Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
How ecotourism can help save forests
30 Sep 2011
The increasing demand for ecotourism can play a vital role in saving endangered forests, a United Nations-backed partnership believes.
Nelson projects aim to cut emissions
30 Sep 2011
Three significant projects launched in Nelson as part of the global day of action last weekend will make practical differences to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promoters say.
Taupo diffuses water time-bomb
23 Sep 2011
New Zealand’s Lake Taupo Water Quality Trading Scheme is being cited by the OECD as an example of how markets can be used to improve the environment.
Green jobs galore, promises Norman
23 Sep 2011
The Green Party has launched a policy it says will create 100,000 new green jobs through business incentives and government leadership.
Scientists spring speed checks on wind
23 Sep 2011
Scientists in Australia are taking the first steps to improve estimates of long-term wind speed changes for the fast-growing wind energy sector.
Number of positives in ETS review
23 Sep 2011
The Government’s release of the Emissions Trading Scheme review report and recommendations last week provides an interesting basis for all interested parties to detail analysis over whether the recommendations are “good” or “bad”, Carbon Market Solutions says.
That's it ... till after the election
16 Sep 2011
The Emissions Trading Scheme has been kicked for touch until after the election.
Farmers could make money from new-deal ETS
16 Sep 2011
Recommended changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme could see farmers meet their obligations through offsetting.
ETS review: We've been heard, say farmers
16 Sep 2011
Federated Farmers sees many of the key points for which it has advocated reflected in the Emissions Trading Scheme review panel’s report.
ETS review: Messages mixed, says Labour
16 Sep 2011
The Government continues to have two messages on whether it will include agriculture in its Emissions Trading Scheme, says Labour's Climate Change spokesperson, Brendon Burns.
ETS review: Weak scheme gets weaker
16 Sep 2011
The review of the Emissions Trading Scheme proposes to increase subsidies to climate polluters at the cost of the New Zealand taxpayer and the climate, the Green Party says.
ETS review: Act stands for abolition
16 Sep 2011
The Government should "drop the pretence" and scrap the Emissions Trading Scheme, the Act Party says.
ETS review: Where are emissions reductions?
16 Sep 2011
With each change to the Emissions Trading Scheme, the subsidy regime is expanded and the taxpayer picks up more of the tab, while there is minimal impact on gross emissions, the Sustainability Council says.
ETS review: Farm costs worry Fonterra
16 Sep 2011
Fonterra is committed to emissions reductions and will continue to work within the business and on-farm to see them achieved.
Pacific will go hungry, says bank report
16 Sep 2011
Climate change threatens to increase hunger and malnutrition among the Pacific region's poorest people unless there is action soon, says a new report from the Asian Development Bank.
Forests failure will cost plenty, says UN
16 Sep 2011
The United Nations and a coalition of financial institutions have warned that huge losses, both financial and environmental, could result from a failure to agree on a climate change agreement that spurs private sector investment in efforts to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
Foresters shy at these prices
16 Sep 2011
We have seen a slight recovery this week in the NZU market, as European carbon and global markets bounce off their lows, OMFinancial reports.
Windflow seeks capital to take IP offshore
2 Sep 2011
Pioneering New Zealand wind turbine company Windflow Technology is seeking capital to sell its intellectual property to other countries, after suspending manufacturing in New Zealand.
Big business backs eucalypt biofuel
2 Sep 2011
A consortium of Australian businesses plans to use eucalypt trees to produce aviation biofuel from a pilot production unit operating by 2012.
NZ Wood adopts new CEO
2 Sep 2011
The Wood Council of New Zealand has appointed Jane Arnott to the role of chief executive officer of NZ Wood, the operation that runs the over-arching marketing programme for the forest and wood sector.
State deals cut out wind power pioneer
26 Aug 2011
State-owned energy companies’ decisions to buy subsidised turbines from overseas have forced a New Zealand wind turbine pioneer to stop manufacturing.
Windflow signs deal with NZ Windfarms
26 Aug 2011
Windflow Technology has formed a new company to maintain the just-completed Te Rere Hau wind farm near Palmerston North.
New Zealanders right behind sustainability
26 Aug 2011
Nearly 90 per cent of New Zealanders think sustainability - and use of the 100% Pure brand - provides the country with an important competitive advantage when trading in global markets, a new survey says.
