Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Biofuels sustainability review puts forests ahead of food crops
29 Aug 2008
A scientific review of options for the production of bioenergy in New Zealand, their economic viability and sustainability, provides further weight to the argument that energy from forests is one of New Zealand's best option for producing its own biofuels.
Progressive Party supports ETS
29 Aug 2008
The Progressive Party will vote to support the Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme, leader Jim Anderton said today.
BREAKING NEWS: ETS bill has the numbers
27 Aug 2008
The Government has got the numbers to pass the emissions trading scheme.
Statement from New Zealand First
27 Aug 2008
New Zealand First has decided to support the amended Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) after several months of consideration and negotiations with the Government.
REACTION: Greenpeace welcomes Greens' decision
26 Aug 2008
Greenpeace has welcomed the Green's support for the emissions trading scheme (ETS), saying the party has secured some positive measures.
Heavy emitters stand to lose credits under deal with Greens
26 Aug 2008
New Zealand’s heaviest emitters of greenhouse gases will have to relinquish some of their free carbon credits to smaller companies under a deal won by the Green Party.
Report spells out future for precious water resources
26 Aug 2008
A major report into the management of one of New Zealand’s most precious commodities – fresh water - will be released tomorrow.
Climate change will deplete fisheries production, warns FAO
26 Aug 2008
Global warming and the consequent changes in climatic patterns will have strong impact on fisheries with far-reaching consequences for food and livelihood security of a sizeable section of the population, a UN agency warns.
Kyoto Forest owners say they need ETS passed
26 Aug 2008
The thousands of New Zealanders who invested their own savings to plant trees in the 1990s need the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) legislation to be passed in order to secure the estimated $1.6 billion of carbon credits promised to them by all parties in Parliament, the Kyoto Forestry Association (KFA) has told the Green Party.
Bamboo can be a lucrative friend, pioneer tells Kiwis
22 Aug 2008
Environmentally friendly bamboo could be a winning crop for New Zealand if people didn’t have such a negative view of it, says an industry pioneer.
Niwa scientists take serious look at algae for biofuel
22 Aug 2008
The sudden falling-from-grace of biofuels because of links to food shortages and food-price rises has intensified research into local algae sources by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
Fonterra trialling new eco-friendly tanker
22 Aug 2008
Fonterra is trialling a new eco-friendly tanker in its milk collection operations that could significantly cut emissions in the company’s 427 strong fleet which covers about 75 million km every year.
ETS must pass despite weaknesses, says Greenpeace
22 Aug 2008
Despite shortcomings, it is imperative that New Zealand's emissions trading scheme (ETS) is passed into law this parliamentary term, says Greenpeace
Car-racing series gives nod to ethanol-mix biofuels
19 Aug 2008
Cars in the Toyota Racing Series will be allowed to run on ethanol-based biofuels, after Motorsport New Zealand modified the rules to allow it.
Carbon sequestration has its problems, warns report
15 Aug 2008
Burying carbon dioxide from coal-fired plants could increase other pollutants, warns a new study.
Aussies vote $1 million to boost small wind-turbines
15 Aug 2008
The Australian Government is sinking more than $1 million into developing a stronger small wind-turbine industry.
NZ in the box seat on emissions trading, says economist
12 Aug 2008
New Zealand risks squandering the huge natural advantages it will have in a carbon economy if it delays bringing in an emissions trading scheme, warns Karo Group principal Simon Young.
Greenair: Forestry carbon opportunities are real
12 Aug 2008
Greenair Group has entered the Wairarapa-Manawatu debate over get-rich-quick interests seeking to take advantage of regional farmers and foresters through carbon credit schemes.
New report paints bright future for second-generation biofuels
12 Aug 2008
Australia could develop a sustainable biofuels industry without forcing up food prices, according to a new report.
New $27 million project will protect the birds and the bees
12 Aug 2008
A new project worth $26.45 million has been launched by the Global Environment Facility to better protect bees, bats and birds that are essential to the world’s crop production.
Flower growers face threat from EU emissions scheme
12 Aug 2008
Kenya’s horticulture industry is facing a new market access threat as the European Parliament prepares to vote on a new law that would see aviation included in the continental emissions trading scheme.
Polluters gain control of water
12 Aug 2008
Reports in the 82,000-circulation Rural News newspaper that agricultural polluters gained control of the Government’s Water Programme of Action should be a cause of concern for all other New Zealanders, says Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman.
TrustPower saves power at home
12 Aug 2008
An energy saving exercise carried out by TrustPower shows that even a well-informed electricity company, in a 15-year old energy-efficient building, can reduce its energy consumption and lock in that reduction to deliver long term cost savings.
