Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'

NZIER foreshadows grim ETS study in pre committee publicity flurry
18 Apr 2008
The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research has publicly revealed its plan to produce a study at the ETS bill select committee hearings - and foreshadows it wants an alternative policy.
ANALYSIS: World food problem: Business as usual not an option
18 Apr 2008
By Lester R. Brown - A fast-unfolding food shortage is engulfing the entire world, driving food prices to record highs.

MAF report prompts call to include agriculture in ETS "now"
16 Apr 2008
The Sustainability Council says MAF’s report on the effects of the ETS on farm profits shows there’s no justification for delaying agriculture’s inclusion in the scheme.

Auckland airport: $30 per tonne will mean $68 under ETS plan
15 Apr 2008
Auckland Airport Limited says it will effectively face an emissions price of $60 a tonne, instead of $30, if it stays out of the emissions trading scheme.

Personal carbon counter coming by year's end
15 Apr 2008
A personal carbon counter developed by a consortium under EU sponsorship will be marketed in New Zealand before the end of this year.

EXCLUSIVE: 'Surprise' MAF report shows some farms will profit from ETS
14 Apr 2008
Already well-off dairy farmers could get a 30 per cent profit boost from the ETS, according to an apparently prematurely released Government report.

National scents votes in $700m R and D "pork barrel"
14 Apr 2008
Opposition leader John Key is surprised the amount of traction he is getting from his outright condemnation of the government’s $700 million research announced for agriculture.

Rotorua breakthrough: methanol removing wastewater nitrates
14 Apr 2008
Rotorua municipal officials have pioneered methanol as an alternate carbon source in taking the nitrates out of wastewater.

Auckland University aims for floating turbine breakthrough
11 Apr 2008
A University of Auckland engineering doctoral student has received a $75,000 thee-year government scholarship to study the feasibility of floating wind turbines.

Urgent action sought on world food price shock
11 Apr 2008
Warning that soaring food prices could lead to increased poverty and unrest, several senior United Nations officials have called for urgent measures to tackle the global crisis, which threatens to hit the world's poor the hardest.

Kiwi-based Windflow Technology does $12m plus turbine deal with Te Rere Hau
10 Apr 2008
Windflow Technology has received confirmation of an order for a further 16 Windflow 500 turbines.

US expert: No technical barrier to 20% wind power goal in NZ
10 Apr 2008
There are no fundamental technical barriers to the integration of 20% wind energy into the electrical system in New Zealand, according to a visiting US wind energy expert.

New Zealand may attract premium on carbon deals
9 Apr 2008
New Zealand is generally viewed as a low-risk country, which will lead to a pricing premium for carbon deals.

New indicators predict productivity of forestry sites
9 Apr 2008
Forestry scientists at Scion have for the first time developed the key soil and environmental indicators that show the productive capacity of sites in every part of New Zealand where someone may want to plant a forest.

FEATURE: NZ's biggest coprorate dairy venture putting water quality first
9 Apr 2008
A corporate farmer and regional planning authorities take a practical approach to large-scale forestry replacement.

Dell announces 100% green power for 10,000-staff HQ
9 Apr 2008
One of The °Climate Group’s newest members, Dell, has announced that its headquarters campus in Round Rock, Texas - home to more than 10,000 Dell employees - will be powered with 100 per cent green power.

CARBON NEWS OPINION: How Goff and our food miles fretters are losing the consumer
8 Apr 2008
Lord Jones the UK Minister of State for Trade was unreservedly pro New Zealand over food miles when he toured New Zealand last week.

UK Trade Minister: tariffs threat could gain momentum if market doesn’t work
7 Apr 2008
Britain’s Trade and Investment Minister, Lord Digby Jones, has told business executives in Auckland that if the market has not got carbon priced right by 2012, the calls to impose border taxes on goods from countries not paying for emissions could gain momentum.
Study confirms 50% CO2 reduction from use of home-grown biodiesel
7 Apr 2008
High-quality biodiesel from oilseed rape, grown and produced in the South Island by Biodiesel New Zealand, is sustainable, emitting around 50% less carbon dioxide over its life cycle than mineral diesel.

Simple standard will deliver net bio-fuel gains - Fitzsimons
4 Apr 2008
A single sustainability standard written into the emissions trading scheme (ETS) legislation would ensure bio-fuels sourced from overseas represented a net benefit to the environment, Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said.

Mallard foreshadows easier planning path for renewables, attacks polluters
4 Apr 2008
The Government is developing a National Policy Statement on Renewable Electricity Generation.

‘Green’ car conference a sham – expert
4 Apr 2008
New Zealanders shouldn’t be fooled by quick fixes to the current energy crisis, says the car buyers’ Dog & Lemon Guide.

Climate change "motorway" to higher value production
4 Apr 2008
The effects of climate change are one of the greatest threats we face, Agriculture Minister Jim Adnerton has told the Large Herds Association conference at New Plymouth. If we handle it the right way, it will also be our motorway to higher value production.
Mallard speech: Sustainable development at a sustainable price
4 Apr 2008
Here is the full keynote speech of Environment Minister Trevor Mallard, presented yesteray to Planning Institute members conferencing in Greymouth.

A slippery sort of "come out of the closet day" of climate change politics
3 Apr 2008
While the select committee opened up its hearings on the climate change bill at Parliament yesterday, senior Ministers launched a fusillade of statements questioning National’s position on climate change, including trying to get some “slippery” mud to stick to John Key.

