Topics tagged with 'Biodiversity'
NZ to host major conference on oceans and climate change
Tue 26 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is set to host the world’s premier gathering of marine climate change scientists next year.
Toitū extending use of ETS forest carbon credits
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Carbon certifier Toitū Envirocare has walked back plans to stop accepting Emissions Trading Scheme credits for offsetting, because there is still a shortage of local carbon credits meeting international standards.
ETS a ‘broken paradigm’ undercutting biodiversity efforts
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Pure Advantage is calling on the government to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme, with a new policy briefing saying that New Zealand’s offset-heavy approach is a “broken paradigm” undermining biodiversity and shifting risk to communities.
Food waste plant proposed for Blenheim landfill
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter | Forget turning metal into gold, the Marlborough Research Centre thinks it can make millions turning the region’s food waste into fertiliser and animal feed.
Bolivia will choose a new president but environmental activists see little hope of progress
22 Aug 2025
Many Indigenous and environmental leaders doubt the election will bring progress in stopping deforestation, wildfires or pollution in the Amazon.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Kāpiti group plants new Miyawaki forest
18 Aug 2025
A new tiny forest in Waikanae has been successfully planted and is expected to absorb up to 30–40 times more carbon than conventional plantings.
'Cali Fund’ for nature still empty as emails show industry hesitation
8 Aug 2025
A major fund for biodiversity remains starved of resources more than five months after its launch – with no money yet put forward by the large companies who could contribute.
Taking NZ biodiversity to the world
6 Aug 2025
Media release | Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari and Ekos are making history by launching New Zealand biodiversity and conservation into the global marketplace.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Climate change policy growing concern for farming sector
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While farmer confidence has hit an eight-year high, concerns about climate change policy and the Emissions Trading Scheme are growing in New Zealand’s rural sector, according to Federated Farmers.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Wilding pines threaten Molesworth Station
28 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Without increased support, the unchecked spread of wilding pines will continue to creep across Marlborough’s high country – putting iconic landscapes and one of New Zealand’s top five biodiversity hotspots at serious risk, according to an expert.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
Markets aren't going to save us – Carr
9 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumerism is reaching its ecological and economic limits, and only systemic change - not market tweaks - can steer us away from climate catastrophe, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Unlocking economic growth on conservation land
9 Jul 2025
Media release - New Zealand Government | A targeted effort to reduce the backlog of applications for use of conservation land is accelerating economic growth without compromising conservation values, says Conservation Minister Tama Potaka.
Experts question business case for nature credits as European Union publishes plan
9 Jul 2025
To protect and restore nature, the world needs to spend $700bn a year, says the Global Biodiversity Framework. The European Commission on Monday published a plan for how nature credits can play their role in boosting biodiversity funds.
In Latin America, the energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits
8 Jul 2025
A new report shows that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Biodiversity plan is ‘light on detail and heavy on vague intentions’
1 Jul 2025
Media Release - WWF New Zealand | The government’s plan to tackle Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis lacks ambition and fails to match the scale and urgency of the challenge.
IRD will stop using wetland destruction in ‘how-to’ for claiming expenses
27 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Environmental organisation Forest & Bird has welcomed the Inland Revenue’s decision to stop using wetland destruction as an example of a tax-deductible agricultural expense in future guidance.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Could an unexplained carbon forest sink solve govt’s billion-dollar climate woes?
23 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | A groundbreaking study shows that New Zealand’s native forests are absorbing far more carbon dioxide than previously thought.
Govt hopes to lure international investors with nature credits
19 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is hoping its support for a biodiversity credits market in New Zealand will see at least $20 million of investment stay in the country.
Biodiversity market needs govt regulation to avoid fraud risk
17 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Participants have applauded the government’s pilot programme for New Zealand’s voluntary biodiversity market, but an expert says the emerging market needs better regulation to avoid reputational risk and fraud.
Forestry consents and relaxed rules in erosion zones sow seeds of future disaster
13 Jun 2025
OPINION: The government’s move to restrict exotic forestry on our best food-growing soils will push even more forestry investment onto high erosion risk land on the East Coast, with the worst land becoming the only land left for the most intensive and destructive land use, writes Manu Caddie
'Time is right' for nature credits
13 Jun 2025
Media release | Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari and Ekos are thrilled to be partnering with central government on the development of a voluntary Nature Credits Market pilot programme, announced by Associate Minister for the Environment Andrew Hoggard yesterday.
Pará’s Amazon forest carbon deal in doubt as prosecutors move to block it
13 Jun 2025
The Brazilian state’s contract with foreign governments and companies has run into trouble over concerns it was premature and agreed without consulting Indigenous communities.
Rapid action vital following UN Ocean Conference – experts
12 Jun 2025
New Zealand-based experts are calling for rapid and transformative action to restore nature - and our relationship with it - at the third UN Ocean Conference in France this week.
