Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Economist proposes carbon backed currency
27 Jan 2022
With alternative coins flourishing and Central Banks designing their own digital currencies, there is a potential hard-backed currency which cannot be ignored: carbon. Using carbon to back a global currency would redistribute wealth, incentivize low carbon technology and avoid the environmental taxes which hit the world’s poor the hardest, writes Australian economist Steve Keen.
Net-zero transition will cost $275 trillion globally by 2050: McKinsey
26 Jan 2022
The net-zero transition will cost $275 trillion globally by 2050 as low-emission activities are ramped up and high-emissions activities decrease, according to a new report from consultancy McKinsey & Company.
Rich countries could slash agricultural emissions by 62% by eating less meat
26 Jan 2022
A move to reduce meat consumption could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 62% across the world’s 54 richest countries and free up enough land to store 100 billion tonnes of carbon, a new study concludes.
Norway underpaid Indonesia for forest protection results: study
26 Jan 2022
Norway’s scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation in Indonesia made only a tiny dent in meeting the nation’s climate target – but the forest nation deserved to have been paid more for it, a study has found.
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.
Texas and New Mexico methane leaks casuing as much climate pollution as 500,000 cars
26 Jan 2022
A survey of oil and gas facilities in Texas and New Mexico revealed 30 so-called “super-emitters,” which are leaking as much heat-trapping pollution as roughly half a million cars, according to a new report from Carbon Mapper and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Carbon capture: savior or a boondoggle?
26 Jan 2022
While much of President Joe Biden's climate change agenda has stalled in Congress, there is one nascent — and controversial — technology for reducing carbon emissions that has received billions in public funds in 2020 and 2021: Carbon capture.
'Fragile win' at COP26 summit under threat: Sharma
25 Jan 2022
COP26 President Alok Sharma has warned that progress made during the summit is at risk of "withering on the vine".
Shipping emissions rise 4.9% in 2021
25 Jan 2022
GLOBAL shipping’s carbon dioxide emissions posted year-on-year gains of 4.9% in 2021 and were higher than 2019, according to Simpson Spence & Young.
Slow phasing out of polluting cars a drag on China’s climate targets
25 Jan 2022
“There are 9-million bicycles in Beijing, that’s a fact.” The opening lyrics to that 2005 hit song was a conservative estimate back then, and today millions of those bicycles have been replaced by planet-warming cars.
Scientists warn climate change could unleash ‘rivers in the sky’
25 Jan 2022
The planet’s warming climate could intensify ‘rivers in the sky’ over East Asia, scientists have warned.
What will it take to shrink the carbon footprint of health care
25 Jan 2022
One of the most instantly recognisable emblems of the past pandemic year is the discarded surgical mask: ground into mud at the edge of a walking path, caught in the branches of a tree, tangled around a seabird’s legs. Thanks to the pandemic, the waste and disposability associated with modern healthcare are more visible to the public than ever before.
Why the price of Australian carbon credits has tripled in the past year
24 Jan 2022
AFTER years of hovering around the same price, the value of Australia’s carbon credits has skyrocketed – tripling in the past year.
Shell’s massive carbon capture plant emits more than it captures
24 Jan 2022
A first-of-its-kind “green” Shell facility in Alberta is emitting more greenhouse gases than it’s capturing, throwing into question whether taxpayers should be funding it, a new report has found
First battery-powered train to start trial operations in German regional transport
24 Jan 2022
Together with French manufacturer Alstom, German railway company Deutsche Bahn is going to start trial runs with the country’s first battery-powered passenger train.
World's first hydrogen tanker to ship test cargo to Japan from Australia
24 Jan 2022
A Japanese-Australian venture producing hydrogen from brown coal is set to start loading its maiden cargo on the world's first liquid hydrogen carrier on Friday, in a test delayed by nearly a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada's biggest climate polluters pay lowest carbon price
24 Jan 2022
On its tar sands in northern Alberta, Suncor Energy scrapes vast open-pit mines and drills down deep into the ground to extract the viscous bitumen that has turned it into one of the largest energy companies in North America. The process is so energy-intensive that it has also made the firm into Canada’s largest carbon emitter: it belches roughly 28 million tonnes into the atmosphere every year, equivalent to the entire emissions of Tunisia.
Climate-adaptation funds have not reached half of ‘most vulnerable’ nations
24 Jan 2022
Many countries in Africa and those experiencing armed conflict are struggling to access money set aside to prepare them for climate change, according to new research.