New UN report suggests how to boost cities’ resiliency to climate change
8 Aug 2008
With eight of the world’s 10 most populous cities situated near rivers or seas and already being exposed to such hazards as flooding, earthquakes and typhoons, a United Nations-backed report just released offers suggestions on how to enhance resiliency to threats emanating from climate change
A good news story ... they’re using our trees over there
8 Aug 2008
The effort in attracting one of Japan’s leading paper producers to invest in forestry in Southland is paying off.
Forester warns farmers of get-rich-quick carbon hucksters
5 Aug 2008
A forester is warning landowners to beware of “hucksters” pushing get-rich-quick schemes based on carbon trading.
Stop the plough and save the world, says prairie professor
5 Aug 2008
Farmers could cut their greenhouse-gas emissions by switching to zero-tillage, says a visiting expert.
Eco-efficiency cuts waste by 20 per cent, says Fonterra
5 Aug 2008
Fonterra's New Zealand manufacturing sites and offices have recycled more than 5000 tonnes of plastic, cardboard and paper and cut total waste by 20 per cent over the past year, the dairy co-operative says.
NZX will use TZ1 to throw off the shackles and go global
1 Aug 2008
Mark Franklin, the former head of Vector who now heads the NZ Stock Exchange’s thrust into the carbon-trading sphere, knows that simplicity instead of complexity carries the day.
TrustPower rides rocky RMA road to win Mahinerangi approval
1 Aug 2008
The Environment Court’s interim decision to approve TrustPower’s proposed Mahinerangi windfarm in Otago brings the first stage of building one step closer - but the company remains frustrated by RMA snarl-ups.
Firms found to be ill-prepared for cap-and-trade scheme
1 Aug 2008
Many UK firms remain unprepared for the introduction of a cap-and-trade scheme, and have little experience of the IT systems and trading processes that will be required to comply with the new legislation.
Farmers backed with $26.5 million for climate change training
1 Aug 2008
Australian primary producers and industries will have access to specialised training to help them to deal with the impacts of climate change under a $26.5 million FarmReady fund just announced by the Rudd Government.
AUGUST 18: Clean billions on conference agenda
1 Aug 2008
Hundreds of business people are being brought together in Auckland on August 18 to discuss new technology and investment opportunities which could earn New Zealand billions of dollars as the world responds to climate change.
Proven personal wind turbines
1 Aug 2008
Forget wind farms – a new Wellington company is bringing wind turbines down to an individual level.
NZ ranks high among countries at least risk from climate change
29 Jul 2008
New Zealand is ranked seventh among countries at least risk from the impacts of climate change, according to a new report.
Finland joins 26-country partnership to curb methane emissions
29 Jul 2008
Finland is the latest country to join the Methane to Markets Partnership, whose 26 members aim to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas and clean energy source.
New members for GIAB announced
29 Jul 2008
Twelve new members representing some of New Zealand's leading businesses and research organisations have been appointed to the government's Growth and Innovation Advisory Board
Major breakthrough in tropical timber campaign
29 Jul 2008
Pledges by most New Zealand major furniture retail chains to stop importing outdoor kwila furniture is a major victory for those campaigning to save Melanesian rainforests, Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman says.
ANALYSIS: Heavy emitters and National scoring major own goal
25 Jul 2008
The little-covered press release issued by the Kyoto Forestry Association this week, seeking major-party assurances its members will still get hundreds of millions of dollars worth of carbon credits, speaks of the unspeakable position anti-emissions trading campaigners have got themselves and others into.
Goldsmith organisation condemns plans for importing biofuels into NZ
25 Jul 2008
The Pacific Institute of Resource Management, headquartered in Wellington, and which has London-based environmentalist Edward Goldsmith as a director, believes that in importing biofuels into New Zealand will revert to the plantations and indentured labour era.
Fertiliser companies' carbon move could cost consumers
22 Jul 2008
A push by fertiliser companies to sheet home carbon dioxide emission charges to the “end users” of the fertiliser has conjured up the possibility of a carbon levy or surcharge on consumer foodstuffs sold in supermarkets and elsewhere.
Meridian building windfarms in Australia and Antarctica
22 Jul 2008
Meridian Energy is spreading its wind farm expertise offshore – taking a 50 per cent holding in the Southern Hemisphere’s largest wind farm, being built in Australia, and working on projects in Antarctica.
Contact plans wind farm for Southern Hawke's Bay
22 Jul 2008
Contact Energy has launched plans for a $500 million, 65-turbine, 177 megawatt wind farm near Dannevirke.
Global action needed for food and energy crises - UN Assembly head
22 Jul 2008
Reducing subsidies, lifting tariffs and other trade barriers would stimulate food production and offer a route to development for 180 million small farmers in Africa, UN General Assembly president Srgjan Kerim told member states as the Assembly met to discuss the two global crises.
