Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'
Leaked report says ETS will cost jobs, cut wages
29 Apr 2008
Wage cuts of $2.30 an hour, 22,000 lost jobs and a cost of households of up to $5000 a year are among the predictions contained in a report into the economic impact of the emissions trading scheme, Carbon News has learnt.
High-powered leadership group endorses emissions trading scheme
29 Apr 2008
A high-powered group of business and community leaders has endorsed the concept of an emissions-trading scheme in New Zealand as a way of managing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saying the impact on the economy will be minimal.
ANALYSIS: At last commonsense leadership on the ETS is heard above vested interest
29 Apr 2008
Did we last night see an agreed whole-of-New Zealand view emerge on the emissions trading scheme?
Climate Change Leadership Forum backs emissions trading scheme
29 Apr 2008
The Climate Change Leadership Forum, including 34 business and other sector leaders, has issued 10 key points of policy advice made so far to the Government and Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on the proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS).
OptiSolar applies to build world's biggest (16 sq km) solar farm
29 Apr 2008
Solar energy specialist OptiSolar (http://www.optisolar.com/) has revealed plans to build the world's largest solar farm at a site in California stretching over nearly ten square miles (16 sq km).
EMA: "Carbon trade proposals could destroy economy"
29 Apr 2008
For common sense to prevail the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) is urging our law makers to think long and hard about the effects of the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill.
$200 million boost for poor farmers to help face food crisis
29 Apr 2008
The United Nations rural development arm announced today that it is providing up to $200 million for poor farmers during the upcoming cropping season as it tries to alleviate the suffering of hundreds of millions of people facing hunger and malnutrition due to soaring food prices.
Woodhouse ready for commercialised carbon trade-off
28 Apr 2008
Low-key investor Seeby Woodhouse indicated at several closed-door discussions in Wellington and Auckland last week that he would step into carbon trading as a kind of one-man carbon exchange and clearing house.
Champion farmers: We have to think differently
28 Apr 2008
Award-winning Far North farmers Lindsay and Erica Whyte say that there are many things that New Zealand farmers can do to improve their farms’ environmental impact – it’s just a case of starting to think differently.
City waste handy down on the farm
28 Apr 2008
A plan is being hatched to turn Auckland’s green-waste into valuable farm mulch.
NZ expert questions US praise of feedlot cattle
24 Apr 2008
An American claim that feedlot cattle are one answer for a world struggling with climate change has been challenged by a leading New Zealand environmentalist.
Deer hunters stalk carbon sink scheme
24 Apr 2008
The Deerstalkers' Association wants to sink a government proposal to wipe out deer from blocks of the Aorangi Forest on the Wairarapa coast.
Carbon storage in soil being researched: Major benefits possible for landowners
23 Apr 2008
A new move to store carbon in New Zealand soil is being formally researched and could be worth hundreds of millions to New Zealand farmers and other landowners.
Green Party pledges to shut Huntly, hobble coal industry
23 Apr 2008
The Green Party is threatening to end thermal coal exports and close the Huntly coal-fired power stations.
UK expert says NZ policy "a brave experiment", warns world not moving fast enough
23 Apr 2008
One of the UK’s leading climate change commentators calls New Zealand’s decision to include agriculture and forest sinks in its emissions trading regime “a brave experiment”.
Small-forest scheme open for business
23 Apr 2008
Applications are now open for the Government's new Afforestation Grant Scheme aimed at getting more trees planted on farms as part of New Zealand's effort to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Farmer leader says carbon price restrictions will restrict food production growth
23 Apr 2008
Federated Farmers president Charlie Pedersen says New Zealand farmers are concerned about their ability to farm in a sensible and sustainable way.
Polluter California to advise polluted Olympic city
23 Apr 2008
Olympics host Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities, is trying to clean up its act with advice from California, one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
Farming leadership criticised: industry at enormous risk
22 Apr 2008
New Zealand’s former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is calling for a radical rethink of our farming sector in the face of potential famine from climate change and world shortages of food, water and good-quality soils.
Climate change 'a problem for now'
22 Apr 2008
New Zealanders in the primary production sector believe that climate change is an urgent problem which needs addressing now.
Parker: No emissions credits for new renewable power plant developers
22 Apr 2008
Climate Change Minister David Parker says those building new renewable power stations won’t be rewarded with extra carbon credits under the proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS).
It's not so bad - a Carbon News series on mitigating the impact of emissions trading down on the farm
22 Apr 2008
Fancy a wind turbine in the back paddock? It could be worth about $75,000 a year - a major boost to property profits.
