Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
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.
Major new climate change package adopted in Germany
20 Jun 2008
The German government has passed the second part of an ambitious package aiming at cutting the country's CO2 emissions by 40 per cent relative to 1990 levels by 2020.
Deere commits to further greenhouse gases cuts
20 Jun 2008
Agriculture equipment giant John Deere plans to further reduce its total global greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent per dollar of revenue from 2005 to 2014.
Extreme low hydro inflows reduces TrustPower's profit outlook
18 Jun 2008
The New Zealand major hydro storage lakes have been as low as 49% and are currently 55% of average for this time of the year and the electricity industry has commenced a nationwide power savings campaign.
ETS amendments tinkering around the edges for forestry sector
17 Jun 2008
Forest owners will take little comfort from proposed amendments to the Climate Change (Emissions Tradings and Renewable Preference) Bill which were reported back from the finance and expenditure committee yesterday.
Government forestry policies costly mistake, say owners
17 Jun 2008
New Zealand’s national carbon accounts could be up to $1.5 billion worse off in the second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol than if the Government’s policies had encouraged levels of new plantings consistent with those of the 1990s, according to financial modelling by Peter Clark, climate change spokesman for the New Zealand Forest Owners’ Association and chief executive of PF Olsen Ltd.
ETS back in Parliament
16 Jun 2008
The emissions trading scheme is back before Parliament, with new proposals to widen the allocation of free credits and to allow lower-emitters into the scheme.
National's full minitory report on ETS bill
16 Jun 2008
National has released its miniority report on the ETS bill.
Business Council: Changes soften way for ETS, reach limit of public acceptance
16 Jun 2008
Recommended changes to the emissions trading bill as reported back will protect New Zealand industry from any unfair offshore competition and probably push assistance to major emitters to the limit of public acceptance
Big-spending business votes to buy green, says country can't risk going slow on climate change
13 Jun 2008
New Zealand can't afford to run the strategic risks involved in delaying climate change management - "simply to placate those who must adjust most, or resist adjustment”, business people in Auckland were told yesterday.
Another major breakthrough: Cashew-nut oil might cut animal emissions
13 Jun 2008
There has been another advance in the battle to reduce methane-gas emissions from animals.
Backroom deal guts agricultural targets: Greens
13 Jun 2008
A backroom deal between the Government and the agriculture sector has gutted the industry's voluntary emissions targets and directly contradicts Government policy, according to Green Party Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons.
Cut out the conflict says (forgetful?) Fed Farmers
13 Jun 2008
Federated Farmers is appealing for more dialogue and less confrontation on environmental issues.
New animal id and tracing system launched
13 Jun 2008
A comprehensive animal identification and traceability system is essential for maintaining international credibility for our food exports, Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton said yesterday.
Forestry owners: Ministers claim of liabilities warning not true
13 Jun 2008
Claims by forestry minister Jim Anderton on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report yesterday that land owners were warned five years ago of potential deforestation liabilities are not correct, the New Zealand Forest Owners Association said yesterday.
Fewer trees unless govt changes policies
13 Jun 2008
Major flaws in New Zealand’s land-use policies will become more obvious as the world food crisis grows, says the NZ Forest Owners Association.
Unique cross-sector roundtable forms to discuss sustainable agriculture
13 Jun 2008
Key participants in the Conflict in Paradise Conference, being held in Auckland yesterday, agreed to establish a unique roundtable group to work to find ways of making New Zealand agriculture more sustainable.
Cross-sector partnership forms on sustainable water management
13 Jun 2008
Environment Bay of Plenty has welcomed the announcement of a national primary sector partnership to actively anticipate and engage on water management issues.
Fonterra refuses to rush into gas-reducing nitrogen inhibitors
12 Jun 2008
Fonterra says that it won't promote greenhouse-gas reducing nitrogen inhibitors on farms until they are internationally recognised.
Heavy emitters' bull turned loose in Maori Party's china shop
12 Jun 2008
The heavy emitters' organisation yesterday launched a public attack on the Maori Party in a move which might indicate it has given up on getting the party's support to delay the ETS bill.
Smart software solution to help farmers meet Kyoto obligations
12 Jun 2008
A software solution developed by MAF, AgResearch and FertResearch will enable farmers across the country to accurately estimate their greenhouse gas emissions.
US$100m, 20MW roof-top solar power plan detailed
12 Jun 2008
More details have come out about US company Duke Energy’s $100 million investment in commercial-scale rooftop solar panels.
