Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Carbon budget is only half as big as we thought
26 Feb 2016
Fossil fuel use will have to fall twice as fast as predicted if global warming is to be kept within the 2deg limit agreed internationally as being the point of no return, researchers say.
Scientists calculate our debt to the Earth
26 Feb 2016
Researchers in the US have found a way to put a monetary value on the multitude of vital services and assets we rely on nature to provide us cost-free.
Urban sprawl is threatening Sydney’s foodbowl
26 Feb 2016
Sydney loves to talk about food, and the housing market. But rarely does the city talk about the threat that housing poses to the resilience of Sydney’s food system.
NZ and China best friends under carbon pact
25 Feb 2016
New Zealand and China are working together closely on carbon trading, after signing a bilateral agreement on carbon markets.
Z Energy wishlist: Everybody must be in ETS
25 Feb 2016
Fuel retailer Z Energy wants every sector in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a realistic price on carbon, political stability and an end to carbon subsidies.
OPINION: Our forest industry is heading south
23 Feb 2016
New Zealand’s third-largest export industry, forestry, is steadily shrinking.
British power stations burning biomass from America
23 Feb 2016
Last year, 6m tonnes of wood pellets harvested from forests in Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Virginia were shipped across the Atlantic, to be burnt in renewable biomass power plants.
Climate change is killing off India’s giant bees
23 Feb 2016
A warming climate and the loss of natural areas to meet the demands of tourism are driving Indian bee colonies to the brink, imperilling an essential food source.
New minister pushes for carbon price rise
22 Feb 2016
Carbon prices must rise, says new Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett.
Why ETS examination should take the long view
22 Feb 2016
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust senior fellow SUZI KERR answers the key question posed in the Emissions Trading Scheme Review – should the carbon price cap and the one-for-two provisional measures be scrapped?
ETS ... we're hitting the target but missing the point
22 Feb 2016
Ministry for the Environment officials have been blunt about the Emissions Trading Scheme’s impact to date: “Research for this evaluation, and evidence from the interviews, found no sector other than forestry made emissions reductions over the Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period One (2008-12) that were directly caused by NZ ETS obligations.”
Better water use can cut global food gap
22 Feb 2016
Scientists say that forecasts of a world food shortage need not prove as disastrous as previously thought if humans learn to use water more effectively.
Planting rate drops by a million seedlings
15 Feb 2016
Latest Government figures show that planting rates of exotic forests last year were even lower than they were in 2014, when nurseries destroyed hundreds of thousands of seedlings because foresters weren’t planting.
Organic farmers win better base for milk price
15 Feb 2016
Fonterra is offering organic farmers an independent milk price reflecting consumer demand.
Effluent reduction model could change dairying
15 Feb 2016
A Northland farmer's determination to secure the resource consent compliance that had been eluding him has seen him play a key role in a potentially game-changing effluent reduction model for the dairy industry.
How a phosphorus shortage could leave us short of food
15 Feb 2016
It’s not as well-known as the other issues, but phosphorus depletion is no less significant. We could live without cars or unusual species, but if phosphorus ran out we’d have to live without food.
Saving our ecosystems step in the right direction
15 Feb 2016
When we think about adapting humanity to the challenges of climate change, it’s tempting to reach for technological solutions. We talk about seeding our oceans and clouds with compounds designed to trigger rain or increasing carbon uptake. We talk about building grand structures to protect our coastlines from rising sea levels and storm surges.
Govt's ETS stand has dangers, say economists
9 Feb 2016
Excluding agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme might be economically inefficient, say Westpac economists.
It's time to rethink what we want from farming
9 Feb 2016
Scientists say nature conservation and protecting the planet from global warming can both be achieved if land is used sustainably, not just for immediate profit.
Useful waste offers win-win energy benefits
9 Feb 2016
An unsung success story in the switch to renewable energy is the use of waste to produce gas – and a valuable by-product.
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.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
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.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
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 rallies but auction floor still out of reach
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Fri 13 Feb 2026
The world is closer than thought to a “point of no return” after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
NZ still lacking coherent energy strategy
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Rod Carr | COMMENT: The government’s levy-funded foreign gas proposal for an LNG terminal shows New Zealand’s politicians being outmanoeuvred yet again by the multi-trillion dollar energy industry.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
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.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
Fri 13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Thu 12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
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.
Climate change linked to decline in southern right whale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
Climate ambassador moves on
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
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.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