'Carbon bomb' lies waiting in world's wetlands, warn scientists
22 Jul 2008
New Zealand’s wetlands are part of a world-wide chain that could release a planet-warming "carbon bomb" if they are destroyed, ecological scientists say.
In time, Australia and NZ ETS plans can work together, say governments
18 Jul 2008
Australia and New Zealand have developed different emissions trading schemes because their economies are different, but will bring the schemes together over time. That’s the message from Wellington and Canberra this week as the governments of both countries push ahead with plans for emissions trading regimes as key planks of their climate change strategies.
Australia gets ETS agriculture right, say New Zealand farmers
18 Jul 2008
New Zealand farmers say they are sympathetic to Australia’s desire for caution over bringing agriculture into an emissions trading scheme.
Maori Party sticks to polluters-should-pay stance on ETS fuel plans
18 Jul 2008
The Maori Party is unlikely to push for an Australian-style buffer against the effects of increased fuel prices under New Zealand’s proposed emissions trading scheme.
Carbon trader helps landowner win funding for gas emissions study
18 Jul 2008
Greenair, the international carbon-trading company, has been closely involved in a foundation’s successful bid for public funds to measure carbon dioxide emission levels in trees.
Call for cross-party agreement on climate risks as NZ stuck in costly disaster cycle
Fri 8 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An expert is calling for cross-party ministerial appointments and lasting bipartisan agreement about how to act on significant climate risks the country is facing, in response to the Climate Change Commission’s latest report.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns
20 Apr 2026
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
Fri 8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Burning wood for power worse for climate than gas equivalent, report finds
21 Apr 2026
Research casts doubt on plans by the UK government to offer subsidies for carbon capture attached to the power source.
Commission urges Govt action on climate risks
Thu 7 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate change currently poses major risks to our water infrastructure with “significant gaps” in readiness to manage risks and increasing hazards, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Solar and wind with battery storage become more cost competitive, IRENA report shows
Fri 8 May 2026
Solar and wind energy with battery storage are delivering cost-competitive electricity compared with coal and gas, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency on Wednesday.
Drop in ETS forestry registrations
Tue 5 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | ETS forestry registrations have dropped off this year, with the new mandatory emissions return period, new land-use rules, and carbon price volatility all meaning participants aren’t rushing to register forestry in the emissions trading scheme.
Greens condemn planned coal mine next to protected wetland
Mon 4 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party says a new plan for a coal mine and fertiliser plant next to an internationally significant wetland is “ecological vandalism and climate denial.”
Tairāwhiti deserves better than weakened forestry rules
Tue 5 May 2026
OPINION: The government's proposed amendments to forestry standards, released yesterday, ignore the hard lessons learned in our region and ignore the voices that have fought hardest to protect it, writes Manu Caddie.
Latest emissions inventory: ‘Something has gone very wrong’
16 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 decreased by just 0.1% compared to 2023, in what an expert says is a “terrible result”, compared to faster progress in previous years.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
Methanexit: writing on the wall for NZ’s biggest gas user
Wed 6 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s biggest fossil gas user, Methanex, is expected to stop production by the end of this year, with the company confirming its Motunui methanol operation won’t survive Māui gas field’s closure.
Govt launches solar red tape review to speed up installations
Fri 8 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has launched a review aimed at making residential and small-scale solar installations faster and easier, in a move Rewiring Aotearoa says could help cut costs and accelerate solar uptake across New Zealand.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds
Fri 8 May 2026
The process of relocating people from New Orleans should start immediately, as the city has reached a “point of no return” that will see it surrounded by the ocean within decades due to the climate crisis, a stark new study has concluded.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
Tue 5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
Australia to force gas giants to reserve fuel for domestic use
Fri 8 May 2026
Australia will look to stave off energy shortages by forcing major gas companies to reserve 20 percent of their exports for domestic use, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Thursday.
Māui closure notice narrows the buffer
Mon 4 May 2026
OMV New Zealand's notification that the Māui gas field will cease production by the end of 2026 has brought forward risks the industry had expected to emerge more gradually.
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.”
New funding for low methane farming uptake
29 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government will co-fund projects under an Early Adoption Accelerator scheme announced today to accelerate the uptake of low emissions farming technologies emerging from the AgriZero public-private partnership.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
29 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, with predicted lower rainfall for some areas and heavier rain for others likely to impact multiple sectors of the economy as well as the carbon market.
