Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Spending on science and innovation is best for combating climate change
18 Jul 2008
There are technological solutions to the problems created by technology, writes Kim Carr, Australia’s Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research:
Consider Aussie ETS before passing bill, say Nats
18 Jul 2008
New Zealand needs to give careful consideration to the design of the Australian emissions trading scheme before passing the current bill, says National Party Climate Change spokesman Nick Smith.
Parker, Swan meet tomorrow to talk emissions trading
16 Jul 2008
Australia’s proposed emissions trading scheme will be top of the agenda for a meeting between New Zealand Climate Change Minister David Parker and Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan tomorrow.
Australia announces all-gases and almost-all sectors ETS
16 Jul 2008
Australia has announced a proposal for a broad emissions trading scheme that covers all six greenhouse gases and every sector except agriculture.
REACTION: Green Paper gives cold comfort to those wanting to delay emissions trading
16 Jul 2008
The Green Paper outlining the Australian Government’s thinking on emissions trading shows it is well aligned with New Zealand’s plans, says the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development
Acting on climate change: towards an Australian carbon pollution reduction scheme
16 Jul 2008
The following is the official summary of the Australian Government’s green paper on climate change, released today by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.
World won't buy ETS dream, top economist tells Aussies
15 Jul 2008
Australians are being told by one of the world’s leading economists that the world will never support an emissions trading regime.
Green economy good for jobs and business, says union expert
15 Jul 2008
New Zealand can be cautiously optimistic that shifting to a green economy will be good for jobs and business, as a new report in Australia predicts up to three million new jobs will be created under a green economy.
Pure Power looking to up New Zealand investment
15 Jul 2008
Singapore-based bio-energy company Pure Power is on the look-out for more investment opportunities in New Zealand.
Waste-to-biofuel developer wins $12m in state funding
15 Jul 2008
A New Zealand company with plans to turn industrial waste gases into biofuel will receive $12 million of Government science funding.
ANALYSIS: Australian Green Paper: Will faces here go green or red?
15 Jul 2008
ANALYSIS: The Green Paper on Australia’s emissions trading scheme, being published tomorrow, could have policy and political repercussions in New Zealand.
Corporate 'greening' wasted on consumers, report says
15 Jul 2008
Consumers are showing an increasing willingness to adjust their habits in ways they believe will help to address the problem of climate change, but at the same time, they aren’t recognising the efforts of major corporations trying to do the same thing, according to the results of a new international market survey.
Queensland looks at transforming cattle land with trees
15 Jul 2008
CSIRO research under way in Central Queensland’s cattle country is investigating whether the integration of trees, pasture and livestock into a single agricultural system will produce greater net returns for producers and the environment.
Campaign highlights climate-change plight of women
15 Jul 2008
The international aid agency Oxfam is highlighting how women around the world are hardest hit by storms, floods and droughts caused by global warming.
NZ, Australia emissions schemes sit happily together, says Parker
11 Jul 2008
New Zealand and Australia’s emissions-trading schemes are compatible and line-up on the basics, says Climate Change Minister David Parker.
Frustrated scientists hammer home the climate change message
11 Jul 2008
New Zealand scientists have gone on the offensive over climate change, issuing a 1700-word statement setting out the evidence that the climate is changing because of human activity.
G8 good start but fast action needed to tackle global crises, says UN chief
11 Jul 2008
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Group of Eight’s statement on climate change, food security and development as a good start for addressing the three interrelated global crises, while stressing the need for speedier action in the days ahead.
Cows given rbST reduce environmental impact, study shows
11 Jul 2008
Cows that receive recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) make more milk, all the while easing natural resource pressure and substantially reducing environmental impact, according to a US study by Cornell University.
UN opens first zero-emission community centre in outback Kenya
11 Jul 2008
The first power-generating centre using environmentally friendly hydro and solar power has been inaugurated in a remote Kenyan village by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
Paper giant might fold and flee if NZ emissions scheme 'hostile'
8 Jul 2008
International paper giant Norske Skog might quit New Zealand if it is confronted by what it regards as a hostile emissions regime, sources say.
Forest owners urge NZ to follow Garnaut carbon storage action
8 Jul 2008
Australia’s emissions trading scheme is likely to recognise carbon stored in wood products – something New Zealand’s own forest industry would like to see on the table for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
NZ farmers welcome Garnaut report’s cautionary note on agriculture
8 Jul 2008
New Zealand farmers have applauded the recommendation by the Garnaut report that agriculture should not be part of an Australia emissions trading scheme until there are improved measuring and monitoring systems in place.
Branch out into willow, biofuel maker urges farmers
8 Jul 2008
An international renewable energy company with strong roots in New Zealand is looking for local farmers to plant willow for biofuels and bioproducts.
Garnaut review releases draft report
8 Jul 2008
Australians are facing risks of damaging climate change. Without strong and early action by Australia and all major economies we are likely to face severe and costly impacts on Australia’s prosperity and enjoyment of life, according to the Garnaut Climate Change Review’s Draft Report, released on Friday.
Japan summit to test G8 leaders on climate change, world economy and security
8 Jul 2008
The leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations gather in Hokkaido, Japan, today for their annual summit and face the challenge of showing greater resolve to fight global warming, remedying the world economy and easing tensions in the world's hot spots.