Kiwis dither while Aussie farmers pounce on carbon-trading scheme
22 Apr 2008
While New Zealand farming leaders openly question the existence of climate change, Australian landowners are queueing to join a national carbon-trading programme.
Farm leaders, Agriculture Minister trade words on impact of ETS
21 Apr 2008
A row is brewing over the extent of the impact on farming of the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Farmer leadership slips back into attack on climate change science
21 Apr 2008
Federated Farmers wants the “religion” of climate changed reassessed before an emissions trading scheme is brought in, a stance which has failed to impress the Minister of Agriculture.
Energy’s emissions nearly match agriculture’s
21 Apr 2008
The energy sector is threatening to overtake agriculture as the biggest source of New Zealand’s carbon emissions, the latest edition of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows.
Wellington City decides on carbon credit revenue plan from town belts, forests
21 Apr 2008
Wellington City is looking to earn large annual revenues from emission credits by turning its town belts and forests into carbon sinks.
Greens on NZ emissions: When will we turn the corner?
21 Apr 2008
The Green Party says news that New Zealand's greenhouse emissions have continued to rise, though not as fast as previously, is still not good enough.
NZ emissions up .5 million tonnes in 2006
21 Apr 2008
The latest annual greenhouse gas inventory report shows New Zealand’s emissions rose less than 1% between 2005 and 2006.
World ETS expert: global trading needed or ETS unsustainable
21 Apr 2008
The costs of combating climate change are much lower than they might seem, because there are real business opportunities wherever you look, according to Henry Derwent, President and CEO International Emissions Trading Association (IETA).
THE FOOD CRISIS: Long term challenges says Rice
21 Apr 2008
By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr., Staff Writer,USINFO. Washington - President Bush is seeking an additional $350 million from Congress to provide immediate emergency food assistance, but the current food crisis has long-term global challenges, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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.
Politicians need to ‘get over themselves’ to reduce emissions
Fri 24 Jul 2026
New Zealand needs to face up to two big areas of climate emissions: transport and agriculture, says climate policy expert Bronwyn Hayward.
$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.
Media round-up
9 Jul 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The Government re-wrote fast-track law after mining companies pushed for change; costs from inland flooding are expected to rise by up to 53% by 2075; and is there such a thing as a sustainable tourist?
Contact: New biodiversity goal may be 'highly problematic' for renewable projects
Fri 24 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | The goal of no net loss of indigenous biodiversity in the new resource management system may be highly problematic for renewable energy developments, Contact Energy says.
Biomass can free-up electrons to perform higher value roles – with multiple other benefits
Fri 24 Jul 2026
By Rob Mallinson | OPINION: New Zealand’s energy debate too often treats electricity as the universal solution.
Govt should bin draft voluntary market assurance and start again – expert
Fri 24 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is consulting on its criteria for endorsing domestic nature and carbon markets, however market experts say the draft document falls short of what is needed to support trust in the market and stop low-integrity credits being sold.
Panama Canal braces for El Niño, announcing first transit restrictions
Fri 24 Jul 2026
The probability of a severe El Nino has risen from 25% to 81% and the Panama Canal is preparing to restrict transits.
Red Stag boss questions $60m cement support as timber ETS reforms stall
Thu 23 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | The Government has granted $60 million to an emissions-intensive industry while dragging its feet on a proposal to allow firms making harvested wood products to earn carbon credits in the Emissions Trading Scheme, an industry leader says.
Coal is back in Australian Super’s portfolio. What happened to that net zero pledge?
13 Jul 2026
In 2020 Australia’s biggest super fund dumped its Whitehaven shares. Fast forward to 2026 and it is now the coalminer’s single biggest investor.
Politicians need to lead on climate: Carr
30 Jun 2026
As the election campaign heats up, former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr has a list of actions he's hoping to see from our aspiring leaders, which includes confronting climate denial as well as refusing funds or policy advice from vested interests.
EMA pushes for steady hand on energy and regulation
13 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Employers and Manufacturers Association wants the next government to commit to a long-term energy plan and allow faster investment in renewable generation, at the same time as slowing the pace of policy change and providing businesses with greater certainty.
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.
Govt brushes off 'damning' assessment of stalled emissions reductions
Thu 23 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is downplaying the Climate Change Commission’s “damning” report on the country’s stalled emission reductions, while experts say policy changes since the Coalition Government came into power are squarely to blame.
