Topics tagged with 'Airlines'
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
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 declares surprisingly low SAF prices
3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Greenwashing is rife in Australia, but could its days be numbered?
28 May 2025
COMMENT: Have you ever ticked the box to “fly carbon neutral”, had something delivered via “carbon-neutral shipping” or chosen to pay a bit extra to buy “carbon-neutral gas” from your energy retailer?
Air New Zealand announces less ambitious emissions ‘guidance’
2 May 2025
Air New Zealand has published its first “emissions guidance,” saying it expects to reduce net “well-to-wake” greenhouse gas emissions from jet fuel by 20-25% by 2030, from a 2019 baseline.
There isn't enough 'sustainable' aviation fuel to make a dent in our emissions - and there won't be for years
13 Feb 2025
Burning SAF actually emits a similar amount of CO2 to fossil jet fuel. Most emissions 'savings' come from how we account for the waste and renewable energy that is used to produce it.
National Party clocks most emissions from air travel
6 Dec 2024
The National Party recorded estimated emissions of 999.16 tonnes for the first half of 2024, the highest among all parties.
Qantas accused of greenwashing as climate advocates lodge complaint over sustainability, net zero claims
17 Oct 2024
An environmental advocacy group has lodged a complaint with the consumer watchdog over claims Qantas makes on sustainability and climate.
Air NZ, Mitre 10 fall short in climate action rankings
10 Sep 2024
Air New Zealand and Mitre 10 have fallen short in a new ranking of 21 major companies based on their climate action targets.
Is Air NZ leading the way in dropping its climate target?
2 Aug 2024
News that Air New Zealand is dropping its 2030 emissions target made international headlines this week, and experts are asking whether more businesses will follow suit.
ETS alone won’t decarbonise NZ: businesses representing 40% of country’s GDP
22 May 2024
The Sustainable Business Council and Climate Leaders Coalition say that depending on the ETS alone to reach net zero will cause significant harm to the economy.
Emissions down for 2022
18 Apr 2024
Aotearoa New Zealand’s gross greenhouse gas emissions fell by 4% in 2022, according to new figures.
Plan for new Tarras airport on hold
29 Feb 2024
Christchurch Airport has put controversial plans for a new airport in Central Otago on hold, with opponents of the plan welcoming the pause.
Big hike in airfares needed to achieve aviation emission reductions: experts
12 Feb 2024
By Jeremy Rose | A return airfare to Europe would jump by around $900 if GST and greenhouse gas levies were applied to international air travel, one of the proposals in a recent paper by four climate researchers.
Former Air NZ Sustainability Panel chair proposes frequent flyer penalty levy
5 Feb 2024
By Jeremy Rose | Here’s a prediction: in the coming year you’ll see dozens of articles about sustainable aviation fuel, and battery and hydrogen powered planes but not one about flygskam.
Industry emissions up but GDP down
2 Feb 2024
New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions are up 3% for the September 2023 quarter, according to the latest data from Stats NZ.
Climate friendly transport: Why Air New Zealand needs to get onboard with passenger rail
29 Nov 2023
By Paul Callister and Robert McLachlan | Air New Zealand has a problem. The national airline needs to be profitable and, traditionally, this has involved increasing passenger numbers.
Bird of the Century? We have a suggestion
28 Aug 2023
With aviation emissions ramping up post-Covid, two climate policy experts are nominating a new species as "Bird of the Century": the jet aircraft.
Business travel recovery stalls as companies seek to cut costs and emissions
14 Aug 2023
The recovery in business travel has stalled this year amid record price rises for premium flights and growing pressure on big companies to cut their carbon emissions.
Sustainable tourism plan "short on detail": Environment commissioner
8 Aug 2023
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has criticised the government’s draft plan for sustainable tourism, saying it is short on detail, particularly around plans for decarbonisation.
NZ needs better emissions data: research
3 Aug 2023
New research shows that New Zealand isn't doing enough to keep track of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change mitigation, with lacking data and modelling capacity in some sectors.
Sustainable aviation fuel funding is govt “greenwash”: fuel expert
10 Jul 2023
By Liz Kivi | A former senior oil executive says that the government and Air New Zealand investing more than $2 million in research into sustainable aviation fuel is a blatant greenwashing tactic.
Turbulence has increased with climate change since 1979 - study
10 Jul 2023
Fasten your seat belts and get ready for yet another potential impact of climate change: bumpier airplane rides.
Delta Air Lines faces lawsuit over $1bn carbon neutrality claim
1 Jun 2023
Delta Air Lines is facing a lawsuit over its $1bn carbon neutrality claim which plaintiffs say is “false and misleading” as it relies on offsets that do little to mitigate global heating.
France bans short-haul flights in effort to fight climate change
25 May 2023
France has formally banned domestic flights on short routes that can be covered by train in less than two-and-a-half hours in a move aimed at reducing airline emissions.
New tech to turn hydrogen and CO2 into lower-carbon aviation fuel announced
11 May 2023
Honeywell International Inc (HON.O) has announced announced a new technology to produce lower-carbon aviation fuel from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured from industry, which can help cut greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, one of the hardest sectors to electrify and decarbonise.
Time for a frequent flyer climate tax
5 May 2023
How many times did you fly in 2019? If you took more than six flights, or three roundtrips, you flew more than 98% of the world population. Consequently, you also contributed much more carbon than all other humans on the planet.
The global jet set feels the heat over climate change
20 Apr 2023
There was once a time when the global jet set aroused the admiration and envy of ordinary people when they boarded private jets for a pleasure trip to the latest in-vogue destination. These days, however, amid climate change, public attitudes have turned negative.
Private jet flights in Europe soar to record levels — and most were ultra-short journeys
31 Mar 2023
A private jet aviation boom shows no signs of slowing.
Taiwan diary: Getting there
23 Mar 2023
Carbon News editor Jeremy Rose is in Taiwan attending the Taipei Cycle show and talking to thought leaders in the climate change space. Over the next week he’ll be filing a regular diary updating us what’s he’s seen and learnt.
Booming airline traffic could force carriers to buy carbon offsets as early as 2024
22 Mar 2023
Rising airline traffic is expected to trigger global emissions-related requirements for some carriers as early as next year, according to a top airline trade group, even as debate broadens on the effectiveness of that approach.
Airlines downplayed science on climate impact to block new regulations
21 Mar 2023
Airlines have been accused of using a "typical climate denialist" strategy after downplaying decades of scientific research on aviation emissions to block tougher regulations.
Jet-Setters
14 Mar 2023
By Marco D'Eramo - Sidecar | In the first two hundred days of 2022, Taylor Swift’s private jet made 170 flights, covering an average distance of 133 miles. It emitted 8,293 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the process.
In a cost of living and climate crisis, let’s ditch reward schemes
8 Feb 2023
By Paul Callister and Robert McLachlan - Planetary Ecology | We face both a climate crisis and cost of living crisis. But the pain is not being spread evenly on either front. Some families find it ever harder to put food on the table, some wonder how to pay the mortgage, while others are scarcely affected.
Comparing airfares instead of seat size fairer indicator of passenger carbon emissions: study
26 Jan 2023
Allocating passenger aircraft emissions using airfares rather than travel class would give a more accurate idea of individual contributions, finds a study led by UCL.
Americans increasingly sceptical of airline offsets
19 Dec 2022
Recent polling shows one-third of Americans would be willing to pay for carbon offsets when buying a plane ticket to reduce their carbon footprint, but claims of airline “greenwashing” with carbon credits are one of the reasons more companies are moving away from reliance on this climate approach.
Wellington’s emissions down nearly 10% since 2020
15 Dec 2022
Wellington’s emissions have dropped by 9% since 2020, according to the latest data.
Climate activists block private jets at Amsterdam airport
7 Nov 2022
Hundreds of climate protesters blocked private jets from leaving Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Saturday in a demonstration on the eve of the COP27 U.N. climate meeting in Egypt.
Can charging frequent flyers for their carbon solve aviation’s climate problem?
25 Oct 2022
If you were to design a scheme to deliberately accelerate climate change, you couldn’t do much better than an airline loyalty program. The more you fly, the cheaper and easier your flights become. Now what if that was switched around, and each flight you took in a year was instead more expensive than the last?
Christchurch and Hamburg airports join forces on green hydrogen
19 Oct 2022
Media release: Christchurch Airport | Christchurch and Hamburg Airports are on opposite sides of the world, but definitely on the same page for decarbonisation.
Best by the rest...
23 Jun 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: New Zealand’s offshore energy revolution; climate policy’s winners and losers; and how climate change is putting marae at risk.
‘Aggressive’ policies needed to curb airline emissions and meet Paris goals: report
15 Jun 2022
One highly touted way of reducing one’s carbon footprint is to cut down on fossil fuel use in everyday life. For many Americans, this can mean finding transportation alternatives to air travel.
Best by the rest...
10 Jun 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Climate change driving extreme autumn weather; the view from Tuvalu on the climate crisis; and how the government broke its own climate rules to subsidise airlines.
Carbon offsets may ease your flight guilt, but they aren’t saving the planet
3 Jun 2022
Book a flight and you’ll usually get the option to pay to offset your carbon emissions. In essence, your contribution funds tree planting and other projects intended to counterbalance the carbon you emit.
Just one of 50 aviation industry climate targets met: study
11 May 2022
The international aviation industry has failed to meet all but one of 50 of its own climate targets in the past two decades, environment campaigners say.
KLM’s carbon neutral claim is misleading: watchdog
11 Apr 2022
KLM cannot truthfully say its flights are carbon neutral, according to Dutch advertising watchdog Stichting Reclame Code (SRC). The committee's verdict was seen Friday by Bloomberg.
Urgent action needed in aviation sector to keep 1.5 degrees within reach: Climate Action 100+
11 Mar 2022
Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest investor engagement initiative on climate change, has today released a report setting out how the aviation industry can align with the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero by 2050 or 1.5°C scenario, and the actions investors need to take to accelerate the sector’s transition to net zero.
A radical, carbon negative project in Turkey is turning algae into bio-jet fuel
8 Mar 2022
The first carbon-negative biorefinery in Europe opened in Istanbul and is utilising algae to make a variety of products for multiple sectors in Turkey.
10 YEARS AGO...
23 Feb 2022
Ten years ago, aviation was included in Europe's ETS. To start with airlines were given 85% of their allowances for free.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
Today 11:30am
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
Today 11:30am
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
Trump is wiping out all climate regulation. Big Oil may regret it.
Today 11:30am
For decades, oil majors fought climate regulation. Now, they’re afraid Trump’s extreme rollbacks could leave them on the hook to pay for what they’ve done.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Today 11:30am
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
Australian ministers met Japanese gas companies 20 times amid fossil fuel lobbying push
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australian government ministers met Japanese gas company executives more than 20 times in the last term of parliament as Labor encouraged investment in the fossil fuel industry.
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.”
US is canceling almost $30 billion in Biden-era energy loans
27 Jan 2026
The Trump administration said it’s canceling almost $30 billion of financing from the Energy Department’s green bank after reviewing transactions approved under former President Biden.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Today 11:30am
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
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 set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Court rejects challenge to Minister and Commission over climate targets
28 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Supreme Court has rejected Lawyers for Climate Action’s bid to challenge the Climate Change Commission and former Climate Minister James Shaw over climate targets, ending a long-running case which had been working its way through the courts since 2021.
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.
Climate change linked to decline in southern right whale
Today 11:30am
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
Out of Paris, but will the US formally quit the UN climate regime?
30 Jan 2026
The Trump administration has decided to withdraw the US from the broader UN climate convention, raising questions about the legality of the move and what it means in practice.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Rushed resource management reform bills unworkable: Environmental Defence Society
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Environmental Defence Society says significant amendments are needed to the government’s Natural Environment and Planning Bills, warning the proposed reforms risk weakening environmental limits, public participation, and regulatory certainty.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
Australia's renewables boom delivers coveted power price payoff
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australia's wholesale electricity prices fell to the lowest in four years in 2025, bucking the rising price trends seen elsewhere and validating claims that renewables-heavy power system overhauls can help lower consumer power costs.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
Vanuatu introduces draft UN resolution on ICJ demanding full climate compensation
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Media release: Vanuatu Government | Vanuatu has introduced the zero draft of a United Nations General Assembly resolution to endorse the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change, delivered on 23 July 2025.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
Today 11:30am
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
World's first 20 MW offshore wind turbine powers grid in China
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The world's most powerful offshore wind turbine has begun feeding electricity into the grid off the coast of southeast China, marking a major technological leap in the country's wind power industry.
