Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
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.
Green light for environmental footprinting centre
17 Apr 2009
New Zealand's has its first professorship in the carbon footprint and environmental impact of New Zealand’s primary industries.
Action needed on positive side of Kyoto ledger, say forestry contractors
17 Apr 2009
With yesterday’s update of New Zealand's volatile net emissions for Kyoto targets, positive action to increase tree-planting is absolutely essential according to the Forest Industry Contractors Association.
Two million dollars for new Kyoto forests
17 Apr 2009
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has awarded $2 million to 17 recipients to establish new forests, and is calling for further applications.
Figures show why ETS should go ahead quickly
17 Apr 2009
The latest figures on New Zealand’s net position under the Kyoto Protocol shows why an emissions trading scheme is a good idea, says the Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Reality check time on emissions trading, says Federated Farmers
17 Apr 2009
This week's net position report on Kyoto Liabilities, which shows a possible surplus, represents an important reality check for New Zealand, says Federated Farmers.
More headroom for a better carbon scheme
17 Apr 2009
Business NZ says our changed position on greenhouse gas emissions gives us room to move on emissions trading.
Most Kiwis want climate deal at Copenhagen
14 Apr 2009
New Zealanders support signing up to a new international agreement requiring countries to limit greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2013, a new survey shows.
Add agriculture to climate talks, says global body
14 Apr 2009
A global farm policy think tank has recommended that agriculture should form part of the international negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen in December.
ETS uncertainty points to serious energy problems, says Labour
14 Apr 2009
The confusion and uncertainty created by National’s climate change policy is putting New Zealand’s energy security at risk, Labour’s Energy spokesman Charles Chauvel says.
Wairarapa wind farms win consent
9 Apr 2009
Logging’s loss in the northern Wairarapa is wind farming’s gain, with the granting of resource consent for the first of several mobile wind masts to be built east of Eketahuna.
TZ1 and American Carbon Registry form partnership
9 Apr 2009
American Carbon Registry, an enterprise of Winrock International and the longest serving US carbon registry, and TZ1 Environmental Registry, a financial-market-based platform for carbon and other environmental assets, have announced a strategic partnership to stimulate the market for trading US pre-compliance and global voluntary market carbon offsets.
Climate change could cost California billions
9 Apr 2009
Climate change may cost California tens of billions of dollars annually in coming years as sea levels rise and hot days cause people to turn up the air conditioning, a draft report from the state said.
Welsh firm claims answer to methane emissions
7 Apr 2009
A Welsh firm that says it has a cure for ruminant methane emission is seeking opportunities in New Zealand.
Commissioners knock back wind farms
7 Apr 2009
Contact Energy says it might appeal over the rejection of its plans for a 65-turbine wind farm southeast of Dannevirke.
UN calls for inclusion of farming in climate talks
7 Apr 2009
The United Nations has urged policy makers to include farming in their negotiations on an ambitious new international greenhouse gas reduction pact which will replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Farmers care about fertilisers
7 Apr 2009
Farmers do care about responsible fertiliser use combined with precise application, according to the Fertiliser Quality Council.
Dunne: With Labour, we'll reach ETS agreement
3 Apr 2009
The chairman of the emissions trading scheme review committee is predicting that Labour and National will reach agreement over a scheme which will have some degree of harmonisation with Australia.
Business leaders welcome multi-party deal talks on ETS
3 Apr 2009
Business leaders are welcoming statements by the National, Labour and Green parties that they are prepared to discuss a multi-party deal on an emissions trading law.
Agricultural emissions can be cut 13% today - at a profit, says Sustainability Council
3 Apr 2009
A report completed for MAF dispels the convenient untruth that pastoral farmers have no cost-effective options to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the Sustainability Council says.
Follow the Danes on animal tax, say farmers
27 Mar 2009
Federated Farmers is using the actions of Danish politicians to keep pressure on the ETS review committee.
Solid Energy wants action on southern lignite
27 Mar 2009
Solid Energy is keeping close tabs on legislators seeking an excuse to leave Southland’s rich lignite resources untapped.
Changing climate might force Australians to move
27 Mar 2009
Senior government officials in Victoria are warning residents of towns on the Murray River that they could become the first Australians to be displaced by climate change.
Experts seek ways to make tourism eco-friendly
27 Mar 2009
More than ever, global tourism must play its part in sustainable development and poverty alleviation, according to experts at an international symposium in Toronto.
Greenpeace increases call for emission cuts
27 Mar 2009
New Zealand must make deeper and faster cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought, Greenpeace is warning ahead of the first of the year’s global climate talks which begin in Bonn over the weekend.