IRD offers tax tips for destroying precious wetlands
12 Jun 2025
Media release | Forest & Bird is asking Inland Revenue Te Tari Taake whether the fines for illegally draining a wetland are also tax deductible, after the department published a "how-to" on claiming expenses for destroying critical habitats.
Microplastics found in sand on dozens of NZ beaches
4 Jun 2025
Scientists have extracted microplastics from the sand of 22 beaches from the Far North to Banks Peninsula.
Govt's RMA overhaul sparks fears for nature and climate
30 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has opened public consultation on the biggest overhaul of environmental planning rules in New Zealand’s history, with critics warning it puts nature and climate at risk in favour of fast-tracked development and industry expansion.
Urban rewilding combats global biodiversity decline
28 May 2025
Media release | A new study led by the University of Sydney reveals how cities around the world are restoring wildlife to their former habitats in the face of ongoing urban sprawl.
Govt budgets $200m for would-be gas investors
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | Energy Resources Aotearoa has welcomed the government's plan to co-invest $200 million in fossil gas expansion, while environmental and climate groups have reacted with horror.
Nature is not an economic handbrake: Environmental Defence Society
16 May 2025
Nature is not a handbrake on economic growth – the two must go hand in hand, attendees heard on the final day of the Environmental Defence Society’s Dollars and Sense conference this week.
Forest & Bird slams govt’s biodiversity priorities
13 May 2025
The country’s biggest environmental organisation is questioning the government’s biodiversity strategy after the announcement yesterday that the government was moving to provide protected status to a feral pest.
EU farm plan: More cash for disaster relief and looser green rules
12 May 2025
Proposals to slash red tape risk clashing with earlier recommendations to make farming more resilient.
Ambitious goal for predator free 2050 within reach?
8 May 2025
A discussion document on the Predator Free 2050 programme says it has an ambitious goal to eradicate possums, rats and mustelids from our country, but that some of the programme’s goals are not currently plausible.
Green Party plans to bring back industry decarbonisation fund
6 May 2025
The Greens want to bring back the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund and use it to kickstart sustainable forestry for building and fuel.
Govt releases proposals to fund biodiversity
5 May 2025
The government is looking for ways to increase revenue and non-government funding for biodiversity, and is consulting on proposals including developing a new revenue model for accessing public conservation areas, as well as a system for nature-based financial disclosures, reporting and investment.
Media round-up
2 May 2025
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: Ministers rejected advice advice to take a hard look at hundreds of millions of dollars in 'climate grants' to big polluters; more sea snakes could show up on New Zealand beaches thanks to climate change; and shifting more freight from trucks to trains has numerous benefits including cuts emissions, so why aren't we doing it?
Where Labor and the Coalition stand on nature and environment policies this federal election
2 May 2025
So what are political parties offering when it comes to our nature laws?
Global livestock industry exposed for rampant rainforest destruction, despite no-deforestation pledges
23 Apr 2025
Media release | Greenpeace Aotearoa says a new investigation revealing that the world’s largest meat company, JBS, will fail to meet its deforestation-free commitment is yet more proof of false promises from the intensive livestock industry.
Environment Court rules Mackenzie biodiversity deserves bespoke protection
17 Apr 2025
Media release | In a decision years in the making, the Environment Court has upheld EDS’s contention that Te Manahuna / the Mackenzie Basin’s significant ecology and indigenous biodiversity warrants a bespoke planning regime to protect it from farming intensification.
Environmental group takes legal action against Shane Jones for failure to protect dolphins
14 Apr 2025
The Environmental Law Initiative is taking legal action against Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones for what it says is a failure to adequately protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins.
New Zealand’s glacier volume down 42% since 2005
14 Apr 2025
Media release | Total glacier ice volumes in Aotearoa New Zealand decreased by 42 percent between 2005 and 2023, according to figures released by Stats NZ.
'Don't tinker with the ETS': forestry groups
10 Apr 2025
Foresters have hit back against the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s call to remove forestry from the Emissions Trading Scheme, saying the move would threaten New Zealand’s climate goals.
East Coast advocates join calls to take forestry out of the ETS
10 Apr 2025
Sustainable land-use advocates in Tairāwhiti are demanding immediate government action on the Environment Commissioner's recommendation to phase forestry out of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Are New Zealanders anti-climate?
Fri 29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A global study claims New Zealanders have relatively anti-climate attitudes due New Zealand's "stable" climate belief systems – but one expert argues Kiwis accept the reality of climate change.
Greenpeace to forge ahead with legal fight after Fonterra sale
Thu 28 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greenpeace says its greenwashing lawsuit against Fonterra will continue, despite the dairy giant selling off its consumer brands.
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.
Flying still cheaper than trains on most EU routes, study finds
Mon 25 Aug 2025
If you thought European cross-border train journeys might finally be easier on the wallet than flights, think again.
Media round-up
15 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Australia could be about to leapfrog New Zealand on climate targets; 'strangled' rivers are fighting back; and 10 rangatahi will join Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation at the United Nations' major climate conference in Brazil.