Media round-up
Fri 24 Jul 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Labour leader Chris Hipkins floats the idea of a carbon border tax; two-way charging between the garage and the grid will slash power bills; and cost isn't everything when it comes to rooftop solar.
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.
Climate change keeps adding to the list of uninsurable assets, Allianz executive says
Fri 24 Jul 2026
Extreme weather events — such as the heat wave that just hit Europe — are making more and more assets too risky to insure, according to a director at Europe’s largest primary insurer.
Tarakihi on verge of extinction: Stock collapse exposes major fisheries management failings
3 Jul 2026
Media release: Environmental Defence Society | Fisheries NZ is consulting on new sustainability measures for the country’s two tarakihi stocks.
Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ shrinking
9 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The “stockpile” of NZUs in private accounts continues to shrink, with the latest Environmental Protection Authority figures showing the number has dropped by 9.5 million since this time last year.
West Africa signs off $25bn mega gas-pipeline plan
Wed 22 Jul 2026
One of Africa's most ambitious energy infrastructure projects has finally been signed off at the highest level, with West African leaders formally endorsing the long-awaited Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline.
NZ First’s oil and gas plan ‘doesn’t stack up’ – professor
Tue 21 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | NZ First’s plan to invest $1 billion in offshore oil and gas exploration doesn’t make economic sense, says Auckland University emeritus professor and energy economics expert Basil Sharp.
$3m Govt boost for Tauranga geothermal energy
14 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | Resources Minister Shane Jones has announced a $3 million grant for the Gas to Geoheat Tauranga Geothermal System Project as part of the Government's plan to double geothermal energy by 2040.
Will new UK PM’s green measures at home cause climate finance pain overseas?
Thu 23 Jul 2026
Andy Burnham will cut bus fares and household electricity tax in a boost for UK climate action – but this will be funded partly by switching international climate finance from grants to loans.
The thriving coral reef that ‘defeated time’ in West Africa
Wed 22 Jul 2026
A 60-year mystery has been solved as researchers discover a coral ecosystem on the Benin-Togo continental shelf that is still teeming with marine life.
‘Master class in greenwash’ as Ottawa unveils CCS deal
Mon 20 Jul 2026
A multi-billion-dollar plan to transport and store greenhouse gas emissions from Canada’s emissions-intensive oil sands has received a major boost, even though the highly-touted deal between Ottawa, Alberta, and the five oil major sands companies will only capture a tiny fraction of the oil sands’ climate pollution.
Lake Onslow pumped hydro consortium secures funding for consent push
26 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | The consortium behind Lake Onslow pumped hydro has secured funding to finalise its resource consent application, aiming to lodge it under the fast-track process before 2027.
Ballance secures gas for 2026 as it progresses energy transition plan
16 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | One of the largest industrial gas users in New Zealand is working on an energy transition plan to futureproof domestic fertiliser manufacturing, while continuing to secure ongoing gas supply contracts.
Climate change is here and we’re all paying for it
15 Jul 2026
By Raewyn Peart | COMMENT: Another week, another storm. Just days ago, Kaikōura saw two months of rain fall within 48 hours, the most recent in a long line of adverse weather events.
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.
Greenpeace launches legal challenge against US$2.5bn expansion by Premier Beehive parent company JBS
Thu 23 Jul 2026
Media release | Greenpeace Netherlands has petitioned a Dutch court seeking to compel the world’s largest meat company JBS, to disclose information, in order to challenge its business policies in court. This includes its planned US$ 6 billion global expansion, of which almost half is earmarked for Nigeria.
NZ at risk of missing all its climate goals: Commission
Wed 22 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | Aotearoa New Zealand’s rate of emissions reduction needs to more than double, with progress stalling since 2024 after the Coalition Government took power, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
Planetary Facts dashboard aims to make environmental costs visible
15 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumers can now compare the environmental impacts of everyday products with a new online dashboard designed to do for sustainability what nutrition labels have long done for food.
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.
UN chief says fossil fuel industry must cut methane for warming “relief”
25 Jun 2026
UN chief António Guterres called for stronger action to cut emissions of planet-heating methane, taking aim at the fossil fuel industry’s practices and profits, and pointing to coal, oil and gas as the root of today’s climate and energy crises.
What’s next for Sams Creek after failed mining bid?
15 Jul 2026
Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | A controversial gold mining application at Sams Creek has been declined, leaving question marks hanging over the future of the land.
