Topics tagged with 'Carbon Credits'
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
10 YEARS AGO...
5 May 2021
Ten years ago, forestry planting was at an historic low due to uncertainty around the ETS.
10 YEARS AGO...
4 May 2021
Ten years ago, the European Commission announced how free carbon credits would be distributed among industry.
Building material suppliers may have to provide embodied carbon information
30 Apr 2021
In future, building material suppliers could be required to include information on the embodied carbon in the products they’re selling.
California's forestry offsetting adding millions of tonnes of C02 to atmosphere
30 Apr 2021
New research shows that California’s climate policy created up to 39 million carbon credits that aren’t achieving real carbon savings. But companies can buy these forest offsets to justify polluting more anyway
Best by the rest...
29 Apr 2021
Our weekly roundup of notable climate change stories featured in the local media, includes: a survey that shows most Kiwis back the ClimCom recommendations; an call for indigenous people to lead the way in climate talks, and a deep dive into Fonterra's emissions.
10 YEARS AGO...
29 Apr 2021
TEN YEARS AGO, a panel reviewing the ETS was considering whether to ban gas credits generated from the destruction of HFC23 and nitrous oxide from industrial plants.
Is NZ’s carbon price too low?
28 Apr 2021
With Europe’s ETS price per unit hitting an all-time high of €47.30, or NZ$79.36, yesterday, New Zealand’s current price of under $40 a tonne is looking on the low side.
‘Blue carbon’ credits could help restore ecosystems
27 Apr 2021
Seagrasses, mangrove forests, and wetlands store tons of carbon. But can a market based on regrowing them avoid the pitfalls that plague land-based programs?
EU carbon prices hit all-time high
23 Apr 2021
EU carbon allowance prices hit an all-time high of over Eur47/mt April 22 as bullish mood continued in the market in the wake of the EU's informal agreement on a revamped 2030 emissions reduction goal.
Ardern should tackle issue of growth at summit
21 Apr 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - In meeting virtually with President Joe Biden and 39 other world leaders, PM Jacinda Ardern should press home the need to confront the current global economic model based on limitless growth. ‘It has failed us,’ says Wise Response chair, Prof. Liz Slooten.
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.
New book explores climate change in Aotearoa
20 Apr 2021
In the final chapter of the just released Climate Aotearoa, Adelia Hallett argues that there are two things that we need to do urgently: “stop burning fossil fuels, and look after nature. Because there are no technological silver bullets on the horizon to save us. We have to work with what we’ve got in front of us now.”
Investors pressure Toyota over climate stance
20 Apr 2021
Japan's Toyota Motor signalled a shift in its climate change stance on Monday (Apr 19), saying it would review its lobbying and be more transparent on what steps it is taking as it faces increased activist and investor pressure.
Shell offsets emissions with efficient stoves in Africa
19 Apr 2021
Sustainable energy services provider C-Quest Capital has signed a deal with Shell Eastern Trading to fund the generation of more than 60 million carbon credits using clean cookstoves in Africa.
Call to return one million hectares of marginal land to native bush
16 Apr 2021
Forest and Bird is calling on the government to return a million hectares of marginal land to native bush in the wake a Ministry of the Environment report showing native eco-systems continuing to shrink.
Asia pushes ahead on carbon markets
16 Apr 2021
Despite the economic challenges posed by Covid-19, the past year was marked by a growing number of pledges from Asian countries to reach carbon neutrality.
10 YEARS AGO...
15 Apr 2021
Ten years ago, Carbon News was reporting the ETS had failed to boost forest planting.
10 YEARS AGO...
14 Apr 2021
Ten years ago, NZ was on target to meet its Kyoto targets (a truly distant memory.)
Report calls for end of carbon gluttony
14 Apr 2021
The world’s wealthy must radically change their lifestyles to tackle climate change, a report says.
New climate indices launched
14 Apr 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - Scientific Beta launches unique series of pure climate indices that translates companies' climate performance and alignment engagement into portfolio decisions
AA calls for ETS revenues to be spent on green transport solutions
13 Apr 2021
The AA has called on the government to spend revenue raised from the ETS on reducing transport emissions or mitigating the effects of climate change.
10 YEARS AGO...
12 Apr 2021
Ten years ago, a trader was warning the price of NZUs could crash as a result of credits result from the destruction of nitrous oxide and other gases being banned from Europe's ETS.
15000 ClimCom submissions
9 Apr 2021
Just over a week since submissions closed on the Climate Change Commission’s first draft advice to the Government, the commission says it is making good progress on reviewing feedback.
10 YEARS AGO...
8 Apr 2021
Ten years ago, the Government issued more than nine million carbon credits to the owners of post-1989 forests.