Carbon market still weak despite govt confirming tighter auction supply
Thu 28 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government’s commitment to keeping Emissions Trading Scheme auction volumes tight to 2030 has done little to buoy carbon prices, with an underwhelming response from the market following last week’s announcement.
Scientists hail major breakthrough in developing holy grail of renewable energy: artificial photosynthesis
Fri 29 Aug 2025
New discovery addresses one of biggest obstacles to artificial photosynthesis – a technology long seen as a potential source of carbon-neutral fuels.
‘Problems looming’ for Govt's key climate tool
22 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | There are serious unresolved issues for the Emissions Trading Scheme which mean it could become unstable and ineffective at driving emissions reductions, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
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.”
Toitū extending use of ETS forest carbon credits
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Carbon certifier Toitū Envirocare has walked back plans to stop accepting Emissions Trading Scheme credits for offsetting, because there is still a shortage of local carbon credits meeting international standards.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
Fri 29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Media round-up
Fri 29 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Changes to road user charges will increase New Zealand's emissions; Climate Change Minister Simon Watts promises better access to hazard data for homeowners; and Kiwis borrow over $1 billion in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars.
NZ to host major conference on oceans and climate change
Tue 26 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is set to host the world’s premier gathering of marine climate change scientists next year.
ETS a ‘broken paradigm’ undercutting biodiversity efforts
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Pure Advantage is calling on the government to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme, with a new policy briefing saying that New Zealand’s offset-heavy approach is a “broken paradigm” undermining biodiversity and shifting risk to communities.
Profound shifts in our changing energy system – new data
Wed 27 Aug 2025
New Zealand’s energy system is undergoing a profound shift as falling gas production and a dry hydro year reshaped the electricity market in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Energy in New Zealand 2025.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Banking competition report steers clear of ‘woke’ farm lending
Mon 25 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | A report into banking competition has largely rejected arguments from some farming lobbyists that climate change considerations should play no part in bank lending decisions.
Hotter, longer, more frequent: NZ’s escalating heat risk
Tue 26 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Heat extremes in New Zealand will intensify faster than previously thought, according to a new study.
How the meat industry uses environmental groups to make beef seem climate-friendly
11 Aug 2025
The meat industry may have enlisted environmental groups to persuade people to “feel better” about eating beef, despite the sector’s ballooning emissions of climate-heating pollution.
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Rising cost of insurance prompts call for action on affordability and climate risks
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Media release | Consumer NZ releases a sobering report that highlights how house insurance is becoming increasingly out of reach for New Zealanders.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
Thu 28 Aug 2025
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
Coal mining company continuing with fast-track plans despite costly protest
22 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A marathon 23-day coal bucket occupation protesting Bathurst Resources' plan to mine the Denniston Plateau ended on Tuesday, when Climate Liberation Aotearoa activists Rachel Andrews and Tāmati Taptiklis climbed down from the 80-metre high Stockton mine ropeway and were taken into custody.
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.
Marae resilience research takes global stage
Fri 29 Aug 2025
Media release | University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau | Marae are central hubs for whānau, hapū, and iwi across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Media round-up
22 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The climate advice the government didn't want you to see; New Zealand's groundbreaking climate law has become ‘a shell’; and could the Electricity Authority be about to inadvertently increase power prices?
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Failed plastic treaty 'significant disappointment'
18 Aug 2025
The failure of negotiations on a legally-binding global plastics treaty is a "significant disappointment," but no treaty is still better than a weak one, according to a New Zealand expert.
Scientists give harsh grades to Trump administration work aimed at undoing a key climate finding
Fri 29 Aug 2025
Two key documents from the Trump administration aimed at revoking the long-standing finding that climate change is dangerous were filled with errors, bias and distortions, according to dozens of scientists surveyed by The Associated Press.
Activists facing intimidation tactics at Bathurst mine
19 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Liberation Aotearoa activists suspended 80m high in a coal bucket at a the Stockton mine on the West Coast say coal mining company Bathurst Resources is using ‘hostile’ tactics to try and remove them.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
New supercomputer 'critical' to tackling climate change impacts
Thu 28 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Earth Sciences New Zealand's new $35 million supercomputer will provide earlier and more frequent forecasts, as well as assess climate change impact to help understand New Zealand’s weather under long-term environmental shifts.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
The quest to turn e-waste into metals
Tue 26 Aug 2025
Media release – University of Auckland | William Sheard is on a quest to turn electronic waste into metals.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
Mind if I plug in my cruise ship?
Fri 29 Aug 2025
Seattle is the first U.S. port where cruise ships can plug into the grid at all berths, allowing vessels to idle without running their engines –– and reducing emissions by 66 percent.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
Proposal hikes Nelson landfill gate fees
Fri 29 Aug 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | The cost of recycling is driving up landfill dumping costs in Nelson where gate fees are proposed to be hiked by $45 per tonne.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Ørsted shares at all-time low after Trump halts work on US windfarm
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Shares drop by 17% after stop-work order on $1.5bn project off Rhode Island, which was 80% complete.
