Topics tagged with 'Carbon Credits'
Govt proposes excluding permanent exotic forests from ETS
3 Mar 2022
The government has released a discussion document that proposes removing exotic forests – such as pinus radiata – from being registered under the permanent post-1989 category of New Zealand’s Emission Trading Scheme
Carbon correction
28 Feb 2022
After reaching a high of $86.25 on the spot market earlier this month, NZUs closed at $80.75 on Friday.
Island states meet to discuss suing Global North over climate change
21 Feb 2022
Leaders of small island nations met on Tuesday to discuss suing countries in the Global North for the damage caused by emissions.
Carbon farmers could “walk away” from liabilities: report warns
17 Feb 2022
A discussion document, funded by farming groups and councils, is warning investors could plant pinus radiata at high density for carbon only yields and then "walk away" from their emission liabilities (and pest, disease and fire risk) by winding up their limited liability companies.
Aboriginal group launches new carbon farming body
11 Feb 2022
A new Indigenous carbon farming body has today been launched, with the aim of assisting native title groups and Aboriginal leaseholders to enter carbon markets.
ANZ economist warns of price volatility in carbon market
8 Feb 2022
ANZ agricultural economist Susan Kilsby has warned that the price of carbon "could move sharply in either direction" in an in-depth backgrounder on New Zealand's carbon market.
10 YEARS AGO...
31 Jan 2022
Ten years ago, the government said it was considering reducing the number of carbon credits allowed into the NZ ETS, as carbon prices continued to drop in Europe.
Number of NZUs entering ETS could be cut
26 Jan 2022
The number of NZUs on offer could be reduced in the future to take account of the extra units entering the system through the cost containment reserve mechanism, climate change minister James Shaw says.
The rise of voluntary carbon markets
26 Jan 2022
The voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) are poised for explosive growth in 2022. At the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow, 632 of the world's largest 2000 public companies by revenue had announced plans to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
10 YEARS AGO...
24 Jan 2022
Ten years ago, the price of carbon was crashing internationally as a result of an oversupply in Europe and uncertainty over the future of the Kyoto Protocol. A tonne of carbon in Europe could be bought for less than NZ$6 compared to around NZ$150 now.
ETS revenue should be returned to the people: NZ Initiative
17 Dec 2021
The government is missing a chance to make the ETS progressive by not returning its revenues to ordinary New Zealanders in the form of a dividend, NZ Initiative economist Matt Burgess says.
10 YEARS AGO...
17 Dec 2021
Ten years ago, a group of countries at the Durban COP committed to adopting a legally binding agreement to keep the average global temperature rise to below 2 degrees by no later than 2015.
Aussie carbon price outpacing house gains
13 Dec 2021
On Woomargama station 50 km north of Albury on the NSW-Victorian border, Clare Cannon is excited about the future.
Carbon trading gets a green light from the U.N., and Brazil hopes to earn billions
7 Dec 2021
Carbon emissions trading is poised to go global, and billions of dollars — maybe even trillions — could be at stake. That's thanks to last month's U.N. climate summit in Glasgow Scotland, which approved a new international trading system where companies pay for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions somewhere else, rather than doing it themselves.
Corporations are turning to forest credits in the race to go 'carbon-neutral.' Advocates worry about 'greenwashing.'
6 Dec 2021
In the forests of Guatemala, China and Scotland, oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is planting tens of thousands of trees that suck greenhouse gas out of the air, allowing customers who buy its fuel to claim their driving is carbon-neutral — at least on paper.
NZ ETS Look-Up tables should be altered to include planted native forests: Pure Advantage
3 Dec 2021
New research by environmental group Pure Advantage shows that the difference in carbon sequestration rates of pine and planted native forests is much less than previously thought.
Is colonial history repeating itself with Sabah forest carbon deal?
2 Dec 2021
To the surprise of Indigenous and local communities, a huge forest carbon conservation agreement was recently signed in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.
ETS auction clears at $68
1 Dec 2021
THE final NZ ETS auction of the year cleared at a price of $68 today.
Where to now for the price of carbon?
30 Nov 2021
In contrast to some offshore markets where carbon prices have surged to all time highs following COP26, in New Zealand they’ve plateaued at around $65.
Polluters face price pain as global carbon trading system moves forward
22 Nov 2021
A Cop26 breakthrough means emissions trading schemes can work together worldwide with less fear of being gamed.