Major CO2 storage project launches, brightens future for coal use
3 Apr 2008
The first carbon dioxide storage project in the Southern Hemisphere, in which Solid Energy is a major investor and founding member, was launched yesterday in south west Victoria, Australia.
GHGPC: Emissions Trading - at what cost?
3 Apr 2008
In a presentation to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee hearing submissions on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill, the Greenhouse Policy coalition, representing the energy intensive sector, had the following to say.

Parker: Full trans-Tasman ETS harmonisation only one option
2 Apr 2008
EXCLUSIVE - New Zealand does not need to integrate its emissions trading scheme (ETS) with Australia’s for it to work efficiently, Climate Change Minister David Parker told Carbon News yesterday.
Ex KPMG parnters launch certification company in New Zealand Market
1 Apr 2008
An alleged inability of many of New Zealand's primary industries to provide independent information about their business practices is behind the London-based GoodCorporation's anno8uncement yesterday that it will launch in this market.

NZ Windfarms increases stake in WindPower Maungatua
1 Apr 2008
Dunedin – WindPower Maungatua Ltd announced today that NZ Windfarms Limited has increased its 16.7 per cent shareholding in WindPower Maungatua to 50 per cent.
Mighty River Power committed to new geothermal development
1 Apr 2008
Mighty River Power Chair Carole Durbin has announced her board's commitment to support a new $450 million geothermal development proposed at Rotokawa, north of Taupo, with the final decision subject to completion of procurement contracts.

Conserving biodiversity is a business opportunity, say IUCN and Shell
1 Apr 2008
Gland, Switzerland (IUCN)– The business case for conserving nature is strong and getting stronger, according to a new report published today by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and Shell International Limited.

Skids under government’s bio-fuels mandate
31 Mar 2008
It looks increasingly likely that the Labour-led Government’s mandate for petrol and diesel to contain 3.4% of bio-ingredients from July 1 will be shelved – possibly for as long as it takes to develop second-generation bio-fuels.

Bio-fuels threaten food catastrophe
31 Mar 2008
The world is now just two years away from a food catastrophe caused in part by diversion of land-use to feed cars rather than people, according to a leading Indian academic.
International biofuels and electric vehicles experts speaking at Wellington
31 Mar 2008
Six international speakers will join local experts to discuss the future of biofuels and electric vehicles in New Zealand at a conference in Wellington on Wednesday (April 2).

Wind farmers tilt at gas power for pushing up prices
31 Mar 2008
To say the 90% renewable energy target will be directly responsible for increased electricity prices ignores current electricity price trends, say Fraser Clark, CEO of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association.

Roger Kerr: Saving the Planet Must Not Cost the Earth
31 Mar 2008
By Roger Kerr, Business Roundtable Shortly a select committee of parliament will begin hearings on the bill to implement an emissions trading scheme (ETS).

Posnett defends bio-fuels' New Zealand role
28 Mar 2008
“A piece of legislation” is all that’s required to give bio-fuels a sustainable role in the New Zealand transport fuel mix, according to Dickon Posnett, the chairman of the newly-formed New Zealand Bio-fuels Manufacturers’ Association (BMA).

Air NZ: Do you want carbon credits with that?
28 Mar 2008
Air New Zealand customers now have the option to fund the purchase of carbon credits to offset their travel.
Ballance: Nitrification inhibitor use tracked by software
28 Mar 2008
Ballance Agri-Nutrient’s nitrification inhibitor science is now recognised by the wider agricultural industry.
Unreliable renewable generation contributes to high spot prices
28 Mar 2008
“The flaws in the policy to ban new thermal power stations are being graphically illustrated by current high electricity spot prices,” said Ralph Matthes, Executive Director of the Major Electricity Users’ Group (MEUG).
Greenpeace turns spotlight on farmers
27 Mar 2008
Greenpeace is demanding New Zealand farmers be brought into the pending New Zealand emissions trading scheme earlier than the scheduled 2013.

Environment Bay of Plenty welcomes major lake restoration move
27 Mar 2008
Environment Bay of Plenty has welcomed today’s announcement by the Prime Minister that the Government will be contributing $72.1 million to restore the Rotorua Lakes.
NZ emissions trading regulations - what's in store
27 Mar 2008
Officials are working on a range of regulations to implement New Zealand's emissions trading system.

Government needs to define clean coal future
26 Mar 2008
The Greenpeace action at Lyttelton last night will put further pressure on the Government to define the role of coal within the ETS and the wider battle against climate change. By far New Zealand’s biggest known energy resource is the 11 billion tonnes of low-grade lignite coal scattered through a dozen easily-accessible fields in Otago and Southland.

Three pillars to Wong’s emissions policy
26 Mar 2008
The three pillars of reducing emissions, adapting to unavoidable climate change and helping shape a global solution are at the heart of Australia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) policies, Australian Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has told Carbon News.

Now it’s petrol giving the Aussies cold feet
26 Mar 2008
Never mind that the participation of agriculture and forestry in the Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS) looks like being left to the respective industries to decide, land transport may be allowed off the hook too.
Meridian half-year profit $94 million - $175 million special dividend
26 Mar 2008
Meridian has reported a half-year after-tax result of $93.7 million for the six months ended 31 December 2007, compared with a restated profit of $116.6 million for the same period a year earlier.

Garnaut bucks Wong’s exclusion of agriculture: wants all permits auctioned
25 Mar 2008
Agriculture and forestry should be included in the Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS) despite Climate Change Minister Penny Wong’s preference for their exclusion, the Australian Federal Government’s principal climate change advisor, Professor Ross Garnaut says.

Millions pour into ag emission reduction research projects
25 Mar 2008
Research into the mitigation of agricultural emissions is the biggest beneficiary of the first $5m allocated by the Government under its Plan of Action for Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change.