Where £100 can make you a solar entrepreneur
8 Apr 2021
In Bath, England, even the smallest investors can support – and profit from – the city’s green energy boom.
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.
UK groups demand peat compost ban
7 Apr 2021
The UK government must ban the sales of peat compost this year after its goal of a voluntary phaseout by 2020 proved an “abject failure”, according to a group of gardening experts, conservationists and scientists.
Tyre burner cements in emissions cuts
30 Mar 2021
Greenhouse gas emissions at New Zealand’s only cement-manufacturing plant will be cut by 13,000 tonnes a year – and it’s all down to tyres.
What lobby groups are asking supporters to say
23 Mar 2021
Lobby groups from Greenpeace to the Taxpayers’ Union are encouraging supporters to make submissions on the ClimCom draft report by using their templates and suggested talking points.
SHAW: No point ignoring ClimCom's views on prices
22 Mar 2021
Climate Minister James Shaw appears likely to back any recommendation from the Climate Change Commission to increase price controls in Government auctions of carbon credits.
First carbon auction clears at $36
17 Mar 2021
The first Government auction of carbon credits today saw all 4.75 million NZUs sell at $36.
Parliament passes reserve price provision
10 Mar 2021
The first Government auction of carbon credits will go ahead next week with a confidential reserve price in place.
Super-registry to keep market honest
10 Mar 2021
A planned meta-registry will help stop double-dipping on carbon credits, its developer says.
GENESIS: Reserve price will distort the market
9 Mar 2021
Including a confidential reserve price in next week’s Government auction of carbon credits could distort the carbon market, says one of the country’s largest emitters.
NZUs should be more than $100, MPs told
8 Mar 2021
An umbrella group representing more than 50 environmental organisations says NZUs would trading at more than $100 if the Government set more environmentally realistic limits on the number of units available.
Beef & Lamb: Bring on the carbon credits
2 Mar 2021
The sheep-and-beef industry says a Government report recognising carbon storage on farms is significant – especially if it opens the door to collecting carbon credits from mature native forests.
FRIDAY POLITICS: Collins embraces the ETS
26 Feb 2021
National Party leader Judith Collins seems to have abandoned her dismissal of the need for urgent action on climate change – and found a love for the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Russian region launches carbon trading plan
22 Feb 2021
In Russia's remote far east, authorities have launched an unexpected experiment: an effort to try out carbon trading and reach net-zero planet-heating emissions by 2025.
Proving that taking care of forest pays carbon dividends
18 Feb 2021
New Zealand’s vast native forests may yet help the country meet its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Sign up for first carbon auction now
18 Feb 2021
The Government’s new carbon-auctioning website is live.
Let's think big, Germany tells US and China
16 Feb 2021
Germany wants Europe and the United States to strengthen transatlantic ties with a trade deal to abolish industrial tariffs, a WTO reform to increase pressure on China and a joint carbon-emission trading system to protect the climate.
MARKET LATESTl NZUs $39.10
10 Feb 2021
Spot NZUs opened at $38.60 bid and $39.60 offered on CommTrade this morning, after last fixing at $39.10.
Technical reserve law before Parliament
5 Feb 2021
A law change to stop carbon credits being sold in Government auctions at well below secondary-market prices has made it into Parliament.
Confusion over ETS rules is holding us back, says farmer
3 Feb 2021
Wairarapa farmer Mike Ashby feels the Government’s 2025 deadline for bringing agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme hanging over his head like a Sword of Damocles.
UPDATE: Climate commission's proposals for the ETS
31 Jan 2021
Price controls in New Zealand’s new carbon-auctioning regime could rise sharply next year if the Government acts on draft recommendations from the Climate Change Commission.
$50 is not a price cap, says NZX
29 Jan 2021
Domestic carbon prices could go above $50 a tonne even if the new cost-containment reserve is triggered.
Auction platform passes first test
28 Jan 2021
New Zealand’s new carbon-auctioning seems to be working smoothly.
EDITORIAL: It's about to get real
26 Jan 2021
Welcome to 2021 – the year in which we will get our first hard look at the size of the job in front of us.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
Today 11:45am
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
Govt passes law to limit farm-to-forest conversions
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has passed legislation intended to limit farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme, with ministers saying the changes “restore balance,” while opponents call it a band-aid that risks climate targets.
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.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
UK foreign aid for nature hits £800m record due to cash for carbon credits
Tue 16 Sep 2025
The UK’s climate-aid spending on “nature protection and restoration” reached record levels of nearly £800m last year, according to government figures obtained by Carbon Brief.
Researchers say sealing old oil wells with bio-oil from crop waste is a dual carbon-removal solution
Today 11:45am
A new analysis shows that oil made from corn husks, wood chips, and other waste could plug greenhouse gas-belching abandoned oil wells while sequestering carbon for about $152 per ton.
