Topics tagged with 'Airlines'
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.
On a wing and a prayer: Air NZ’s net zero plan
8 Dec 2021
By Jeremy Rose: Covid-19 has shown that it's possible to dramatically slash the carbon emissions of airlines by simply flying less but reducing the amount we travel by air isn’t among the options floated in Air New Zealand’s just released Sustainability Report.
How the world’s militaries hide their huge carbon emissions
12 Nov 2021
Climate change leadership requires more than stirring speeches. It means facing up to hard truths. One truth that governments around the world are struggling with is the immense contribution their militaries are making to the climate crisis.
World airlines commit to 'net zero' CO2 emissions by 2050
5 Oct 2021
The world's airlines pledged to reach "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050 on Monday even as a trade group forecast profit losses from the pandemic extending into next year.
Air New Zealand and MBIE join forces to scope out sustainable aviation fuel industry
28 Sep 2021
Media Release - Air New Zealand’s journey to net-zero has reached another significant milestone today with the Airline and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) joining forces to bring Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) one step closer to becoming a reality in New Zealand.
Universities’ GHG emissions plummet due to Covid
21 Jun 2021
With carbon emissions from academic travel plummeting by close to 90 per cent, New Zealand universities are looking at how they can lock-in some of those reductions in a post-Covid world.
10 YEARS AGO...
4 Jun 2021
Ten years ago, scientists an airlines were saying an aviation biofuels industry was a viable proposition.
Acting now pays dividends in the future
26 May 2021
Transforming the economy now rather than protecting key wealth generating sectors from the full effect of international carbon prices will see the economy grow more in the long run, updated economic modelling shows.
Simon Upton’s spirited defence of a departure tax
6 May 2021
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, gave a spirited defence of his proposal for a departure tax at today’s Environment Select Committee, despite the Government having ruled it out in the near term.
Airline offsetting programmes flawed
6 May 2021
The forest protection carbon offsetting market used by major airlines for claims of carbon-neutral flying faces a significant credibility problem, with experts warning the system is not fit for purpose, a Guardian investigation has found
Lest we forget: the carbon footprint of war
27 Apr 2021
With global spending on the military just shy of US$2 trillion in 2020, it’s hardly a surprise that the world’s armies are a major contributor to climate change.
Best by the rest...
22 Apr 2021
In our weekly round up of the best climate coverage in the local media, we include items by Jim Salinger on over fishing's mammoth threat to the climate, former PM Helen Clark on her vision of a green NZ, and talk of a night train between Auckland and Wellington.
Minister responds to climate criticism
20 Apr 2021
Climate Change Minister James Shaw says the Government is considering the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's recommendations - which include a call for a departure tax.
Bursting the climate bubble
19 Apr 2021
The government missed an opportunity to transition to a more sustainable future with the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble today, according to two academics.
Best by the rest...
16 Apr 2021
The New Zealand Herald has published a series of articles in recent days as its contribution to Covering Climate Now's "Living Through the Climate Emergency" week of coverage in the lead up to Earth Day.
Frequent flyers should pay more
8 Apr 2021
Wealthy frequent flyers who take several holidays a year should pay higher taxes each time they fly, a British charity says.
Call for finance sector regulation
7 Apr 2021
New regulations requiring the financial sector to disclose the greenhouse gas emission of their investment portfolios are needed, the Sustainable Business Network says in its submission to the Climate Change Commission.
Joint venture to build electric passenger-plane
1 Apr 2021
Rolls-Royce, Tecnam and Scandinavia’s largest airline, Widerøe, have entered into a partnership that they say will see the launch of an all-electric aircraft for passengers by 2026.
Luxon touts his climate action at Air NZ
25 Mar 2021
Just one of the three MPs giving maiden speeches given in Parliament yesterday mentioned climate change: Christopher Luxon.
Sweden to increase airport fees for high-polluting planes
24 Mar 2021
Sweden plans to charge airlines more at takeoff and landing if their aircrafts are more polluting, the government has said.
TRANSPORT 1: High carbon prices and behaviour change
16 Mar 2021
New Zealand is failing to get transport emissions under control, as latest data shows. Energy expert and IPCC lead author Emeritus Professor Ralph Sims says there is lots we can do, including pushing carbon prices higher.
Our transport emissions hit new high
12 Mar 2021
New Zealand’s transport emissions are at an all-time high.
How heavy bombers hurt the climate
12 Mar 2021
The United States Airforce B-52 bomber that flew over Wairarapa during last month’s air show emitted as much carbon dioxide as 130 average mid-size cars emit per year in New Zealand.
