Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Forest owners might get a carbon bonus
15 Oct 2010
Forest owners could be entitled to more carbon credits than they get now if the Government adopts a new system of working out carbon sequestration levels.
Solar giant plans huge plant in WA
8 Oct 2010
Perth-based Verve Energy and BP Solar, one of the world’s largest solar companies, have announced plans to build Australia’s largest grid-connected solar photovoltaic plant near Geraldton, Western Australia.
Event: National e-conference on sustainability, November 15-16
8 Oct 2010
Modern technology is enabling 400 people in six cities to attend a national conference on emerging sustainability, without the need for travelling out of town or finding accommodation.
Former MP heads agriculture advisory group
1 Oct 2010
Former National Party MP Katherine Rich is to head the group advising the Government on the rules governing agriculture’s entry to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
ETS in full swing as last bits tidied
1 Oct 2010
With the passing of eight sets of regulations to bring in remaining sectors, the Emissions Trading Scheme is effectively now fully implemented, says Buddle Findlay senior associate Alastair Camereon.
Canada looms as a polar tiger, says scientist
17 Sep 2010
Canada will emerge as a major world power within 40 years as part of a climate-driven transformation of global trade, agriculture and geopolitics highlighted by the rise of the "Northern Rim" nations.
It’s easy, says study, change what the cow eats
17 Sep 2010
Climate change can be curbed by changing the diet of livestock who contribute a fifth of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study.
Owners await NZU allocations
10 Sep 2010
Owners of pre-1990 forests have applied for NZUs, but so far none have reached the market.
Bioenergy material going to waste, says report
10 Sep 2010
More than a quarter of New Zealand's energy needs - and nearly a third of our transport fuels - could come from energy crops and materials that are currently wasted, according to a new report.
Climate change could be why bees are not so busy
10 Sep 2010
The world-wide decline in bee pollination has been linked to climate change in a new Canadian study.
Big banks take new look at dirty industries
3 Sep 2010
Two international banks operating in New Zealand are among financial institutions reportedly growing wary of environmental risks in lending.
Biofuel demand driving Africa land grab
3 Sep 2010
Biofuel demand is driving a new land grab in Africa, with at least five million hectares acquired by foreign firms to grow crops in 11 countries, a study by an environmental group said this week.
Awards for leading science innovators
27 Aug 2010
Four of New Zealand’s leading lights have been acknowledged for their contributions to innovation at the 2010 Bayer Innovators Awards.
The Carbon Traders 4: Richard Hayes, EITG
20 Aug 2010
Richard Hayes’ experience in technology and interest in environmental offsetting are combining to do good things.
Race is on for biggest offshore wind turbines
20 Aug 2010
British, American and Norwegian engineers are in a race to design and build the Holy Grail of wind turbines – giant, 10MW offshore machines twice the size and power of anything seen before.
How British firm saves big by being green
20 Aug 2010
A British company behind natural and organic meat and dairy-free brands such as Linda McCartney, Soy Dream and Granose, has developed a taste for being green.
Inaugural National Winner Features In 2011 Ballance Farm Environment Awards
20 Aug 2010
The announcement of a national winner will be a feature of the 2011 Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Te Uku wins Meridian environmental award
20 Aug 2010
Meridian Energy’s commitment to high environmental standards at its Te Uku wind farm have won Environment Waikato’s inaugural earthworks ‘Site of the Year’ award.
Kiwi ETS wins minister a rare bouquet
13 Aug 2010
Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith has had an unusual experience this week – he’s being feted for the Emissions Trading Scheme.
What Nick Smith said to transtasman business leaders
13 Aug 2010
This week Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith spoke at the 6th annual Climate Change and Business Conference, being held in Sydney. This is what he said:
The Carbon Traders 3: Wayne King, Carbon Market Solutions
13 Aug 2010
Wayne King has been behind some of the biggest carbon deals in New Zealand, but he got into the business almost by accident.
Tasman challenge: Cut emissions by 15 per cent
13 Aug 2010
Australia and New Zealand can cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 15 per cent by 2020 in economically beneficial ways, say business leaders at the 6th Australia-New Zealand Climate Change and Business Conference in Sydney.
Meridian to build huge Aussie wind farm
13 Aug 2010
Meridian has done another deal to build a wind farm in Australia.
How Portugal gave itself an energy makeover
13 Aug 2010
Five years ago, Portugal pledged to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels and embarked on an array of ambitious renewable energy projects.
Australian car emissions rules well off pace
13 Aug 2010
National standards for car emissions in Australia, even after recently announced Labor policy, will still be weaker than that of the EU and of California, a Sydney conference has been told.
MAF allocates funds for soil erosion work
13 Aug 2010
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has allocated two more erosion treatment projects a total of $7.62 million under its Sustainable Land Management Hill Country Erosion Fund.
The Carbon Traders 2: Simon Young, Karo Group/EcoSecurities
6 Aug 2010
Simon Young got into carbon through his habit of studying a supply chain from go to whoa.
Farmers like large recycling bag for plastic
6 Aug 2010
The Agrecovery Wrap recycling programme has introduced a large recycling bag.
Now's the time to apply to farming fund
6 Aug 2010
The new funding round for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Sustainable Farming Fund is open.
Farm leader angers 'foreign-owned' foresters
30 Jul 2010
Federated Farmers have drawn the ire of foresters with a claim that “foreign-owned” forestry companies could destroy New Zealand’s rural economy by turning farmland into carbon forests.
