Topics tagged with 'Carbon Credits'
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.
Fuel industry leaders join Aussie emissions reduction panel
26 Jan 2021
Fossil-fuel industry leaders and a controversial economist have joined a committee responsible for ensuring the integrity of projects that get climate funding in Australia.
TEN YEARS AGO ...
26 Jan 2021
Ten years ago, hackers using a bomb scare as a diversion stole $15 million worth of carbon credits.
Auctioning system to be tested
13 Jan 2021
Simulated auctions of NZUs will be held on January 27 and 28 to test whether the country is ready for the new auctioning regime.
MARKEST LATEST: NZUs $37.62
23 Dec 2020
Spot NZUs opened at $37.50 bid and $37.75 offered on CommTrade this morning, after last fixing at $37.62.
Govt reverses decision on technical reserve
21 Dec 2020
The first Government auction of carbon credits, scheduled for March 17, will take place with a technical reserve price in place after all.
Auckland Council opens $1m Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund
4 Feb 2026
Community groups across Tāmaki Makaurau are being invited to apply for a new $1 million Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund, designed to support locally led action on climate change, disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
IPBES: Four key takeaways on how nature loss threatens the global economy
Wed 11 Feb 2026
The “undervaluing” of nature by businesses is fuelling its decline and putting the global economy at risk, according to a major new report.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
$8.9m research project to map future ocean change around Aotearoa
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The major research project aims to better understand how warming oceans are driving extreme weather events around New Zealand, from heavy rainfall to tropical cyclones.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
Australian ministers met Japanese gas companies 20 times amid fossil fuel lobbying push
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australian government ministers met Japanese gas company executives more than 20 times in the last term of parliament as Labor encouraged investment in the fossil fuel industry.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
US is canceling almost $30 billion in Biden-era energy loans
27 Jan 2026
The Trump administration said it’s canceling almost $30 billion of financing from the Energy Department’s green bank after reviewing transactions approved under former President Biden.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
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 turning point for our ocean: why the High Seas Treaty matters for the Pacific
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: UNDP | The global ratification of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty marks a decisive moment in international cooperation and ocean governance. Referred to as the High Seas Treaty, the agreement establishes a legally binding framework to protect marine biodiversity in areas of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction.
Out of Paris, but will the US formally quit the UN climate regime?
30 Jan 2026
The Trump administration has decided to withdraw the US from the broader UN climate convention, raising questions about the legality of the move and what it means in practice.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Rushed resource management reform bills unworkable: Environmental Defence Society
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Environmental Defence Society says significant amendments are needed to the government’s Natural Environment and Planning Bills, warning the proposed reforms risk weakening environmental limits, public participation, and regulatory certainty.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
Australia's renewables boom delivers coveted power price payoff
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australia's wholesale electricity prices fell to the lowest in four years in 2025, bucking the rising price trends seen elsewhere and validating claims that renewables-heavy power system overhauls can help lower consumer power costs.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
Vanuatu introduces draft UN resolution on ICJ demanding full climate compensation
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Media release: Vanuatu Government | Vanuatu has introduced the zero draft of a United Nations General Assembly resolution to endorse the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change, delivered on 23 July 2025.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
World's first 20 MW offshore wind turbine powers grid in China
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The world's most powerful offshore wind turbine has begun feeding electricity into the grid off the coast of southeast China, marking a major technological leap in the country's wind power industry.