Climate change report reads like a disaster novel, says Australian minister
8 Jul 2008
Australian scientists predicting climate catastrophe across their country have been told by a senior government minister that their report “reads like a disaster novel”.
Dissenters will support ETS if it's law, minutes show
4 Jul 2008
Heavy emitters have revealed privately they will "fall in behind" the emissions trading scheme if it is passed into law.
Wind-generated electricity blows past 2007 figures
4 Jul 2008
The contribution of wind energy to New Zealand’s electricity supply has increased significantly, figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Development show.
ANALYSIS: The Labour-National negotiation that should be under way
4 Jul 2008
National and Labour are not far apart on the adjustments needed to make the emissions trading bill acceptable to both and restore multi-party support for the measure.
No horse trading on other issues in Govt - NZ First ETS negotiations
4 Jul 2008
Winston Peters has revealed his negotiating position over the emissions trading bill does not involve any other issue.
China 3: Foreign governments help to map plans for climate change
4 Jul 2008
A joint initiative by foreign governments and international agencies has been launched in Beijing to assist China's ecologically fragile provinces to map out plans to cope with the climate change.
India unveils eight-part action plan on climate change
4 Jul 2008
Climate change is a challenge that can be overcome only through global, collaborative and cooperative efforts, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says.
Business leaders praise unions for recognising ETS will help deliver "future jobs"
4 Jul 2008
The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development told the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union's climate change-focused conference at Auckland, it was now crucial not to under invest in "future jobs" by over investing to preserve "old jobs".
Windflow attracts Mighty River Power
4 Jul 2008
A leading New Zealand electricity generator, Mighty River Power Ltd has signed agreements to purchase a 19.95% cornerstone shareholding in the rapidly developing Christchurch listed technology company Windflow Technology Ltd.
New report: more carbon credits needed to protect native forests
1 Jul 2008
Landowners will clear regenerating forests for exotic forests or farming if the carbon-storage capacity of indigenous trees is not fairly recognised under the emissions trading scheme.
OPINION: CTU economist Peter Conway on the ETS
1 Jul 2008
Some business lobby groups are in full scale attack mode on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill since the National Party withdrew its support for the Bill.
Fonterra hits 15-per-cent energy reduction target
1 Jul 2008
Fonterra has achieved its second major energy efficiency milestone in five years, cutting the amount of energy used to manufacture its products by 15 percent since the 2002/03 season, it says.
Heavy emitters fire more salvoes on ETS
27 Jun 2008
The battle over the emissions trading scheme continues, with big business today launching another salvo aimed at persuading politicians to delay the scheme.
Report underestimates benefits of increased forestry planting, say forest owners
27 Jun 2008
A recent report from the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development grossly underestimates the potential benefits generated by the forestry sector under the proposed emissions trading scheme, says the forest owners’ association (NZFOA), because the report does not factor in the ongoing and increasing ability of newly-planted forests to sequester carbon.
Contact Energy drops Environment Court appeal against Meridian wind farm
27 Jun 2008
Contact Energy has dropped its Environment Court appeal against Meridian’s Project Hayes wind farm, saying that the issues that prompted its appeal have already been well canvassed during the Trustpower Mahinerangi consent hearings.
US dairy industry commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
27 Jun 2008
United States dairy leaders yesterday announced an industry-wide commitment and action plan to reduce fluid milk's carbon footprint while increasing business value from farm to consumer.
Organic cow manure set to power Welsh village
27 Jun 2008
A village in Wales could soon be powered by cow's manure with the commencement of work at a local farm.
ETS bonus: $12b and 10,000 jobs, says report by big business
24 Jun 2008
Passing the emissions trading scheme into law will generate $12.3 billion in investment and nearly 10,000 jobs in the next 10 years, but delaying it could cost 20,000 jobs – mainly in tourism and agriculture, says a report out this afternoon.
New investment, new jobs, new wages, new income
24 Jun 2008
The NZBCSB report into the economic ramifications of passing the ETS before the election says that it will:
NZ biodiesel market big enough for everyone, says Solid Energy
24 Jun 2008
Biodiesel produced from a variety of sources has every opportunity to find a market in New Zealand, says Andy Matheson, Solid Energy’s general manager for renewable energy.
Aussies vote $8.6 million for research on ‘win-win’ water use
24 Jun 2008
The Australian Government has provided $8.6 million for a new research project into how changed farming practices can simultaneously improve water use and productivity, while delivering better environmental outcomes.
Sustainable biofuels likely to reduce fuel prices - Minister
24 Jun 2008
The introduction of a biofuels sales obligation will help New Zealand move away from our dependence on imported oil and is most likely to lessen, not increase, the cost of transport fuel, Energy Minister David Parker says.
Agriculture’s strength is its scientific basis
24 Jun 2008
The strength of agriculture in New Zealand was its underpinning by science, Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton says.
Genesis starts $100 million entry into carbon market
20 Jun 2008
Electricity giant Genesis Energy will need to surrender $100 million in carbon credits to the Government in 2011 - and executives leave for Europe today on a mission to start buying them.
Carbon exchange chief criticises lack of business and political courage
20 Jun 2008
The chief executive of New Zealand’s carbon trading platform is calling for more courage and leadership to make the most of emissions trading and the opportunities it offers for New Zealand to develop and protect its trade.
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.