Half-baked carbon market rules fail to take heat off the climate: Carbon Market Watch
15 Nov 2021
After over five years of dithering and two weeks of intensive negotiations, the world’s governments settled on slimmed-down ground rules for carbon markets under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.
Bornean communities locked into 2-million-hectare carbon deal they don’t know about
11 Nov 2021
Leaders in Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, have signed a profit-sharing deal to market carbon and other natural capital from more than 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of the state’s forests for at least the next 100 years. But the communities living in and around those forests know next to nothing about it.
ClimCom looking into potential farm subsidies
9 Nov 2021
The Climate Change Commission is looking into what, if any, assistance should be provided to farmers to meet the costs of an agriculture pricing scheme.
On forestry, COP26 must avoid double counting of carbon removals: scientist
28 Oct 2021
Global leaders must not allow the double counting of emissions removals from forestry during negotiations at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, says Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele.
US carbon markets set for record year
21 Oct 2021
US carbon exchanges will easily hit record volumes this year, in part because of recent record highs but also due to new entrants into the market.
How trading CO2 could save the climate or not: BBC
20 Oct 2021
For its proponents, a global carbon market could significantly reduce the world's carbon emissions. But its critics say that giving polluters the option to pay for their emissions is not the answer to climate change.
"Udder bullshit", leave it to the ETS, way to go: lobby groups respond to ERP
14 Oct 2021
Yesterday’s release of a discussion document on the government’s Emissions Reduction Plan has resulted in a flood of press releases. The verdicts range from “udder bullshit” and leave to the ETS to you’re on the right track but you’re not going fast enough.
Switzerland forms two more Article 6 agreements
14 Oct 2021
Switzerland's federal government today gave the green light to two agreements on the basis of Article 6 of the Paris climate agreement with Georgia and Dominica.
Govt proposes allowing more emissions in the short-term and steeper cuts in the future
13 Oct 2021
THE government is proposing increasing the emissions budget recommended by the Climate Change Commission for the 2022-25 period by 2 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalents, followed by cuts of 5Mt CO2e for the 2026-30 period, and 11 Mt CO2e in the 2031 – 31 period.
10 YEARS AGO...
13 Oct 2021
Ten years ago, an Australian forestry investors predicted there would be growing interest in our forest as carbon sinks from across the Tasman.
Spike in number of NZUs traded in September
11 Oct 2021
Last month there were 436 trades of NZUs on the secondary market compared to 195 in September 2020.
Two players bought nearly 60% of NZUs on offer at last ETS auction
8 Oct 2021
Two of the 77 participants in September’s ETS auction snaffled up a combined 56.8% of the 11.75 million NZUs on offer – which included the 7 million extra units released when the $50 cost containment reserve was breached
Carbon credit blockchain platform launched
5 Oct 2021
In a move that will be seen as ironic by some, a new tool allowing users to buy verified carbon credits on the blockchain has been launched in New Zealand.
Carbon offset market will grow 50 times to meet 2050 net-zero emissions goals: Bank of America
28 Sep 2021
The carbon offset market may grow by as much as 50 times if companies are going to meet their 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions goals, according to the Bank of America.
One in five Australian carbon credits junk: study
22 Sep 2021
About 20% of carbon credits created under the federal Coalition’s main climate change policy do not represent real cuts in carbon dioxide and are essentially “junk”, new research suggests.
First credits sold under Queensland's carbon scheme
22 Sep 2021
A central Queensland couple has become the first to sell carbon credits under the state government's Land Restoration Fund (LRF).
NZU stockpile grows
20 Sep 2021
The NZU stockpile has grown from 134.5 million in March to 138.4 million at the end of June, according to figures just released by the Environmental Protection Authority.
Price of carbon drives new forestry fund
13 Sep 2021
A new fund to finance the planting of pines trees on marginal agricultural land has been launched today.
Is the price of carbon beginning to bite?
9 Sep 2021
For years critics of the ETS said the price of NZUs were too low to make a difference. With NZUs smashing through the $65 mark, this week, that could be changing.
NZU price soars despite CCR “safety valve”
2 Sep 2021
If the purpose of the Cost Containment Reserve is to act as “a safety valve” to prevent NZU prices going significantly above the trigger price – it doesn't appear to be working.
