Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Act must back ETS, says forest owner
29 May 2009
The Act Party must embrace the emissions trading scheme, says Malborough forest owner and ex-Act supporter Michael Cambridge.
Beware of 'carbon cowboys', foresters warned
29 May 2009
“Carbon cowboys” with no forestry knowledge are looking to make a quick buck from carbon trading at the expense of forest owners, says Environmental Intermediaries and Trading Group founder Richard Hayes.
Budget investment brings hope for sustainability science, says OANZ
29 May 2009
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand is pleased by the Budget announcement of new priorities for the Ministry for the Environment, and hopes that the Primary Growth Partnership will lead to a greater investment in organic innovation.
Business group's climate change voice remains hushed
26 May 2009
The Stephen Tindall–led Climate Change Leadership Forum’s bid to keep working seems to have sunk like a stone.
US climate change bill clears key hurdle
26 May 2009
The United States’ first federal climate change legislation has cleared a key hurdle by making it out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on a 33-25 vote.
Personalities sign on for climate change campaign
26 May 2009
Stephen Tindall, Lucy Lawless Cliff Curtis, Peter Gordon and Jim Salinger are among a group of high-profile New Zealanders joining with Greenpeace to call for strong climate action.
Waikato farmers snap up native plants
22 May 2009
Waikato farmers have bought a record number of native trees and shrubs this year for environmental restoration projects through an annual Environment Waikato offer.
Scientists list dangers to US Pacific ocean
19 May 2009
Climate change, fishing and commercial shipping top the list of threats to the ocean off the West Coast of the United States.
UN chief urges action on risk of natural disasters
19 May 2009
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has called for decisive action to reduce the growing impact of climate change as he launched a global assessment of ways to minimise the risks from natural disasters.
Crude oil lowers producers' input prices
19 May 2009
Producers' input prices, as measured in the Producers Price Index (PPI), fell 2.5 per cent and output prices fell 1.4 percent in the March 2009 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said this week.
GREENS 1: New Deal creates 42,000 jobs
15 May 2009
At least 42,000 jobs could be created under a Green New Deal proposal just released by the Greens.
GREENS 2: 6000 state houses, planting waterways
15 May 2009
The Green Party’s Green Stimulus Package involves building 6000 new state houses, fencing off and planting rural waterways, initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of homes, schools and businesses, waste reduction schemes, and improved public transport.
Organic fruit growing gets carbon clearance
15 May 2009
Organic fruit growing operations are environmentally sustainable and could trade carbon credits in the future, a Massey University researcher has found.
No special deals for NZ, Australian climate officials say
12 May 2009
Australian officials warned the emissions trading scheme review committee yesterday that were no special deals for New Zealand if it sought to align itself with the Australian carbon pollution reduction scheme.
Coal’s idea for tiny tax and trees given solid debunking
12 May 2009
Business leaders have debunked Solid Energy’s proposal for a small new carbon tax.
Auckland-Wellington for $4.40 in the Green Machine
12 May 2009
The public has to overcome “range anxiety” and convert interest in electric vehicles into owning and using the technology, says electric vehicle enthusiast Pat Boyle.
Ethanol test for Obama backing science over politics
12 May 2009
President Barack Obama's commitment to take on climate change and put science over politics is about to be tested as his administration faces a politically sensitive question about the widespread use of ethanol: Does it help or hurt the fight against global warming?
Seresin Estate leads the way in organics and biodynamics
12 May 2009
Seresin Estate’s commitment to the environment has been recognised in the Marlborough Environment awards.
We still want to harmonise, says Smith
5 May 2009
Talks on harmonising the New Zealand and Australian emissions trading schemes will continue, despite Australia’s decision to delay the start of its scheme.
Farming groups split on need for ETS
5 May 2009
Federated Farmers continued its call for the emissions trading scheme to be scrapped when it appeared before the emission trading scheme review committee yesterday - but not everyone in the agriculture sector agrees.
Solid Energy on trail of carbon accounting
5 May 2009
State-owned coal miner Solid Energy says it is well on the way to tracking carbon in its operations, but can’t say yet how the emissions trading scheme will affect the price of coal next year.
Ngai Tahu faces bill of millions in clawbacks
5 May 2009
Ngai Tahu has become an early example of the peril of ETS clawbacks, with tribal authorities indicating that it might have to pay anything between $40 million and $120 million in clawbacks, depending on the price of carbon at the time.
One cup of coffee =140 litres of water
5 May 2009
Dutch scientist Arjen Hoekstra is one of the few people who know that as much as 140 litres of water are involved in making a cup of coffee.
Business leaders: emissions trading policy delays causing major investment blight
5 May 2009
Business leaders told the Parliamentary select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme yesterday that indecision is stalling hundreds of millions in investments in sectors which will both benefit from or fear having a price of carbon.
NZ can lead world in renewable energy, says expert
5 May 2009
An internationally renowned energy expert believes New Zealand could generate all its electricity from renewable sources within 20 years.