'Big Picture' partnership claims top environmental prize
27 Mar 2009
A "big-picture vision" has earned an organic dairy farming partnership the top award in the 2009 Waikato Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Harmonising Tasman emissions schemes could mean massive losses
24 Mar 2009
Harmonising the Australian and New Zealand emissions trading schemes could cause massive losses for forestry firms here and bring fuels into the scheme six months early.
EXCLUSIVE: Forestry credits sale marks world first
20 Mar 2009
New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme has had its first trade.
Australia move could cut agriculture from ETS
20 Mar 2009
Aligning New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme more closely with that of Australia could mean an indefinite delay to bringing agriculture into the scheme, opening this country to charges of unfair subsidies, Greenpeace says.
Wood-pellet industry resents officials’ disinterest
20 Mar 2009
The wood burner industry is annoyed that it continues to receive less-than-enthusiastic support from government sustainable agencies, including EECA.
World leaders to be given green new deal facts
20 Mar 2009
Investing 1 per cent of global GDP, or around $750 billion, into five key sectors could be the key to a Global Green New Deal.
Meridian and NZ Antarctic Institute sign MOU
20 Mar 2009
Antarctica New Zealand and Meridian Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding setting out how the two organisations will work together to achieve their mutual aims of long-term environmental viability in Antarctica.
Auckland road tax shows National doesn’t get agriculture
20 Mar 2009
Taxing rural communities more to pay for Auckland’s roads shows that National doesn’t understand the importance of agriculture for New Zealand’s economy, Opposition agriculture spokesperson Jim Anderton says.
Farmers want agriculture, food out of ETS
17 Mar 2009
Federated Farmers wants agriculture and food production removed from the emissions trading scheme.
Capital acts to reduce carbon footprint
17 Mar 2009
Greater Wellington's Regional Sustainability Committee has implemented what it describes as a new regional greenhouse gas emissions inventory - a plan to reduce the region's overall carbon footprint.
Chauvel: Forget Australia and get on with our ETS
13 Mar 2009
Calls for alignment with Australia are really calls for New Zealand to delay the implementation of its emissions trading scheme, says Labour’s climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel.
Mapp urges biofuel crops for our badlands
13 Mar 2009
Crown Research Minister Wayne Mapp says that the parts of New Zealand unsuitable for growing food should be cultivated for biofuels.
Opposition terriers get teeth into Rudd’s ETS
13 Mar 2009
The Australian Government’s massive draft emissions trading legislation could be torn apart before it is put to the Parliamentary vote, throwing into doubt Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2010 timetable for the introduction of emissions trading.
Angry EU farmers oppose livestock-gas tax
13 Mar 2009
Proposals to tax the flatulence of cows and other livestock have been denounced by farming groups in the Irish Republic and Denmark.
Foresters: We've had enough of uncertainty
10 Mar 2009
The forestry industry says the Government should ignore calls to abandon the emissions trading scheme in favour of alternatives such as Business NZ’s proposed low-level all-gases tax or levy on every unit of emissions.
Biofuels bad news for third world, ecologists warn
10 Mar 2009
Having large numbers of motorists switch to biofuels would be “bad news for the planet and for many millions of third world people suffering through the expansion of agrofuels to feed the rich world's cars", warns the Pacific Institute of Resource Management.
Australian researchers claim algae breakthrough
10 Mar 2009
Australian researchers say they have scored a world first by being able to quantify algae’s ability to sequester greenhouse gas.
Food fears prompt China to spend on agriculture
10 Mar 2009
China will increase spending on agricultural production by 20 per cent this year amid warnings that climate change could spark a future food crisis.
Govt unveils National Adaptation Framework
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts has revealed the first actions under New Zealand’s National Adaptation Framework, which sets out the Government's approach to the rising risks from natural hazards such as floods and storms.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
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.
NZ not 'holding the line' on wilding pine management – experts
Wed 15 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is no longer “holding the line” against invasive threats, with the country’s scale, remoteness and rugged terrain making control costly and complex, one expert has said ahead of this week's Wilding Pines Conference.
Researchers say sealing old oil wells with bio-oil from crop waste is a dual carbon-removal solution
19 Sep 2025
A new analysis shows that oil made from corn husks, wood chips, and other waste could plug greenhouse gas-belching abandoned oil wells while sequestering carbon for about $152 per ton.
Broker predicts all this year’s carbon auctions will fail
10 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Marex New Zealand is forecasting that the government will sell no ‘pollution permits’ at the NZU auctions this year, with a significant gap continuing between secondary market prices and this year’s $68 auction floor price.
UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather.
Will govt’s light touch approach lead to higher carbon prices?
3 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Carbon market watchers are hoping the government’s plan for the electricity sector will eventually lead to higher carbon prices, with the secondary market still trading sideways for the longest time in its history.
Electricity to remain in ETS
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
19 Sep 2025
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
Unlocking the national potential of flexible energy use through residential appliances – EECA calling for submissions
Thu 16 Oct 2025
Media release | EECA is asking for feedback from the energy sector on a newly published green paper about unlocking the potential of demand flexibility through end-use products, such as appliances, used in New Zealand homes.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Difficult trade-offs ahead for climate adaptation
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While climate impacts are already here, bringing the urgent need to accelerate effective adaptation now, the Government's newly minted adaptation framework still leaves important questions unanswered about who will pay.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
Thu 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.
World falling far behind deforestation goals with farms and fires driving loss, report says
Wed 15 Oct 2025
The report said the world permanently lost 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest, an area about the size of England, in 2024 alone.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
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.”
Climate investment is only growth opportunity of 21st century, says leading economist
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Investment in climate action is the economic growth story of the 21st century, while growth fuelled by fossil fuels is futile because the damage it causes ends in self-destruction, the economist Nicholas Stern has said.
Where’s Watts? Climate Minister no-show at climate conference
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Opposition parties have slammed the Climate Change Minister’s failure to front up to a major international conference in Christchurch, saying it shows that climate adaptation is a low priority for the National Party.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
Study warns climate leadership falling short in NZ
1 Oct 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Research suggests New Zealand’s climate leadership is falling short, with current adaptation efforts focused on property and cost-cutting rather than protecting communities.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
Deep sea mining threatens sharks, rays and ghost sharks
6 Oct 2025
Mining the world’s deep seas for metals will likely threaten many species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (ghost sharks), according to researchers.
Govt promises ‘earlier action’ in response to Commission’s warning climate targets at risk
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government says it will “explore opportunities for earlier action” ahead of the third Emissions Reduction Plan, and has committed to looking at ways to stop the system of free carbon credits for industrial polluters from disincentivising industrial decarbonisation.
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.
‘Weird and sad’ – Tuvalu Climate Minister condemns NZ halving methane target
Wed 15 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Dr Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment, says he’s surprised at New Zealand’s decision to weaken its target for reducing methane emissions – and is planning to take up the issue with his counterpart Climate Minister Simon Watts this week.
NZ’s biggest ever climate meeting kicks off
Tue 14 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The world's largest climate adaptation conference kicked off in Christchurch yesterday, with nearly 2000 attendees expected, making it potentially the biggest international climate meeting Aotearoa New Zealand will ever host.
Bottom trawling a triple threat to marine environments - new report
9 Oct 2025
Media release | Greenpeace is calling for urgent action to restrict bottom trawling after a new government report highlights the compounding effects this destructive fishing method has on climate change, habitat degradation and biodiversity loss.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Councils need funding tools to address climate challenges – LGNZ
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Media release | Local Government New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s new National Adaptation Framework, while cautioning that councils will struggle to meet its new expectations without additional funding tools.
Students repeat request for Victoria University to divest from fossil fuel investments
24 Sep 2025
Media release | A group of students campaigning for climate action at Victoria University of Wellington have dropped a banner protesting against the university’s lack of action on its 2014 commitment to divest from fossil fuels.
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.
Record global renewable energy growth remains short of climate target, report says
Thu 16 Oct 2025
A new report finds that a record amount of global renewable energy capacity was added last year, but that still leaves countries “short of targets towards meeting a UN climate goal to triple capacity by 2030”.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
For Australia to get moving on electric vehicles, we must ban petrol and diesel cars by 2035
Fri 17 Oct 2025
COMMENT: If nothing is done, transport is projected to be Australia’s largest emissions source by 2030.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Farmers face heightened solvency risks as climate changes: research
10 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Increasingly volatile weather patterns, higher insurance costs driven by climate change risk and global financial volatility represent risks to New Zealand farmers’ capacity to service debt and remain solvent, according to new research by Christchurch-based research firm Kōmanawa Solutions.
‘Con,’ ‘scam,’ ‘hoax’: Trump’s UN speech on climate
24 Sep 2025
The president used a large chunk of his hour-long speech to world leaders to condemn climate science and clean energy policies.
Trump administration moves to revoke permit for Massachusetts offshore wind project
24 Sep 2025
The Trump administration has moved to block a Massachusetts offshore wind farm, its latest effort to hobble an industry and technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.