How climate change has altered Christmas
24 Dec 2021
While Hollywood's depiction of a white Christmas might be the northern hemisphere ideal, for many around the world the holiday is celebrated in very different weather. But, climate change is threatening both winter wonderlands and warmer Christmas traditions.
What is 'youthwashing' and is it dangerous for the climate movement?
24 Dec 2021
From protests to policy meetings, panels and public events, young people’s voices seem more prominent than ever on the global climate stage.
“We’re no longer totally f$%@ed. But we’re also far from totally unf$@%*ed!”
24 Dec 2021
Princeton energy researcher Jesse Jenkins accurately, and colorfully, pinpointed the weird moment we’ve arrived at in a recent tweet: “We’re no longer totally f$%@ed. But we’re also far from totally unf$@%*ed!”
Ozone-destroying greenhouse gas emissions from China increased significantly: Study
24 Dec 2021
Emissions of industrially produced chlorocarbon, dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), increased in China from 2011-2019, a new study established. The emissions grew to 628 gigagrams (Gg) per year in 2019 from 231 Gg per year in 2011 in the country, with an average annual increase of 13% primarily from eastern China.
Controlled burning of natural environments could help offset our carbon emissions
24 Dec 2021
Planting trees and suppressing wildfires do not necessarily maximize the carbon storage of natural ecosystems. A new study has found that prescribed burning can actually lock in or increase carbon in the soils of temperate forests, savannahs and grasslands.
How artists are taking on the climate crisis
24 Dec 2021
Over the last half century or more, numerous artists such as Gustav Metzger, Agnes Denes, Lothar Baumgarten, Edward Burtynsky, Chris Jordan, and Olafur Eliasson have created work that has focused attention on humanity’s destructive behaviour and its impact on the environment.
Climate change contributes to record high insurance payouts
23 Dec 2021
Insurance claims resulting from weather events - some of which have been attributed to climate change by scientists - have hit a record high of $304.9 million in 2021, eclipsing last year's record of $274 million.
China ETS reduces carbon but needs map to cap-and-trade based system: study
23 Dec 2021
China’s regional emissions trading scheme (ETS) pilots were effective in reducing companies’ carbon emissions in the early trading phase, despite low carbon prices and infrequent allowance trading, according to Chinese researchers.
EPA announces strictest vehicle emissions standards ever
23 Dec 2021
The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced aggressive new vehicle emissions standards for greenhouse gasses that will impact cars and light trucks from model years 2023-2026.
Bicycle parking to be mandatory in all new European buildings
23 Dec 2021
THE European Commission’s revision proposal for the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive will make bicycle parking mandatory in all new and renovated buildings in the EU, a measure that will make everyday cycling easier for millions of people.
Battery wars: Serbian climate protests were just the beginning
23 Dec 2021
Last week, Serbian environmental protesters were successful in getting plans to allow Rio Tinto to mine one of Europe's largest lithium deposits suspended. The protests, however, have continued.
The case for a new international crime called ecocide: Philippe Sands
23 Dec 2021
The British lawyer and author has held Nazis and presidents accountable for crossing the moral red line. Now, he argues, the time has come to pursue those who commit crimes against the environment.
Preparing, and paying for, climate change-induced disasters
23 Dec 2021
During the evening hours of Dec. 10, a flurry of tornadoes ravaged several states, claiming close to 100 lives and leaving whole communities in wreckage.
Government delays one of its “most significant” climate change policy changes
22 Dec 2021
Cabinet agreed on Monday to delay an amendment to the Resource Management Act that was trumpeted by climate change minister James Shaw as “one of the most significant policy changes to address climate change this term” when it was passed in June last year.
Australian carbon price surges 180%
22 Dec 2021
Companies voluntarily buying up carbon offsets amid a flurry of pledges to hit net zero emissions by 2050 have pushed up Australia’s official carbon price by 180% over the past year
Biden's climate promises are sunk without Build Back Better: experts
22 Dec 2021
Multiple independent analyses have found President Joe Biden simply can't hit his goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 50% by the end of the decade without the clean energy provisions in Build Back Better, the President's signature economic and climate legislation.
Did 2021 deal a fatal blow to climate change denial?
22 Dec 2021
Data and extreme weather events are making it harder than ever to ignore our warming world. But climate change denial has also taken on a new form.