Fonterra wants intensity approach to ETS
5 May 2009
Dairy production in New Zealand may be reduced by five per cent, costing the New Zealand economy $650 million annually and allowing other countries to fill the gap in global supply risking further global emissions growth, unless the existing Emissions Trading Scheme is altered, says Fonterra.
Zespri aims high as carbon-clean producer
1 May 2009
Zespri is out to become the world’s leading environmentally friendly producer of kiwifruit in the wake of a groundbreaking research into the carbon footprint of New Zealand kiwifruit.
ETS certainty vital, says wind energy chief
1 May 2009
Certainty over the emissions trading scheme is vital to encouraging investment in new wind-energy projects, says the Wind Energy Associaton.
India eyes $100b in carbon trading deals
1 May 2009
India could earn up to $100 billion through trading of certified emission reductions, or carbon credits, a government official said this week.
ETS will close mills, warn wood processors
28 Apr 2009
The emissions trading scheme will force mill closures and have a catastrophic impact on rural communities, says the Wood Processors' Association.
You must adapt, minister tells farmers
28 Apr 2009
Agriculture Minister David Carter says that New Zealand farmers should be starting to adapt their farm management to deal with the impacts of climate change – and be looking for possible benefits to exploit.
SE Asia will be hit hard , warns bank report
28 Apr 2009
An Asian Development Bank study says Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the region's agriculture-dependent economies to contract by as much as 6.7 per cent annually by the end of the century.
Water pollution major problem - survey
28 Apr 2009
Kiwis believe water pollution and water-related issues are the most important environmental issues facing New Zealand, according to the just-released fifth biennial survey of Public Perceptions of New Zealand’s Environment.
MainPower appeals Mt Cass wind farm decision
28 Apr 2009
MainPower has appealed to the Environment Court over its proposed Mt Cass Wind Farm.
Kiwi researchers in major cow methane breakthrough
24 Apr 2009
Breakthrough research into the cattle genetics could lead to the breeding of cattle that produces less methane.
Trading website readies for carbon units sale
24 Apr 2009
A sale of New Zealand Units is on the cards for internet trading site Trade Me.
Forestry sector has date with ETS review
24 Apr 2009
Forestry sector submissions will be heard by the emissions trading scheme review committee on Monday.
It’s life or death, say indigenous peoples
24 Apr 2009
Climate change is disrupting natural systems and livelihoods around the world, indigenous people reported this week at a global meeting on in Alaska.
Careful forest management crucial, says UN
24 Apr 2009
Sustainable forest management policy is crucial at a time when climate change, the financial crisis and unsustainable development are posing severe risks to this invaluable global resource, United Nations officials said yesterday.
Coastal Farmers take environment award
24 Apr 2009
Omamari beef farmers Peter and Pam Kelly have taken out the supreme award in the 2009 Northland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Key's 'road' for economic recovery should look more like a light-rail line, say Greens
24 Apr 2009
Prime Minister John Key's recent signals of fiscal prudence in the upcoming Budget are to be praised, said Green Party co-leader Dr Russel Norman.
Forest industry fears carbon deficit blow-out
21 Apr 2009
Normal levels of forest harvesting could trigger a post-2018 carbon deficit blow-out unless action is taken soon, says an informed industry source.
NZ could lead in wind energy, says global expert
21 Apr 2009
New Zealand could be a world leader in the wind energy sector, developing and exporting wind turbine technology and expertise, says a visiting international expert.
Inhibitors no silver bullet, warn farmers
21 Apr 2009
Nitrification inhibitors should not be seen as a one-size-fits-all solution for reducing agricultural emissions, says Federated Farmers in the wake New Zealand’s latest emissions data.
Climate deal fraught with problems, says EU envoy
21 Apr 2009
An address by David Daly, the new head of the European Union delegation to Australia, to the recent Greenhouse 2009 conference in Western Australia is being carefully scrutinised by his counterparts throughout Oceania - especially in New Zealand.
UN calls on governments to invest in Green Deal
21 Apr 2009
The head of the UN Environment Programme has called on governments to invest a significant amount of their $3 trillion-worth of stimulus packages in a new “green economy” to defeat the crises facing the world.
Forest owners in plea for more tree-planting
17 Apr 2009
The state of New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions reinforces the need for the Government to do more to encourage new forest planting to avoid future problems, says the Forest Owners' Association.
Knock-backs no worry, says wind energy group
17 Apr 2009
The New Zealand Wind Energy Association holds its annual conference early next week against a backdrop of declined applications for new wind farms in the Tararua District and North Canterbury – but the association does not interpret the decisions as the tide turning against wind energy.
Coal-rich southern mine heads for closure
17 Apr 2009
Solid Energy’s Ohai open-cast mine in Southland is still scheduled for closure in spite of holding vast reserves of coal.
Australia off target, say rebel scientists
17 Apr 2009
Australia is clearing native vegetation at a rate that amounts to a $2.4 billion annual loss of stored carbon, a Senate climate change inquiry has heard.
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.
