Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Disease threatens to kill off bananas ... but there's a way we might save them
9 Feb 2016
Catastrophe is looming for the banana industry. A new strain has emerged of a soil-borne fungus known as “Panama disease” which can wipe out entire plantations – and it is rapidly spreading around the world.
How human impacts fuel weather extremes
9 Feb 2016
Researchers show that floods and droughts often happen at least in part because of human-induced influences on the climate, and not just from natural causes.
How planning helps these farmers to beat the climate
2 Feb 2016
South Africa’s Western Cape plays an important role in the agricultural economy, but is particularly vulnerable to a changing climate.
Stand by ... it's another rough ride for forests
25 Jan 2016
The past year has been a momentous time for the world’s forests, with both good and bad news. Fasten your seat belts, because 2016 promises to be another roller-coaster ride.
What is a garden city – and why is money being spent on building them?
25 Jan 2016
The British government is investing more than £300m ($NZ659m) in building what Chancellor of the Excheque George Osborne has described as the first “proper” garden city in nearly a century, near Ebbsfleet, Kent.
New gear is making every drop of water count
18 Jan 2016
Finding better ways to make every drop of water count is at the heart of an innovative company in the driest continent on earth.
UK must balance food farming impacts
18 Jan 2016
The UK could reduce its emissions by converting farmland to absorb more carbon dioxide − but risks increasing climate change effects abroad.
New food status doesn't let NZ off the hook
15 Dec 2015
The pivotal role of agriculture in feeding the world has been recognised in the Paris Agreement on climate change – but that doesn’t mean New Zealand won’t be held accountable for biological emissions.
Govt didn't ask officials about agriculture and the ETS review
15 Dec 2015
The Government got no advice from officials on excluding agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme – despite officials earlier saying it should be included.
What we can learn from the rise and fall of climate and civilizations
15 Dec 2015
This year will likely be the hottest on record, beating the previous record set only in 2014. It is also likely to be the first year the global average temperature reaches 1deg above pre-industrial temperatures (measured from 1880-1899).
Farmers would do better to understand the land
15 Dec 2015
Suppose your relationship is falling apart and you want to save it. To find the best counsellor, you might search online or ask your friends. It’s no different in agriculture.
Catastrophe looms as arable land is lost
7 Dec 2015
Government officials are calling for major changes in the way New Zealand manages soils, as international scientists warn of catastrophic loss of arable land.
Energy game-changers look to future
7 Dec 2015
Innovative new research into clean energy technology shows there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels – provided there is enough political will and investment.
Treat agriculture like anyone else, says Caygill
30 Nov 2015
Agriculture should not be treated any differently from any other trade-exposed industry, says the man who led the previous Emissions Trading Scheme Review.
Plant to beat emissions, expert tells farmers
30 Nov 2015
Cutting production is not the only way for New Zealand to offset agricultural emissions, says a forestry expert.
Taupo farmers take sustainability award
30 Nov 2015
A Taupo farming operation that found a way to live within a nitrogen cap took the top award at this year’s Sustainable Business Network awards.
Can eating less meat really tackle climate change?
30 Nov 2015
With the food system accounting for up to a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, anything that reduces its impact will make a big difference to the climate.
Breakthrough ushers in era of guilt-free gas
30 Nov 2015
The UK government is giving no sign that it intends to replace fossil fuels with renewables, so the only way to avoid the carbon emissions from burning natural gas and oil is the widespread use of carbon capture and storage technology to extract CO₂ from the exhaust gases.
Agriculture fails to make the cut
24 Nov 2015
Agriculture - responsible for nearly half New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions - is not part of the Government’s just-announced review of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Groser hints at boost for carbon prices
23 Nov 2015
The Government has given the clearest signal yet that it intends to push carbon prices up as part of a package to meet the expected $30 billion cost of New Zealand’s 2030 emissions reduction target.
Rising sea levels ... we've been there before
23 Nov 2015
Rising sea levels have been in the news lately, with the release of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report into their likely impact on New Zealand. But while we tend to think of our coastline as fixed, it is anything but.
What will be top of mind for Africa at climate talks?
23 Nov 2015
Several regions have been meeting in the run-up to the Paris climate talks to deliberate on pressing climate issues. Africa is no exception.