EU set to miss UN deadline for new target under Paris climate accord
Today 11:45am
The delay is intended to allow countries more time to agree to an ambitious goal.
Carbon price steady after failed quarterly auction
Tue 16 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to trade in its familiar moribund range in the high $50s following last week’s failed quarterly auction, with ample supply still trading on the secondary market at about $10 below this year’s $68 auction floor.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
Mon 15 Sep 2025
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
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.”
Watts not considering removing electricity from ETS
Tue 16 Sep 2025
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Simon Watts, says he is “not currently considering” removing electricity generation from the Emissions Trading Scheme, as proposed by NZ First Minister Shane Jones.
Gentailers told to behave as ministers weigh Frontier review
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The chief executives of Contact, Meridian, Mercury and Genesis met Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts on Thursday for their regular monthly session.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
Thu 18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
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
Australia leapfrogs NZ on climate ambition
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action say Australia’s new 2035 climate target should be a wake-up call for ‘clean, green’ New Zealand.
Exxon and Shell sue the Netherlands in secret tribunals for closing Europe’s biggest gas field
Today 11:45am
Following billions in profits and over a thousand gas extraction-related earthquakes, the oil and gas giants filed claims against the Dutch state in four separate investor-state disputes concerning compensation for home damages and the permanent closure of the Groningen gas field.
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.
Why mega-polluters have little to fear from the European Central Bank and its new climate policy
12 Sep 2025
The European Central Bank plans to raise borrowing costs for climate offenders – but a new FTM analysis shows that big polluters such as Shell will barely feel it.
Science cuts will hold back climate research
Wed 17 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | A crisis in government-backed science funding is worsening, with dire implications for climate research in New Zealand, according to experts from the scientific community.
Media round-up
5 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The great methane debate; law change scuppers legal challenge to irrigation scheme consent; and what are the energy and climate implications of the $7.5 billion Amazon Web Services data centre deal?
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
Media round-up
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.
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.
Young activists won a landmark state climate trial. Now they’re challenging Trump’s orders
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Young climate activists and their attorneys who won a landmark global warming trial against the state of Montana are trying to convince a federal judge to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders promoting fossil fuels.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
Govt tweaks offshore energy bill with 'declared areas' model
Wed 17 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is making changes to the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to address offshore wind developers' concerns about competing for space with other industries.
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.
A steady ocean pattern just failed for the first time ever observed
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The failure of the Gulf of Panama’s seasonal upwelling system has left scientists wondering what happens next.
Australia's 2035 climate targets on path to net zero judged by the experts
Today 11:45am
After much anticipation, Australia has set its new climate targets: a reduction of 62 to 70 per cent within the next 10 years.
‘Plastic Cup’ competitions are cleaning up rivers in Hungary
1 Sep 2025
Afloat on DIY boats, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube and its tributaries.
Can certificates solve NZ's heavy vehicle emissions problem?
Thu 18 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Sustainable Business Council has launched a new framework for a national system to cut freight emissions.
Climate change collaboration and competition law
Thu 18 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The revamped competition law regime needs to be able to take into account the benefits of companies that collaborate for action on climate change, says the panel that reviewed both the Commerce Commission and the Commerce Act.
Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says
8 Sep 2025
Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate.
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.
One city’s race to ‘solarise everything we possibly can’
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Bordeaux is quickly transforming itself into France’s top solar-powered city, banking on innovations like transparent panels that preserve its historic architecture.
Turning squashed bugs into climate change data
Today 11:45am
Media release: University of Auckland | What if the insects you hit with your car could contribute to research on climate change?
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’.
Ara Ake backs 13 projects to unlock NZ’s energy flexibility
11 Sep 2025
Media release | Ara Ake has approved over $600,000 in funding from the National Flex Discovery Fund for 13 flexibility service providers (FSPs).
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.
Most EU carmakers on track to meet emission targets: study
10 Sep 2025
Almost all European carmakers are on track to meet EU emission targets after winning a reprieve this year as electric vehicles (EV) sales pick up, a study showed.
Echo Tech secures growth investment to tackle NZ's e-waste crisis
Mon 15 Sep 2025
Media release | Echo Tech Limited, New Zealand’s leading provider of e-waste recycling and IT asset recovery services, is proud to announce a strategic investment from growth equity firm Altered Capital.
La Niña set to prolong NZ hydro shortfall
9 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With La Niña favouring a drier-than-normal spring across much of the South Island, hydro lakes are unlikely to recover without substantial rain and late snowmelt – keeping national storage levels below average.
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.
Which countries are scaling solar and wind the fastest?
12 Sep 2025
The leaderboard is quite different depending on what metric you look at.