SOE wields deforestation chainsaw
12 Jun 2008
The Green Party is calling on the Government to admit to being a major on-the-ground player in the worst deforestation in New Zealand's modern history.
AgResearch Chairman Rick Christie departs
12 Jun 2008
Rick Christie announced yesterday that after two three-year terms as AgResearch Chairman he would step down from the role on June 30 to tackle his increased workload elsewhere.
$400,000+ price-tag for NZIER report?
11 Jun 2008
The secretly funded NZIER report on the potential impacts of the emissions trading scheme may have cost at least $400,000.
Major deforestation reported, but MAF survey shows ETS will lift replanting rates
11 Jun 2008
National yesterday decried the worst ever loss of 13,600 hectares of forest last year as a disaster for the environment. However it will vote against the ETS, which a MAF study reveals will boost replating rates by 5 to 15%.
Maori party attacks proposed heavy emitter subsidies as “outrageous”
11 Jun 2008
The Maori Party’s co-leaders yesterday described the proposed 90% subsidy of heavy emitters under the emissions trading scheme as “outrageous”, indicating a tough line in any support for the ETS bill.
Major breakthrough in NZ animal methane research
11 Jun 2008
New Zealand scientists celebrated a major break through last week on mapping the genetic sequence of a microbe, which produces methane from the rumen of cattle and sheep.
Solid Energy one of NZIER emissions trading study funders
10 Jun 2008
State owned enterprise Solid Energy is one of the funders of the NZIER’s study on the possible economic impacts of the emissions trading scheme.
Retailer lead Marks & Spencer going carbon neutral in four years
10 Jun 2008
Retail leader Marks and Spencer says it aims to be carbon neutral by 2012.
Bio diversity research shown to winegrowers
10 Jun 2008
A unique Bio-Protection Research Centre project based on biodiversity and sustainability has captured the interest of North Island winegrowers.
National prepared to gut emissions trading scheme
9 Jun 2008
National has once again proved it’s slippery on climate change, and will tell audiences whatever they think they want to hear, according to Climate Change Issues Minister David Parker.
McCain: cap and trade will change the dynamic of US economy
9 Jun 2008
BACKGROUNDER.- The Republican presidential candidate claims he wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. That is 20% less than Obama’s (or Clinton’s) 80% by 2050.
Heavy emitters must pray NZ doesn't follow Obama's ETS plan
6 Jun 2008
New Zealand's heavy emitters, waiting to see how the rest of the world approaches emissions trading, will not like the plan of likely US Democratpresidential candidate Barrack Obama.
AgResearch unveils world leading methane-measuring facility
6 Jun 2008
A world-leading facility for measuring methane emissions from sheep and cattle will help in New Zealand’s response to climate change and build on the country’s reputation as an international leader in pastoral agriculture.
Food prices will remain high over next decade, UN report says
6 Jun 2008
In the next 10 years food prices will remain well above the levels of the last decade, according to a report issued by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
New investment partnership to put up to $12m into biotech ventures
6 Jun 2008
Developing new biotechnology businesses in New Zealand is the focus for a new investment partnership involving the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund and Pacific Channel Limited, a private investment company that has demonstrated success in starting and funding biotechnology ventures.
Progress on new climate change deal "extremely disconcerting" says UN leader
5 Jun 2008
The director of the UN’s Environment Programme describes current progress in negotiating a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Treaty as “extremely disconcerting”.
Business urged to steal a march on new green business ideas
5 Jun 2008
New Zealanders with good ideas for green businesses will find plenty of investors ready to back them now but risk missing the boat if they don’t move soon, says the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Ferrier meets Taylor on the question on taxpayers subsidising high earning farmers
5 Jun 2008
Fonterra CEO Andrew Ferrier and Environmental Defence Society chair Gary Taylor came togather yesterday for a blunt question and answer on taxpayers subsidising dairy farmer emissions.
PM: Significant risks to export industries without ETS and sustainability
5 Jun 2008
Prime Minister Helen Clark says she sees climate change as one of the biggest environmental and political challenges of our time and singificant risks to export industries if the country doesn't act to become more sustainable.
Maize silage makes the most of dairy effluent
5 Jun 2008
A project in the Waikato is developing options for dairy farmers concerned about nutrient management.
Widely varying figures on new jobs created by renewables
5 Jun 2008
Research on the number of "green jobs" being created by renewables sector growth are varying widely.
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.