Poor nation earns rich praise for emissions target
23 Nov 2015
Analysts say the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world’s poorest countries, has more credible plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions from forestry than several more developed states.
When gumboots became a lightbulb moment ...
16 Nov 2015
Looking around the OceaNZ Blue paua farm at Bream Bay, one thing Lynette Suvalko saw was lots of gumboots.
Auction time again, but it's not really working
16 Nov 2015
Australia goes to its second auction, but policies still seem unlikely to curb emissions, says market analyst Reputex.
Hopes run high for floating power stations
16 Nov 2015
New and cheaper ways are rapidly being floated for countries with deep seas off their coasts to exploit the free energy from wind and tidal power.
Get the waka back on course, says Maori expert
9 Nov 2015
Environmental protection, hard-hitting policies on climate change, and a carbon price floor should all be part of a drive to rebuild the economy, a Maori economic development consultant says.
Industrial waste could offset climate emissions
9 Nov 2015
More than a billion tonnes of potentially toxic, bleach-like waste is produced and piled in landfills every year, with often devastating effects. And yet most people haven’t even heard of these ‘alkaline wastes’.
Why we need a world agreement on agri emissions
2 Nov 2015
Pushing for a global agreement on agricultural emissions could benefit the climate and trade, says one of our leading climate scientists.
Higher carbon prices the key, says new book
2 Nov 2015
New Zealand needs higher carbon prices, says the author of a handbook on the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Best not to mess with agriculture yet, says NZ First
2 Nov 2015
Agriculture should be left out of the Emissions Trading Scheme until other countries act on biological emissions, says New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.
Plantation boom broken, so let’s go carbon farming
2 Nov 2015
In the rolling hills of Victoria’s Strzelecki Ranges, among paddocks of pasture and potatoes, stands a simple steel monument to the world’s tallest tree.
Spread of drylands will hit poorer nations hardest
2 Nov 2015
Global warming, increasing aridity and rapidly expanding human population will lead to drylands covering half of the Earth’s land surface by the end of this century.
EDITORIAL: The times they are a-changin' ... quickly
27 Oct 2015
By editor ADELIA HALLETT.- There’s been a sea change in climate change. While some far-sighted New Zealand businesses have been planning for a carbon-constrained economy for some time, the rest of the business world is catching up.
Groser confirms emissions backlash fear
27 Oct 2015
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser has confirmed that it was fear of an international backlash that stopped the Government splitting agricultural emissions from other emissions in New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target, despite strong pressure from Treasury.
BNZ's farmers are serious about climate change
27 Oct 2015
Half the Bank of New Zealand’s customers expect the economy to be affected by climate change, says chief executive Anthony Healy.
Hurricanes wreak economic havoc as world warms
27 Oct 2015
Analysis of insurance data convinces environmental economists that climate change is pushing up the cost of dealing with the disastrous effects of extreme weather events.
Red-hot summer means blue-green algae
27 Oct 2015
Australia is in for a hot, dry summer as the El Niño takes hold. Those conditions are ideal for blue-green algae to bloom in lakes, ponds and reservoirs.
Wages set to fall unless warming is tackled
27 Oct 2015
Researchers say the economic costs of failing to take action on climate change will be much greater than previously thought – with average global incomes cut by almost a quarter.
Business needs to take a stand
21 Oct 2015
Business needs to take a clear stand on carbon pricing, says former Climate Change Ambassador Dr Adrian Macey.
Papers suggest what's on the table at ETS review
19 Oct 2015
Agricultural emissions, the one-for-two surrender subsidy, and the $25 price cap are likely to be on the table in the Emissions Trading Scheme review this year, according to confidential Government papers.
Fonterra becomes second-largest user of coal
19 Oct 2015
Fonterra is now the second-largest user of coal in New Zealand, behind the New Zealand Steel plant at Glenbrook, says anti-coal campaign group Coal Action Network.
A new era of migration ... and not just for people
19 Oct 2015
The world is watching as refugees flood into a Europe unprepared for the new arrivals.
Scientists push boundaries to find alternative energy
12 Oct 2015
From algae to alloys, ingenuity in the world’s laboratories is fuelling experiments to find new ways of providing viable sources of clean energy.