NZU price crashes through CCR
1 Sep 2021
THE third NZ ETS auction cleared at $53.85 today - the first time the cost containment reserve has been breached.
Jump in number of non-obligatory players entering ETS
31 Aug 2021
Nearly two thirds of bids in the last ETS auction in June came from entities that didn’t have compliance obligations.
Carbon making good returns on the NZX
18 Aug 2021
New Zealand’s only carbon fund has more than trebled in size since the beginning of the year and is now worth close to $35 million.
NZ could be at forefront of blue carbon market: report
16 Aug 2021
Government support is needed if New Zealand is to position itself at the forefront of an emerging market in seaweed-based environmental services including ‘blue carbon’, a report released today says.
China's carbon market records its first cross-border deal
16 Aug 2021
Even as trading on China's national carbon market dwindled away in its first month to next to nothing, one sign of life emerged this week in the form of an unusual cross-border deal for a voluntary form of carbon emission credits.
NZUs set to cross the Rubicon
13 Aug 2021
The price of NZUs have been edging closer and closer to the $50 mark this week, with the spot price on both the Commtrade and Carbon Match secondary markets reaching $49.80 this morning.
US forest fires threaten carbon offsets
5 Aug 2021
Forests in the United States that generate the carbon offsets bought by companies including BP and Microsoft are on fire as summer blazes rage in North America.
Carbon accounting's dirty secret
5 Aug 2021
There’s a dirty secret of carbon accounting, and it could soon be exposed. That’s because the assumptions most companies base their calculations on could be wrong.
The huge sequestration potential of regenerative farming
23 Jul 2021
By some estimates, if the 1.2 billion acres of American agricultural land (more than half of the U.S. land base) transitioned towards regenerative farming practices, it could sequester up to 20 percent of the carbon required to reach the Biden administration's goal of fully offsetting America's carbon emissions by 2050.
China's carbon market tops 210 million yuan in first-day trading
19 Jul 2021
China's national carbon market, the largest emissions trading system in the world, made its debut on Friday with a turnover of 210 million yuan for carbon dioxide emissions on the first day
Governments must vote in favour of moratorium on deep sea mining
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Media release - Greenpeace | The 30th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has ended with Greenpeace saying governments are continuing to fall short in protecting the deep sea.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
Fri 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.
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.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
Tue 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.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
At least 30 killed and several missing as heavy rains and floods lash northern China
Today 11:45am
Thousands of people were evacuated as the region, including the capital Beijing, braced for more rainfall overnight.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
Today 11:45am
Bathurst Resources has been forced to truck coal from its Stockton mine as climate activists occupy coal buckets at the mine for a third day.
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?
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
Tue 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.
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.
A third of ‘slum residents’ in global south are exposed to disastrous flood risks
Today 11:45am
One in three people in informal settlements in the global south live in floodplains and are at risk of a “disastrous flood”.
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.
Wilding pines threaten Molesworth Station
Mon 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.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
SBTi releases Net Zero Standard for banks, investors
Thu 24 Jul 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative announced the release of its finalised Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, aimed at enabling banks and investors to set net zero-aligned targets for their lending, investing, insurance and capital markets activities.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Taranaki mayors want hydrogen kick-start from Wellington
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter Taranaki mayors want central government to partner up with their councils to kick-start a hydrogen industry. This despite ongoing questions about the gas’s effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
All aboard for passenger rail in the golden triangle
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Media release – The Future Is Rail | New Zealand’s national passenger rail advocacy group, The Future is Rail, has announced its strong support for the Green Party’s proposal to establish a new passenger rail service connecting Auckland and Tauranga.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Toxic algae are turning South Australia’s coral reefs into underwater graveyards
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia’s coastline.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
Thu 24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
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”.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
Media round-up
Fri 25 Jul 2025
In our round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Dairy conversions surge; Gore is hit with a drinking water crisis; meanwhile farming lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sector.
As US climate data-gathering is gutted, Australian forecasting is now at real risk
Today 11:45am
As damage from climate change intensifies, political change overseas is threatening Australia’s ability to track what’s happening now, and predict what will happen next.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
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.
China's carbon emissions may have peaked thanks to renewables push
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Climate experts say China's carbon emissions may have peaked, which could affect global climate targets, the fight against global warming – and the Australian coal industry.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
Fri 25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
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’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