'Climate migrants' will flood US, says study
30 Jul 2010
A wave of up to 6.7 million migrants from Mexico could head to the United States to escape the ravages of climate change on crops, say the authors of a new study.
No country for farmers? ... what Federated Farmers said on carbon forestry
30 Jul 2010
Twenty per cent of New Zealand's sheep and beef farms could be replaced by oxymoronic 'carbon forestry', if the ambitions of foreign owned carbon foresters and the Government are realised.
Nitrogen trading noticeboard starts for Taupo catchment
23 Jul 2010
Environment Waikato has established a new internet-based trading noticeboard for farmers wishing to buy, sell or lease nitrogen under the new Variation 5 policy to protect Lake Taupo.
Waterweed idea wins science prize
23 Jul 2010
An idea for iwi to turn waterweed into energy has won Foundation for Science, Research and Technology funding worth $107,500 over three years.
Curry theory adds spice to emissions science
23 Jul 2010
Forget low-energy lightbulbs and solar-powered homes – curry spices could hold the key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Yealands to turn vine prunings into power
23 Jul 2010
Yealands Estate has received funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority for a project that will cut the winemaker's carbon emissions to zero.
Carbon credits ready to roll for big emitters
16 Jul 2010
Carbon credits allocated to industrial emitters to help them to adjust to the Emissions Trading Scheme could start flowing on to the market in the middle of next month.
Foresters: Farmers can't see wood for the trees
16 Jul 2010
The Emissions Trading Scheme makes farm forestry even more viable – but many farmers just don’t get it yet, says the Farm Forestry Association.
UK firm plants 50,000ha in jatropha
16 Jul 2010
British company VEPower says it has secured 40,000 tonnes of crude biofuel through an exclusivity agreement to finance a 50,000ha jatropha plantation in Ghana.
Credits market growing, says carbon pioneer
9 Jul 2010
The man who was largely responsible for owners of post-1989 forests getting ownership of their Kyoto carbon credits says the market is building.
Soil saviour Flannery to tell our farmers how
9 Jul 2010
Australian scientist and environmentalist Tim Flannery is heading to New Zealand to push the idea of sequestering carbon in our soil.
EPA proposal cuts power plant pollution
9 Jul 2010
The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing regulations to cut air pollution that impairs air quality and harms the health of people living downwind.
Foresters seek timber imports safeguard
2 Jul 2010
Forest owners want New Zealand to follow the lead of the United States and require government confirmation that imported timber has been legally logged.
UK must take radical action, warns watchdog
2 Jul 2010
Britain needs to build twice as many wind farms every year, put more than a million electric cars on the road and insulate every home in the country in order to meet ambitious legally binding climate change targets, Government advisers have warned.
We won't dump you in it, minister tells farmers
25 Jun 2010
Agriculture Minister David Carter is promising farmers they will not come into the Emissions Trading Scheme if New Zealand’s trading partners have not moved to cut their carbon emissions.
Taxpayers face $1.1 billion Kyoto liability, say authors
25 Jun 2010
New Zealand’s failure to reduce emissions to its Kyoto Protocol target means the taxpayer still faces a $1.1 billion net liability after all the ETS charges have been paid.
Clover breakthrough could cut farm emissions
18 Jun 2010
A team of kiwi scientists think they can alter white clover so that animals grazing on it receive a more protein and produce less methane.
UK farmers show how to cut carbon
18 Jun 2010
While many New Zealand farmers protest against cutting carbon emissions, or paying the price, UK farmers are showing how it can be done.
Government backs farm recycling scheme
18 Jun 2010
Farmers are being encouraged to recycle and reuse rather than burn or bury thousands of tonnes plastic waste under a new scheme launched by the Government this week.
More Aucklanders than ever taking climate action
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Media release: Auckland Council | Aucklanders are embracing climate action in record numbers, with more people getting involved each year and the momentum is building.
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.
NSW government, energy company under fire after native bird habitat cleared for renewables project
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A New South Wales government-backed renewable energy project has been accused of environmental vandalism after dozens of threatened birds were found in native trees it had cleared.
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.
What Victoria auditor-general's report actually says about so-called 'transition chaos'
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Mainstream media loves a electricity blackout scare, but in the wake of this week’s report from the Victorian auditor-general on the state of the state’s transition to renewables, the headline hysteria hit new heights.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Media round-up
28 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules, confusion reigns as the climate minister appears unaware of his own announcement, and the fierce battle over mining on Denniston Plateau.
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.
NZ's ‘missed opportunity’ on aviation and shipping emissions
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s refusal to include international aviation and shipping in New Zealand’s 2050 climate target has been met with disappointment from climate experts, who say the decision undermines accountability for a transport-reliant nation, and misses a critical opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s climate leadership.
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.
Treasury to offer first stab at climate liabilities pre-election
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Treasury will make a first attempt at accounting for Crown liabilities arising from New Zealand’s international climate change commitments in next year’s pre-election economic and fiscal update.
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.
‘The effects are already here’: Northland communities face the realities of a changed climate
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Te Taitokerau Northland is facing more intense storms, rising temperatures and shifting seasons – pressures that are reshaping communities, ecosystems, infrastructure and livelihoods across the region, according to a new case study from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