Fonterra ‘spins’ greenwashing research for favourable press
1 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Dairy co-operative Fonterra has managed to ‘spin’ international research intended to highlight greenwashing, instead using it to generate unwarranted positive press, according to researchers behind the recent study into ag industry greenwashing.
Mercury signs major hydro upgrade programme with ANDRITZ
23 Apr 2026
Media release | Mercury has signed a contract with international technology group ANDRITZ as part of a $590 million upgrade of three of the nine hydro stations on the Waikato River.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
Media round-up
24 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is the real cost of storm-hit infrastructure? Urgency is needed over climate adaptation funding; and a community conservation group has won a legal victory against multinational mining company OceanaGold.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tehran will never cede control of Strait of Hormuz, senior Iranian politician tells BBC
21 Apr 2026
"Never." That's when a senior Iranian lawmaker says they'll be ready to give up their control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
30 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is being urged to shift its response to the fuel crisis away from short-term relief and towards measures that reduce demand, with public health experts warning it is missing an opportunity to boost energy security and lower household costs.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
EU floats making it easy for oil companies to break methane rules
Fri 8 May 2026
Countries would be able to exempt companies from the rules on energy security grounds, even before major disruption occurs, under draft guidelines seen by POLITICO.
Media round-up
1 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The environmental cost of cruise ships isn't worth the economic benefit, according to an expert; a Kiwi joins an all-female voyage to tackle plastics in the Pacific; and Greenpeace's Russel Norman said what about oil?
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.
Heat‑resistant corals could help reefs adapt to climate change
Thu 7 May 2026
Scientists are trying to conserve, replicate and reproduce heat-resistant corals before climate change wipes them out.
Pacific Islands call for fossil fuel phase-out, NZ hangs back
23 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Pacific Islands nations have launched a landmark declaration for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific, calling for a Fossil Fuel Treaty and urgent phase-out of fossil fuels, however New Zealand isn’t rushing to join the call.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
ESG funds include petrochemical companies, report finds
Tue 5 May 2026
Global banks have invested US$133bn into US petrochemical expansion, even as the industry is linked to climate change.
Thousands protest in Germany urging faster shift to renewable energy, amid Iran war
20 Apr 2026
Thousands of people demonstrated across Germany on April 18, urging a faster shift to renewable energy and accusing conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition of putting the brakes on the transition.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
Environment ministry straining under pressure of reforms and potential disestablishment
15 Apr 2026
The ministry responsible for New Zealand’s most significant resource management reform in a generation is doing so under institutional strain, compressed timeframes, and an uncertain future – including its own potential disestablishment.
Stripy wind turbines could save some birds
Fri 8 May 2026
Media release: Royal Society Interface | Preventing birds from colliding with wind turbine blades could be as simple as a few paint stripes, according to international researchers, who say this could help protect wildlife as renewable energy expands.
Planned coal mine borders internationally significant wetland
30 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Victorian Hydrogen, the company behind plans for a huge coal-to-urea project, has applied for a permit to explore for coal next to an internationally significant wetland in a sensitive catchment in Southland.
Climate change driving rising stroke risk, experts warn
Thu 7 May 2026
Climate change is increasing the risk of stroke and related deaths, with extreme heat and other environmental factors posing growing threats to brain health, says Professor Anna Ranta of the University of Otago.
Paddocks to power: The rise of small-scale solar farms
1 May 2026
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | A new, small-scale solar farm has been lit in North Canterbury.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Why both trees and technology are important in the race to mitigate carbon emissions
Mon 4 May 2026
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
More red lights for cars might mean more green lights for sustainable transport
Thu 7 May 2026
Media release: Royal Society Open Science | Reducing the amount of green light time for cars at traffic lights could encourage commuters to switch to more sustainable transport.
UN methane alert system expanded to coal and waste sectors after Indian landfill named among world’s top emitters
Wed 6 May 2026
The United Nations is expanding its methane monitoring system to cover coal mines and waste facilities, after satellite analysis identified a landfill in India among the world’s three largest methane-emitting sites.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
Mon 4 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | NZ First is aiming to launch a national container return scheme, which could recycle over a billion wasted containers each year, reviving a policy shelved by the previous Labour-led Government in 2023.
Why is Northern Ireland facing a growing threat from wildfires?
Thu 7 May 2026
Figures show that spring drought events are happening more often while there has been a sharp rise in "fire weather" - a mix of warmth, dryness, and wind that allows fires to ignite and spread rapidly. Experts warn this combination, along with climate change, is creating a longer and more volatile wildfire season.
Trump administration to pay two more companies to walk away from US offshore wind leases
29 Apr 2026
Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind have agreed to end their offshore wind leases in exchange for reimbursements totaling nearly $900 million. Both companies have decided not to pursue any new offshore wind projects in the United States.