‘I can’t work in the farce of climate change cruise tourism anymore’: why Antarctic guides quit their dream jobs
Wed 22 Jul 2026
“You’d see massive glacier calvings, and you’d just want to cry. But all the guests would be cheering. And you’d be like … ‘can you not put two and two together?’”
Norway’s national oil company’s profits double to $11.5bn amid war on Iran
Fri 24 Jul 2026
Profits at Norway’s state oil company nearly doubled to $11.5bn (£8.6bn) in the three months to the end of June as the jump in oil and gas prices caused by the war against Iran boosted earnings.
NZ First promises $1 billion for offshore oil and gas
Mon 20 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand First wants to “drill baby drill,” and has made an election campaign promise of $1 billion to survey New Zealand’s offshore basins to extract oil and gas, in an announcement at the party’s campaign launch on Sunday.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
UN plastics pact talks restart amid fears production curbs will be left out
2 Jul 2026
Diplomats reconvene a year after negotiations collapsed, but campaigners fear the agenda risks burying tricky discussions on key elements.
Expert election briefings on climate and the polycrisis now free to the public
Fri 24 Jul 2026
Expert briefings on climate change and the wider "planetary polycrisis" from the Reality of Everything symposium have been made freely available online, with organisers aiming to broaden public understanding of the interconnected issues ahead of New Zealand's general election.
Northern Thai residents march for action on polluted rivers. ‘This is an emergency’
9 Jun 2026
More than 600 residents of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces embarked May 31 on a roughly 68-kilometer, six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand the Thai government take action on the river pollution crisis that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals.
Swarbrick slams $50m critical minerals funding as 'Trump's war machine' subsidy
7 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has criticised the Government's investment into two West Coast critical minerals projects, claiming the funding could ultimately support the United States defence industry rather than New Zealand's clean energy transition, while Shane Jones dismissed opponents as "flat earth idiots".
China solar exports to South, Southeast Asia and Africa rise despite post-rebate slump
Wed 22 Jul 2026
China's solar exports to Southeast and South Asia as well as Africa rose year-over-year in June, customs data showed on Monday, though overall solar exports slipped for a second month after China removed an export tax rebate.
Resource management Bills 'not yet ready to be enacted', says Upton
Wed 22 Jul 2026
By Oli Lewis | The two Bills to replace the Resource Management Act are not ready to be enacted and there is no way of knowing how they will affect the environment, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says.
Turning waste into climate-resilient soils for communities
Fri 24 Jul 2026
Media release: University of Canterbury | Christchurch’s Red Zone is being used as a test bed to see whether biological wastes (biowastes) can help transform contaminated soil into climate-resilient soil.
Green Party takes ‘electric election’ up a notch
Tue 21 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is promising to cut power bills and establish a publicly owned company, ‘Kiwipower,’ to deliver affordable renewable energy.
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.
Big tech joins big oil in ruining summer
Mon 20 Jul 2026
The industry has abandoned its climate pledges in favor of fossil fuel-powered AI data centers.
'Shocking' changes to RMA replacement further weakens environmental protections –EDS
Tue 21 Jul 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The select committee's report back on bills to replace the Resource Management Act fails to address the Environmental Defence Society's "massive concerns" with the legislation.
How e-scooter company Lime cut its supply chain emissions
Fri 24 Jul 2026
The company’s latest sustainability report, shared exclusively with Heatmap, shows that carbon intensity per kilometer traveled has dropped 81% since 2019.
Experts call on Govt to withdraw ‘repugnant’ legislation to block climate lawsuits
13 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers and climate policy experts are calling on the Government to withdraw legislation intended to block climate lawsuits, with an adaptation expert arguing that the legislation could worsen the insurance protection gap.
New funding round opens for Auckland zero waste projects – $500k available
Fri 24 Jul 2026
Media release | Auckland Council is inviting applications for the 2026 Waste Minimisation and Innovation Fund (WMIF) with $500,000 available to support projects that reduce waste and increase recycling and reuse to help achieve Auckland’s goal of zero waste by 2040.
Greens announce water policy, including nitrogen fertiliser phase-out
7 Jul 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party announced its water policy yesterday, promising to phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, as well as destructive fishing methods, if the party is elected in November.
Trump blames Canada for wildfire smoke affecting US
Tue 21 Jul 2026
A series of Republican “leaders” have started producing angry denunciations of Canada for polluting America’s air with their "thoughtless" fires.
Faster consenting, harder trade-offs
7 Jul 2026
Faster consenting is starting to produce results, but this week's decisions show speed has not removed the harder trade-offs around electricity security, conservation, ecology and climate liability.