Carbon farming becomes reality in Australia
26 Aug 2011
The Gillard Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative has passed through the Parliament to establish a regulated carbon offsets market in Australia.
Further, faster, higher … wildlife responds to climate change
26 Aug 2011
Animal species have responded to climate change up to three times faster than previously appreciated, according to new research.
How investing in ecosystems pays off
26 Aug 2011
Investing in healthy ecosystems can boost food security, improve resilience to climate change and provide economic benefits for poor communities, says a new United Nations report.
Wind farm adds to environment awards
19 Aug 2011
Meridian Energy has won another award for its Te Uku wind farm project.
Ag emissions move difficult, says minister
12 Aug 2011
Measuring agricultural greenhouse gas emissions on an intensity basis is attractive but difficult, our international climate change negotiations minister says.
Carbon gear will map our land use
12 Aug 2011
Technology developed to measure New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions will be used to map the country.
UN exhorts academia to find solutions
12 Aug 2011
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has called on the world’s best brains to come up with ideas to promote sustainable development and to find solutions to global hunger and malnutrition.
Ships face new fuel rules in Antarctic
5 Aug 2011
Ships sailing Antarctic waters now face restrictions on the type of fuel they can use.
Is cleantech dead in the water?
5 Aug 2011
By Nick Hodge.- Every gambler knows the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
Aussie clothier jumps in – boots and all
29 Jul 2011
A well-known clothing company has bought a $13 million Central Australia cattle station to go carbon farming.
Are land prices too high for carbon investment?
29 Jul 2011
Carbon Forests are a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative or enhancement to traditional livestock farming or traditional commercial forestry, but high land prices make it marginal at best, says Carbon Market Solutions.
Why we need to be bold ... like Australia
22 Jul 2011
New Zealand needs bold policy like that being introduced in Australia if it is to realise potential clean-tech sector earnings, says the head of a company that has already invested $7 million in cleantech start-ups and is looking to invest the same amount again.
What's in the Australian carbon tax for New Zealand?
22 Jul 2011
Carbon Market Solutions director Wayne King takes a close look at the latest carbon reduction scheme proposed for Australia:
ETS review findings linger with minister
15 Jul 2011
There's no word yet on when the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme will be made public.
Are we keeping up, asks energy expert
15 Jul 2011
The argument by some New Zealand businesses and farmers that NZ should not be a leader in climate change mitigation is beginning to wear thin, says an expert on renewable energy.
Trader claims NZ's biggest carbon deal
8 Jul 2011
A company that supplies bulk carbon credits directly to large energy companies says it has done the biggest carbon deal in New Zealand history.
COMMENT: Government misses Pure Advantage
8 Jul 2011
The launch of Pure Advantage last night is an attempt to fill a leadership vacuum.
Sorry, say experts, it's no longer business as usual
8 Jul 2011
Humanity is close to breaching the sustainability of Earth, and needs a technological revolution greater - and faster - than the industrial revolution to avoid “a major planetary catastrophe,” according to a new United Nations report.
ETS review team hands over report
1 Jul 2011
The Government has the Emissions Trading Scheme review panel report.
2013 still deadline, Goff tells farmers
1 Jul 2011
Labour is sticking to its guns over bringing agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2013.
New enviro watchdog to run ETS
1 Jul 2011
The new Environmental Protection Authority kicks off today, and from January it will be responsible for administering the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Jet Park hotel wins top enviro award
1 Jul 2011
The family-owned and operated Jet Park Hotel & Conference Centre at Auckland airport has been awarded an Enviro Gold Award.
ETS review looks at rewards for farmers
24 Jun 2011
The panel reviewing the Emissions Trading Scheme says that it has considered measures that reward farmers with carbon credits for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ spearheads agri-emissions research
24 Jun 2011
The Government has just revealed details of a $25 million fund for international research on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from pastoral farming.
Business grows for busy market pioneer
24 Jun 2011
A carbon market pioneer is doubling the size of its carbon desk after three years of operation.
Australia votes $4m for climate change work
24 Jun 2011
The Australian Government has announced $4.2 million worth of grants for priority research to help communities to prepare for climate change.
Six things companies need to know about climate change
24 Jun 2011
Most businesses in a global survey have described responding to climate risks or investing in adaptation as a business opportunity.
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
Mon 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’
Mon 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
Mon 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
Mon 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.