France has a soil plan – and it’s not just about wine
12 Oct 2015
French wine lovers have always taken their soil very seriously. But now the country’s government has introduced fresh reasons for the rest of the world to pay attention to their terroir.
Climate-smart villages boost Nepali farmers' harvests
12 Oct 2015
Nepali farmers find environmentally friendly cultivation methods increase yields – and also help them adapt to rising temperatures and increasingly erratic rainfall.
Biofuel, e-cars and trees are the way we must go
5 Oct 2015
New Zealand needs to embrace biofuels, electric vehicles and energy forests, and get rid of coal and gas-fired industrial processes if it wants to meet its 2050 emissions reduction commitment, officials have told the Government.
Islands play vital climate change role, says UN chief
5 Oct 2015
Pacific island nations have a crucial role to play in efforts to advance a sustainable future, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the region’s leaders as they met at United Nations Headquarters.
Safer battery could spark investment in renewables
5 Oct 2015
Researchers have developed a battery that uses a common food additive to enable abundant solar and wind power to be stored cheaply and safely in homes and offices.
The VW affair: It's about honesty and transparency
5 Oct 2015
As Volkswagen has found out, sustainability is about much more than promises to customers, says Professor FRANCISCO SZEKELY of the IMD Global Centre for Sustainability Leadership in Switzerland. It requires honesty and transparency, too.
Ticking time-bomb in Govt’s failure of leadership on climate – Carr
Today 11:15am
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
Today 11:15am
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.
Carbon market conduct pioneer passes on the baton
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Media release | The International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance (ICROA), a pioneer in early voluntary carbon market conduct, has announced that it will wind down operations by late 2026.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
Today 11:15am
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.
Carbon auction tipped to be a non-event
2 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Tomorrow’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction is all but certain to fail, with participants blaming the government for destroying confidence as NZUs continue to change hands on the secondary market at a 40% discount on the $68 auction floor.
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
Today 11:15am
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.
Al Gore's case for optimism
Mon 8 Dec 2025
This year’s United Nations climate summit in Belém, Brazil had everything: A literal flood, a literal fire, a record-breaking 1,600+ fossil fuel lobbyists, and delegates from oil-producing nations working overtime.
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.
Trans-Tasman ministers push climate cooperation amid NZ retreat from climate commitments
Mon 8 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Last week's 2+2 Climate and Finance Ministers’ Dialogue in Auckland urged deeper trans-Tasman climate cooperation, despite New Zealand’s recent moves to weaken climate policies.
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.
Politicians in South-East Asia ignore climate change at their own political peril
Today 11:15am
Anger and frustration are growing in devastated communities, as governments botch their response to the climate crisis.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
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.
Climate comments ‘outrageous’ – former top climate negotiator
Wed 3 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former climate ambassador, Kay Harrison, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ recent statements that the Government had ruled out buying offshore climate mitigation are “outrageous”.
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
Wed 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's emissions ‘buffer’ an illusion with all NZ's carbon budgets off track
28 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Dr Christina Hood, head of consultancy Compass Climate, says the Government’s claim that New Zealand has a comfortable emissions “buffer” to absorb higher agricultural pollution is misleading, with projections showing emissions budgets are actually set to be missed in real terms.
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.
Govt rejects advice on international aviation and shipping emissions
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has rejected all the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations to strengthen emissions targets.
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
Thu 4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Govt to unveil RMA replacement as summer looms
Mon 8 Dec 2025
The last session of Parliament for the year begins this week, and the Government is expected to introduce the legislation that will replace the Resource Management Act.
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.
Rare win for renewable energy: Trump administration funds geothermal network expansion
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A first-in-the-nation heating and cooling network in Massachusetts is set to double in size.
Southland's waters warming faster
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Waters are warming in Murihiku Southland at higher rates than elsewhere, with implications for fisheries and habitats.
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.
Pollution from coal plants was dropping. Then came Trump and AI.
1 Dec 2025
Data centres’ hunger for electricity is prompting some states to keep their coal-burning power plants from closing – while DC relaxes air pollution limits.
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.
Spain announces $1.5 billion package to boost electric vehicle market
Fri 5 Dec 2025
Spain's plan includes 400 million euros in direct subsidies in 2026 for consumers to buy EVs.
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
Today 11:15am
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.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