Climate change news coverage reached all-time high
22 Dec 2021
United States news coverage of climate change reached an all-time high in October and November, according to recent data from the Media and Climate Change Observatory (MeCCO), an international, multi-university collaboration based at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Voluntary carbon audits scheme for Northern Irish farmers
22 Dec 2021
A new scheme to tackle carbon emissions in the dairy sector has been launched in Northern Ireland by agriculture and environment minister Edwin Poots.
The e-trike armada propelling a net-zero dream
22 Dec 2021
Oliver Obernier first began delivering mail for Germany’s postal service back in 2006. Through the course of a normal day, the 47-year-old would drop off about three boxes of letters on his winding route through Hamburg’s HafenCity, an historic harborside neighborhood set alongside the River Elbe.
Papua New Guinea’s tides expose climate risks
21 Dec 2021
Earlier this month, parts of Papua New Guinea experienced a surge in king tides that flooded communities and displaced approximately 53,000 people. For PNG – facing more than double the global average in annual sea level rise – the worst is yet to come.
What losing Build Back Better means for climate change
21 Dec 2021
With billions of dollars for clean energy, the Build Back Better legislation has the potential to substantially and rapidly cut heat-trapping emissions in the U.S. But Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., rejected the bill on Sunday, and that means Build Back Better is effectively dead at a time when scientists say the world can't afford to wait on climate change.
Activists slam tweak to EU carbon allowance scheme
21 Dec 2021
The EU was set to revise its carbon Emissions Trading System (ETS) at Monday's (20 December) environment council meeting.
Are Australia’s climate wars ending?
21 Dec 2021
With big business backing Labor’s climate policy and net zero gaining bipartisan support, the climate battle is transitioning into a new phase.
2022 is a year to call out greenwashing in China: Bloomburg
21 Dec 2021
If China chooses a phrase of the year for 2021,“carbon neutrality” has to be on the shortlist.
Billionaire space flights a carbon bomb that will destroy the planet: Jacobin
21 Dec 2021
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are dead set on expanding commercial space flight — even though a single person taking one of their carbon-spewing joy rides will produce more pollution in a few minutes than people belonging to 1/8th of the world population will in their entire lives.
Vehicle emission declines decreased deaths: study
20 Dec 2021
Researchers say that thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars have been saved in the United States by recent reductions in emissions from vehicles.
The ‘doomsday’ glacier is on the brink of collapse
20 Dec 2021
One of the ever-looming threats of climate change is sea level rise, which already threatens to displace millions of people worldwide and force them to move inland by the end of the century. A big part of the rising water levels are hotter temperatures at the poles—home to giant glaciers and ice shelves that hold crucial quantities of frozen H2O.
Activists demand Indonesian climate leadership during G20 presidency
20 Dec 2021
Indonesia should use its year-long Group of 20 presidency to lead member countries in the delivery of their climate commitments, youth activists have said.
Deforestation, climate change making outdoor work unsafe: study
20 Dec 2021
A double-blow of forest destruction and climate change has caused temperatures to soar in many tropical locations, making outdoor work unsafe for millions of workers, according to a new study.
China’s Alibaba pledges carbon neutrality by 2030
20 Dec 2021
Alibaba Group will aim to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations and slash emissions across its supply chains and transportation networks by the end of the decade, the Chinese e-commerce giant pledged on Friday.
New York is banning the use of natural gas in new buildings
20 Dec 2021
After several other cities in the United States, the City Council of New York passed a law banning the use of natural gas in most new buildings. Construction projects submitted for approval from 2027 will have to use electricity instead of gas or fossil fuels for heating.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Media round-up
Fri 20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
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.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
Wed 18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
Flawed decision-making around taxing electricity to fund LNG import terminal
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: The Government's decision to back an LNG import terminal exemplifies an egregious failure in public policy and energy sector governance.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
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.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
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.
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.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
Thu 19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
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.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
Wed 18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
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.
Seabed miners quit South Taranaki fast-track bid
Fri 20 Feb 2026
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Would-be seabed miners have abandoned their fast-track bid to mine in South Taranaki waters, saying they can’t change the minds of the panel that rejected their application.
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.
Partnership to advance Pacific science and environmental leadership
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Media release | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in Pacific-led science, research and capacity-building, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ocean stewardship.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
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.
IEA Declaration strengthens international co-operation on critical minerals
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Media release – NZ Government | New Zealand has joined international leaders at the 2026 International Energy Agency Ministerial meeting in committing to strengthen global co-operation on critical minerals to strengthen long‑term energy security.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
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-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
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.
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.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Climate ambassador moves on
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
Mon 16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
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.