Study reveals Airbus' huge emissions legacy
1 Mar 2021
Planes sold by Airbus in 2019 and 2020 will produce well over a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide during their lifetimes, according to landmark first estimates of the aerospace manufacturer’s emissions.
Businesses join hands to find 'right recipe' for zero-carbon industries
26 Feb 2021
Despite the pandemic slamming the brakes on flying, UK-based engineering firm Rolls-Royce - whose main clients include the aviation industry - has not backed away from its work to slash planet-heating emissions, according to its technology director.
Aviation charts path to carbon neutrality by 2050
16 Feb 2021
The European airline industry has launched a sustainability plan to achieve carbon neutrality in the aviation sector by 2050.
Will planes be flying on air?
5 Feb 2021
Scientists are working on recovering atmospheric carbon to conjure aviation jet fuel from thin air.
Study puts Dunedin on most-at-risk airports list
4 Feb 2021
Dunedin airport is on a new international list of airports most vulnerable to climate change.
EU urged to address aviation’s full climate impact, including non-CO2 emissions
27 Nov 2020
The aviation sector’s climate impact is three times bigger than the effect of its carbon dioxide emissions alone, a new study shows, prompting calls for action.
Western Europe cools on plans for nuclear power
27 Nov 2020
News that two more reactors in the United Kingdom are to shut down on safety grounds earlier than planned has capped a depressing month for nuclear power in Europe.
'Jet-zero' green flight goal dismissed as a gimmick
26 Nov 2020
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “jet-zero” goal of a commercial transatlantic flight producing no carbon emissions by 2025 is a gimmick, according to experts, who say technology alone cannot solve the impact of global aviation on the climate crisis.
'Super emitters' polluting climate at expense of those who don't fly
23 Nov 2020
Just one per cent of the population is responsible for half of global emissions from aviation, a study shows.
Cutting carbon will cost tourism and export industries
19 Nov 2020
The tourism and export sectors need to prepare for growing transport costs, Climate Change Commission chair Dr Rod Carr is warning.
Air travel’s date with sustainability draws nearer
9 Nov 2020
Aviation is gearing up for big changes in how the industry is regulated, as climate targets bite. The options available to decarbonise planes are plentiful and the challenge now is to invest enough resources in tech upgrades and regulatory tweaks to get the job done.
Why it's hard to cut aviation emissions
4 Nov 2020
A 1940s tax-exemption treaty designed to protect the fledgling aviation industry set airlines on a path to high emissions and low regulation.
Aviation joins the electric age
30 Oct 2020
New Zealand’s first electric plane will take to the skies today.
Business makes bid for $7.23 billion
22 Oct 2020
Businesses want the new Government to back $7.23 billion worth of projects they say will cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 5.5 per cent over the next decade.
Electric trucks and green hydrogen 'ripe' for investment
15 Oct 2020
Green hydrogen, low-carbon aviation fuel and electric trucks are among 55 clean technologies that can help the European Union to reach its goal of climate neutrality by mid-century, new research shows.
A Tesla electric plane? Elon Musk hints it’s not far away
26 Aug 2020
Elon Must once said that one day, all transportation will be electric, except for rocks. Yes, that even includes aeroplanes, which have long been on his list of things to electrify.
Coronavirus forces tourism rethink in world's most visited city
24 Aug 2020
With the outlook for urban tourism deeply uncertain, Thai authorities have a chance to adopt a more sustainable model.
WORTH NOTING ...
28 Jul 2020
Today is the last day to enter the Sustainable Business Awards – get yours in by 5pm.
Big Hydro not the only way, says energy expert
27 Jul 2020
Paying industry not to use electricity during peak demand should be considered as an alternative to a multi-billion-dollar new hydro scheme, an energy expert says.
Big emitters marshall carbon forces in Australia
27 Jul 2020
Companies responsible for 14 per cent of Australia’s industrial emissions are coming together to figure out how to decarbonise the sector.
Australian flying car wins $1m grant
20 Jul 2020
The New South Wales government has awarded almost $1m from a regional grants fund to a company developing what deputy premier John Barilaro describes as an electric flying car.
Airlines granted huge emissions reprieve by UN compromise
3 Jul 2020
The United Nations' aviation emissions offsetting scheme will not take 2020 into account when calculating how much airlines have to pay to neutralise their carbon dioxide output - a move environmental groups say makes a mockery of climate policy.
Marsden must be maintained, says bio body
29 Jun 2020
The bioenergy industry is calling on the Government to prevent the closure of New Zealand’s only oil refinery, saying its loss will damage the country’s ability to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Parker whips home third leg of climate trifecta
26 Jun 2020
The third leg of the Government’s climate change legislation trifecta came home this week.
