’ over co-operation – former climate ambassador
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former top climate diplomat, Kay Harrison, says the Government’s recent comments ruling out buying climate mitigation offshore amount to scaremongering, and the country is missing a chance to give our businesses a boost.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
NZ’s rejection of emission targets fuels risk of international law breach
Mon 8 Dec 2025
By Karen Scott, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury | The New Zealand government’s decision this week to reject all of the Climate Change Commission’s emission target recommendations was just the latest in a string of policy statements that weaken the country’s action on climate.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
3 Dec 2025
COMMENT: The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts.
Govt rushes to pass climate law changes under urgency
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legislation to amend the Climate Change Response Act was introduced to Parliament on Monday, and the government intends to rush the changes through under urgency in the next two weeks, avoiding the usual public consultation.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Storms in the Southern Ocean influence weather patterns across Australia, New Zealand and the globe.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
2 Dec 2025
NSW police have arrested 141 people who attempted to block the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour during Rising Tide protests, which began on Thursday.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Neighbours fume over plans to axe trees for solar farm
Today 12:15pm
Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | Whakatāne District Council has thrown its support behind residents of a country lane distressed about Genesis Energy’s plans to axe their trees.
NZ and US studying "huge unknown" in Antarctic climate science
Today 12:15pm
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Scientists are measuring a huge unknown in climate science: how much heat Antarctica emits into space.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
More than $2m up for grabs for low-emissions farming innovation
Wed 10 Dec 2025
The Ag Emissions Centre and AgriZeroNZ yesterday opened their 2026 innovation investment round.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
Tue 9 Dec 2025
Pressure from EU countries, lawmakers and the automotive industry is likely pushing the European Commission to delay the revision of the bloc's ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035.
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
Today 12:15pm
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
Wildfires destroy 40 homes and kill a firefighter in Australia
Tue 9 Dec 2025
There were 52 wildfires burning across New South Wales on Monday and nine remained out of control. A total of 20 homes had destroyed over the weekend in that state.
Australian market operator slashes wind farm predictions amid falling costs for solar and batteries
Today 12:15pm
The body that runs Australia's biggest power market has scaled back its plans for high-voltage power lines and wind farms to meet the country's green energy targets.
