Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Farmers get free advice on shifting to certified organic production
5 Jun 2008
From today - World Environment Day - farmers and growers interested in making the shift to organic production will be able to connect with Organics Aotearoa New Zealand's Organic Advisory Programme by calling 0800 FUTURE.
Anderton weighs into Greens again: Are they Arthur or Martha on dairy prices?
4 Jun 2008
Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton has made his scond strong attack in three days on the Greens.
Minister: Green co-leader being "looney" on water issue
4 Jun 2008
Claims that an industry group on water issues will hold up official measures to clean up waterways are ridiculous, Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton says.
Greens to Fonterra: Can we stop $1.3 billion emissions subsidy now?
4 Jun 2008
The Green Party is congratulating Fonterra for its announcement of a higher payout but is asking why the ordinary person is paying for Fonterra’s pollution of our air and water.
Australian Minister talks on ETS and fuel prices
4 Jun 2008
Australia's Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, has talked with The Sunday agenda programme on fuel prices and the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Overwhelming support for wind energy
4 Jun 2008
New research shows that New Zealanders overwhelming favour renewable energy for electricity generation.
Farmers calculate carbon emissions online
4 Jun 2008
The Carbon Farming Group has launched an easy to use, online calculator which enables farmers to identify how the Emissions Trading Scheme may affect them and their business.
ECCA figures on Kiwis and renewables
4 Jun 2008
75% of New Zealanders support marine energy as a future electricity generation option, according to research released by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
US farmers told they're in a sustainability race
4 Jun 2008
The sustainability message is being delivered through to US farmers.
Forum assures committee: parliamentary process is parliamentary process
3 Jun 2008
The Government-appointed multi-sector Leadership Forum on Climate Change is not working as an alternative to the select committee process – and has told the select committee considering the emissions trading scheme so.
Farm level obligation possible in ETS bill
3 Jun 2008
The ETS bill is likely to be framed so individual farms can become the point of obligation to account for emissions.
Key reveals thoughts on "bastardised" ETS scheme to student blogger
3 Jun 2008
National leader John Key has referred to different credit phase out timelines for different sectors as “a bit of a bastardised way to develop an emissions trading scheme”.
Brazillian ambassdor snaps back on rain forest-for-fuel claims
3 Jun 2008
The Brazilian Ambassador to New Zealand Manoel Gomes-Pereira, tired of his country being used as a piñata in the rainforests debate, has taken the unusual step for a diplomat of making a spirited public defence of Brazil’s biofuels strategy.
Go carefully on soil carbon sequestration - officials
30 May 2008
Soil-storage of carbon mightn’t be the answer to farmers’ prayers for a solution to agricultural greenhouse-gas emissions, and New Zealand must use caution in any decision to move into soil credits, officials say.
Why Parker is enthisiastic about marine energy
30 May 2008
Average wave power can exceed 100 kilowatts per metre of wave crest length, on the southwest-facing coasts of New Zealand.
Govt funding for Kaipara harbour tidal energy devices
30 May 2008
A project to generate electricity from the tides in Kaipara Harbour is to receive a grant of $1.85 million from the Marine Energy Deployment Fund.
New Zealand food imports still the greenest option for UK
30 May 2008
By Angela van de Weerdhof. - New Zealand food producers should fare well when the European Union rings in carbon labeling on all imports.
Marks and Spencers' CSR leader to speak
30 May 2008
Mike Barry, head of CSR at Marks and Spencers is among a host of world leading academics and business people to address a forthcoming conference on changing land use in New Zealand.
Meridian fights local body troika's backdoor bid to ban windfarms
29 May 2008
Meridian Energy Ltd has launched an appeal against what it sees as a crimp on renewable energy zoning by the Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa District Councils.
Federated Farmers: We did not fund secret report
29 May 2008
Federated Farmers is strongly denying rumours that it is one of the secret funders of last month's NZIER report which predicts that the emissions trading scheme will cost New Zealand 22,000 jobs and billions of dollars.
Farmers: Green move to get agriculture into ETS early "not a runner"
29 May 2008
Farmers say a Green Party attempt to get them into the emissions trading scheme early as part of a deal for the party’s support for the climate change bill is not a political runner.
Farmers: It's not just us who need to adapt to predicted water shortages
29 May 2008
Federated Farmers spokesperson Frank Brenmuhl says the Ecoclimate report is an interesting and useful document but "the population needs to adapt, not just farmers."
True cost of personal carbon card plan revealed
29 May 2008
New reports in the UK say an MPs’ idea to issue every citizen there with a personal carbon card will cost up to NZ$6 billion to set up, and the same amount to run each year.
Comms company looks to install solar panels on customers' roofs
29 May 2008
Cox Communications has announced initiatives to cut energy costs that include adding solar electricity to its headquarters and communications system and increasing fuel efficiency in its fleet vehicles.
EXCLUSIVE: Greens push for early ETS entry for agriculture
28 May 2008
The Green Party is looking to force the Government to bring agriculture into the emissions trading scheme early.
New climate change report: Worse-ever droughts main NZ worry
28 May 2008
Fighting possible extreme droughts will be the main obstacle for farmers as a result of climate change in New Zealand but overall production is predicted to go up.
Windflow falls victim to noise issue
28 May 2008
Windflow Technology of Christchurch is the pre-eminent alternate energy production engineer in New Zealand. Yet its power generation wind turbines are being rejected on the environmental grounds that they make too much noise.
New US climate change bill will subsidise low-emission energy
28 May 2008
A newer version of the McCain-Lieberman Climate Change Stewardship Bill has been introduced which, when combined with an ETS bill, will incentivise new low-emission energy projects..
A changing climate is not all bad for agriculture
28 May 2008
A new report released by MAF shows that not all of the effects of climate change are bad for the agricultural sectors. In some areas, production will potentially increase.
Major policy clamp down on climate-warming illegal wood imports?
28 May 2008
The Cabinet has agreed in principle to mandatory labelling of all kwila products sold in New Zealand.
Parker's full speech on climate change effects and impacts assessment
28 May 2008
Here is the full speech of CLimate Change Issues Minister David Parker at the launch of new reports into the impacts of climate change.
Fish and Game: Let's audit farms to reflect realty in eco labels
28 May 2008
Fish and Game wants farmers to submit to eco-audits to back up "grand claims" made about New Zealand in eco marketing.
80,000 old containers leave life on the farm
28 May 2008
More than 80,000 old and unwanted agrichemical containers have been collected in the first year of a national rural recycling programme, thanks to the Agrecovery Foundation, according to Environment Minister Trevor Mallard.
More on-farm waste products to go into recovery scheme
28 May 2008
The Agrecovery rural recycling programme will be extended to other "on farm" waste products.
Greens reveal more of their conditions for ETS support
27 May 2008
The Greens have set out some of their policy demands for support of the emissions trading bill.
Low-carbon economy – millions of new jobs?
27 May 2008
Ethical Corporation- Europe's leaders say a low-carbon economy will create millions of new jobs.
Carbon labelling: Exports at risk from dirty dairying
27 May 2008
The Greens are warning that our dairy products will struggle to gain a European Union eco-label due to the impacts of dirty dairying on our rivers and lakes.
MAF: wood supply to jump about 3 million cu m a year
27 May 2008
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has released new wood availability forecasts for the Central North Island that indicate a steady increase in supply for the region over the next 12 years.
Forum heads to the select committee
26 May 2008
A high-powered group of business and community leaders who back an emissions trading scheme will appear before the finance and expenditure select committee today to answer questions from MPs.
Nitrogen loaded Rotorua lakes showing improvement
26 May 2008
The health of Lake Okaro is improving and blue green algae levels are down, according to the latest report on Rotorua lakes water quality.
Tanzos: Landcorp should help sheep farmers avoid emissions costs
26 May 2008
Green Party MP Nandor Tanczos has called on Landcorp to support New Zealand sheep farmers by trialling organic sheep farming methods rather than leading the shift to dairy conversion.
EXCLUSIVE - National answers questions on ETS: No bill backing even if it gets all it wants
23 May 2008
In response to a series of questions from Carbon News, National says it will bring farmers into the emissions trading scheme, but won’t vote to pass it before the election – even if it can get all six of its key demands into the draft legislation.
Fiscal forecast: ETS will lose Govt $121m net in first commitment period
23 May 2008
The Government will allocate $2,151 million in emission credits and earn $2,030 million from them in the first Kyoto commitment period, making a net loss of $121 million.
Keep your hat on Mam: Queen invests in biggest wind turbine
23 May 2008
The Queen is investing is the world's biggest wind turbine.
ANALYSIS: National delivers heavy emitting friends into tougher hands
22 May 2008
National’s decision to abandon support for the emissions trading bill has effectively delivered more power to parties wanting a tougher line on heavy emitters.
Rural internet use jumps 97% in April as fuel prices rise
22 May 2008
Rural people are increasingly turning to the internet in response to rising fuel costs, according to rural broadband provider Farmside.
Behind Latin America's Food Crisis
22 May 2008
By Laura Carlsen , Americas Program, Center for International Policy (CIP) . -Even a year ago, few people would have predicted that a global food crisis would make headlines as one of the major concerns for the future of the world.
Ka kite Rio Tinto….kia ora ETS
21 May 2008
The Maori Party has launched a stinging attack on big businesses that it says are trying to bully the Government into transferring the cost of their greenhouse-gas emissions on to taxpayers, suggesting that the party is going to give the Government the numbers to pass the emissions trading scheme into law.
Get soil recognised as carbon storer, say scientists
21 May 2008
Scientists working on quantifying the carbon-storage potential of New Zealand soils are urging officials to start work now on getting soil recognised in the next round of climate-change protocols.
US' biggest coal burning power firm to turn cow dung into carbon credits
21 May 2008
The American Electric Power company is going to trap methane from cow manure in a bid to earn emission credits.
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.