Shipping needs to clean up act - and do it now
26 Jun 2020
The shipping industry is in urgent need of a makeover: while limited attempts are being made to lessen polluting emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases in the road transport and aviation sectors, shipping lags even further behind in the clean-up stakes.
‘Stop burning fossil fuels’ pleads scientist as extreme rain causes floods yet again
Fri 27 Mar 2026
Northland and Auckland have again been lashed by heavy rain, with hundreds of people evacuated last night because of extensive flooding in the Far North, and some areas hit by more than a month's average rainfall in just 24 hours.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
Planting mānuka might bring birds, bats and insects back to farms
23 Mar 2026
Media release | New research published today in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology shows that Mānuka forests planted to support honey production provide positive nature-related impacts.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
Fri 27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
US cannot meet Iran war-induced LNG shortfall: industry leaders
Fri 27 Mar 2026
Business leaders are warning that the United States lacks the infrastructure to alleviate a global LNG shortage caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has kept a fifth of the world's energy supplies from leaving the Gulf.
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
Thu 26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
NSW to ban new coalmines in major shake-up for $23bn industry
23 Mar 2026
A major shake-up is on the way for one Australian state’s single biggest export, which powers homes here and abroad.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
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.
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.
WWF boss joins Opportunity Party with centrist climate pitch
Thu 26 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Opportunity Party has unveiled its first slate of candidates ahead of November's election, including World Wildlife Fund Aotearoa chief executive Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, as the party positions itself as a 'centrist environmental force' ahead of the election.
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.
Gisborne $29.7m recovery funding bid awaits Government decision
Fri 27 Mar 2026
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | Gisborne leaders are awaiting the Government’s response to a $29.7 million funding bid for a joint agency/iwi-led recovery plan after January’s severe weather event.
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.
MfE forecasts suggest diminishing NZU stockpile
19 Mar 2026
By Clive Bradbury | ANALYSIS: The Ministry for the Environment has updated its NZ ETS forecasts of emissions, removals and entitlements from the Crown's financial forecasting, with predictions pointing to a significant drop in the ‘stockpile’ this year.
LNG sold as insurance, but modelling points to a bigger role
19 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s gas market is heading for a sharp contraction whether the country sticks with domestic supply alone or introduces liquefied natural gas imports.
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.”
Gaps in adaptation taxonomies hinder climate finance in Asia: report
5 Mar 2026
Without clearer criteria and metrics in adaptation taxonomies, Asia risks widening its climate financing gap, warns a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Top scientist speaks out against Trump regime’s attack on premier research centre
23 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | Kevin Trenberth, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, now based in New Zealand, has told the Trump administration he is “appalled” at its attempt to break up the international research centre he has been associated with for nearly 50 years.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
9 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
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.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
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.
Govt process to change climate plan ‘fundamentally flawed’, says judge
18 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government’s 2024 changes to New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan was “as fundamentally flawed a process as I think I have ever seen”, the judge presiding in a case challenging climate change decision-making has said.
Cleantech expo coming to Auckland
Thu 26 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s first national cleantech expo is set to bring together 30 innovators, in what organisers say is the country’s fastest growing area in the tech sector.
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
Wed 25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Close questioning over ‘ministerial latitude’ at climate hearing
17 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Lawyers challenging the legality of the government’s emissions reduction plans faced close questioning on the limits of ministerial foresight in the first of three days of hearings at the Wellington High Court yesterday.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Govt’s relief package risks entrenching fossil fuel dependence, critics warn
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s $373 million fuel relief package is facing criticism for propping up petrol use rather than reducing demand, as prices surge and some experts predict fuel shortages due to conflict in the Middle East.
Media round-up
20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Solar is Southeast Asia’s cheapest buffer against future shocks
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Southeast Asian countries’ planned expansion of gas power could increase the cost of generating electricity to $109 billion by 2030 based on future price projections — more than double the cost of generating the same amount of electricity with solar.
World-leading plasma torch takes aim at NZ's most potent greenhouse gases
Tue 24 Mar 2026
Media release | A high-tech plasma torch was lit up today as Minister of Conservation, Hon Tama Potaka, officially opened the $10 million National Refrigerant Destruction Facility – signalling a new era in addressing the environmental impact of New Zealand’s most potent greenhouse gases.
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.
Why the Iran war may have just killed the AI boom
Thu 26 Mar 2026
The $1.5 trillion in committed AI infrastructure spending by major tech companies is built on an assumption of a functional global supply chain, which the Iran conflict has fundamentally broken.
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.
Govt's $50m EV charging boost to double network
23 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | More than 2,500 new EV chargers are set to be rolled out across New Zealand, more than doubling the public network – but still leaving the total at less than half the Government's 10,000 target.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
6 Mar 2026
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
