Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
World's largest iceberg runs aground off remote island
7 Mar 2025
The world's largest iceberg has run aground in shallow waters off the remote British island of South Georgia, home to millions of penguins and seals.
The fact that humans can only survive on Earth doesn't bother Trump - and I know why
7 Mar 2025
By George Monbiot | OPINION: He is surrounded by people who have grandiose plans and dreams beyond our planet. Vengeful nihilism is a big part of the Maga project.
Coral reefs in Vietnam face collapse. Can conservation efforts turn the tide?
7 Mar 2025
The gentle waves off the coast of central Vietnam's Nha Trang obscure an open secret: The life-giving coral reefs below are dying. The waters are eerily devoid of fish. The bounty of the ocean is coming to an end.
Trump orders swathes of US forests to be cut down for timber
6 Mar 2025
President's move to expand tree cutting across 280m acres evades rules to protect endangered species.
Rare cyclone threatens millions on Australia's east coast
6 Mar 2025
Millions of residents along Australia's eastern coast are preparing for the impact of the most southerly cyclone to threaten the region in more than five decades.
Avalanche in India triggered by 600% surge in rain linked to climate change
6 Mar 2025
An avalanche which killed eight in India on Friday was set in motion weeks earlier by a dry winter, and triggered by a sudden 600% spike in precipitation within 24 hours, a disaster expert says.
Locals in Greenland now have two fears: Trump and climate change
6 Mar 2025
'Greenlanders don't want to be Danish. Greenlanders don't want to be American'.
China announces plans for major renewable projects to tackle climate change
6 Mar 2025
China said on Wednesday it would develop a package of major projects to tackle climate change as it moves to bring its carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060.
Albanese Government vows to secure future of Australia's food supply chain by developing new national strategy
6 Mar 2025
The Albanese Government has promised to help secure the future of Australia's food supply chain by developing a new national strategy if it wins the election.
Countries fail again to decide timing of key IPCC climate science reports
5 Mar 2025
China, Saudi Arabia and India pushed back against a proposal to align the IPCC flagship reports with the timeline of the global stocktake of climate action.
EU proposes more relaxed CO2 target compliance for new cars
5 Mar 2025
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced she will propose a more relaxed three-year timeframe for the automotive industry to comply with the bloc's CO2 standards, instead of annual targets.
US: EPA calls for watchdog to probe $20 billion climate fund
5 Mar 2025
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is at the center of a fight between the Trump administration and environmental groups seeking access to the funds that Congress approved under its massive climate legislation.
China plays key role on climate change, may be looked to for additional leadership, COP30 president says
5 Mar 2025
China has a very important role to play in tackling climate change and others may look to the Asian country for additional leadership in the field, COP30 President-Designate Andre Aranha Correa do Lago said on Thursday.
Japan's worst wildfire in half a century spreads
5 Mar 2025
Firefighters were Tuesday battling Japan's worst wildfire in half a century, which has left one dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 local residents.
As warming climate hammers coffee crops, this rare bean may someday be your brew
5 Mar 2025
As Earth's warming climate causes problems for big coffee producers, some are looking to a rarely cultivated species that may stand up better to drought and heat. It's Excelsa, which is native to South Sudan and a handful of other African countries.
UK: Reducing emissions 87% by 2040 could cut household costs
4 Mar 2025
The UK should cut its emissions to 87% below 1990 levels by 2040 under its seventh five-yearly "carbon budget", according to official advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC).
China missed key climate target last year
4 Mar 2025
China missed a key climate target in 2024 and emissions in the world's second-largest economy rose slightly as coal remained dominant despite record renewable additions, official data showed Friday.
Risk of financial fallout may deter Argentina from leaving Paris Agreement
4 Mar 2025
Argentina's President Javier Milei has expressed his will to leave the global climate pact, but key trade partners and foreign aid may stand in the way.
Trump's firings at US weather agency will put lives at risk, scientists say
4 Mar 2025
"There will be people who die in extreme weather events and related disasters who would not have otherwise."
Tesla's plummeting sales risk lucrative emissions credit earnings
4 Mar 2025
CEO Elon Musk has angered European customers and governments, undercutting his EV brand.
Meet Chonkus: the CO2-chomping alga that could help tackle the climate crisis
4 Mar 2025
Chonkus may sound like a champion Sumo wrestler but it is the nickname for a superpower strain of microbe that absorbs lots of CO2 relative to its size and stores it in its large cells.
Plants losing appetite for carbon dioxide amid effects of warming climate
3 Mar 2025
Earth's plants and soils reached peak carbon dioxide sequestration in 2008 but proportion absorbed has been declining since, study finds.
Big EU countries push expanded carbon border tax to help repay Covid debt
3 Mar 2025
France, Italy and Poland support the move, but others fear it might prompt Donald Trump to retaliate in anger.
COP16: Key outcomes agreed at the resumed UN biodiversity conference in Rome
3 Mar 2025
Countries have agreed at the resumed COP16 talks in Rome to a strategy for "mobilising" at least $200bn per year by 2030 to help developing countries conserve biodiversity.
Trump's war on climate science is pushing us into a dystopian future
3 Mar 2025
US President Donald Trump's latest war on the climate includes withdrawing support for any research that mentions the word.
Glacial melting is accelerating, driving sea level rise and depleting freshwater: study
3 Mar 2025
Accelerating glacial melting is causing the world's oceans to rise year after year and is causing a loss of regional freshwater, new research led by scientists at the University of Zürich shows.
From drill to grill: Continued fossil fuel use puts us all in the hot seat
3 Mar 2025
The Climate Council is warning that Australia's biggest cities could face dangerously hot temperatures, unless action is taken to slow down climate change. The Council has released a 'heat map' which also shows that continuing to cut climate pollution can safeguard Australians from the worst impacts of soaring heat.
The far right just made huge gains in a country once seen as a climate champion. It's a pattern happening across the world
28 Feb 2025
Germany was once seen as a climate champion, setting ambitious targets to slash planet-heating pollution.
US officials absent from global climate forums during Trump 2.0
28 Feb 2025
US officials have missed recent international climate forums sparking concerns about a potentially significant shift from Donald Trump's first term.
Countries use more land for golf courses than for solar or wind energy: study
28 Feb 2025
The amount of land needed for renewable energy projects is sometimes criticised, but a new study points out that, in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, much more land gets allocated for golf courses than renewable energy facilities.
China aims to eliminate severe air pollution this year
28 Feb 2025
China aims to effectively eliminate severe air pollution by the end of 2025, a senior environment official said, as authorities ramp up efforts in pollution control and emissions reduction in the "battle for blue skies."
Kerala's early heat surge signals climate shift
28 Feb 2025
Kerala, known for its clear skies and balmy weather during the early part of the year, which attracts tourists, has been grappling with an early start of unusually hot weather this season. Scientists attribute this to a mix of local weather conditions and long-term climate change impacts.
America's "first car-free neighborhood" is going pretty good, actually?
28 Feb 2025
Since breaking ground in 2021, Culdesac Tempe has had its share of detractors and skeptics. But none of them live there.
Companies urged to pay into new UN fund to help protect nature
27 Feb 2025
Companies who use the genetic coding of the natural world to design products ranging from weight-loss drugs to cosmetics faced renewed calls on Tuesday to help pay to protect it as a dedicated fund was launched at a U.N. conference in Rome.
Nauru sells citizenship to help fund relocations as sea levels rise
27 Feb 2025
A new 'golden passport' scheme aims to raise funds to relocate people inland as climate change raises sea levels.
How much do rich nations owe Africa for climate damage?
27 Feb 2025
Wealthy nations owe African countries some 50 times more for climate damage than the debt Africa owes them, ActionAid report says.
RFK Jr., onetime environmentalist, kills climate change programs
27 Feb 2025
In 1999, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then an environmental lawyer, was named by Time magazine as a "hero of the planet" for his pioneering work to clean up America's waterways. On February 14 of this year, his second day as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he ended HHS funding for climate change and health programs at the National Institutes of Health, a move that will likely terminate this work.
Coffee grounds and mushroom spores can be 3D printed into a compostable plastic alternative, researchers say
27 Feb 2025
In a new study, researchers have made a promising discovery: a compostable material that can serve as an alternative to plastic. The material is made from a combination of used coffee grounds and spores from Reishi mushrooms that are made into a paste, then 3D printed.
EU to make most companies exempt from carbon border levy, draft shows
26 Feb 2025
The European Commission will propose exemptions for "the vast majority" of companies covered by the European Union's carbon border levy on the grounds that they produce only 1% of emissions in the scheme, a draft proposal showed.
In Rome, talks to protect Earth's biodiversity resume with money topping the agenda
26 Feb 2025
An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda.
After US retreat, countries clash over who should make up Green Climate Fund shortfall
26 Feb 2025
At this week's board meeting, Germany and Sweden encouraged wealthier developing nations to step up - an idea rejected by Saudi Arabia.
Greenpeace risks bankruptcy at US pipeline trial
26 Feb 2025
Greenpeace has said that a lawsuit brought by an energy company over the Dakota Access Pipeline could wipe it out.
In Trump's shadow, IPCC set to make key decision on timing of climate science review
26 Feb 2025
With the US not expected to show up at the IPCC meeting, countries have a final chance to agree whether assessment reports could inform the next UN scorecard of climate action.
BP to ditch renewables goals and return focus to fossil fuels
26 Feb 2025
BP's chief executive will scrap a target to increase renewable generation 20-fold by 2030, returning the focus to fossil fuels, as part of a strategy shift announced on Wednesday to tackle investor concerns over earnings, two sources told Reuters.
Countries warn against delaying global climate assessment after US exit
25 Feb 2025
The European Union, Britain and climate-vulnerable developing countries have raised concerns about delays to the next global assessment of climate change, by the U.N.'s climate science panel, after the U.S. administration withdrew from the process.
Conservative election victory set to narrow climate policy focus in Germany
25 Feb 2025
Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz' conservatives have won Germany's snap election, while the current government parties booked significant losses, indicating a reduced focus on climate policies in a future government.
More than half of nations fail to protect 30% of land and sea in UN nature plans
25 Feb 2025
More than half of countries have not committed to protecting 30% of their land and sea for nature by 2030 in plans submitted to the UN - despite signing a global agreement to do so less than three years ago.
Nuclear path would blow out Australia's emissions targets, new modelling shows
25 Feb 2025
Australia's peak climate body has published new modelling showing the Coalition's proposed nuclear pathway would result in an additional 2 billion tonnes of emissions in the atmosphere.
How Trump gutted climate policy in 30 days
25 Feb 2025
President Donald Trump's promised assault on federal climate policies is sweeping across Washington, state capitals and private industry with a speed that's surprising even some of his supporters and critics -- and could leave an impact on the planet's future well after his presidency.
Britain's net zero economy 'booming'
25 Feb 2025
Green sector growing at triple the rate of the UK economy, providing high-wage jobs and increasing energy security.
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.
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?
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
Wed 30 Jul 2025
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.
Forestry can be a big plus for sheep and beef farmers – but there are caveats
22 Jul 2025
By Keith Woodford | OPINION: These are good times for sheep and beef farmers with record product prices for meat, which is precisely why now is the time for sheep and beef farmers to be looking again at farm forestry.
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.
A modest geothermal strategy
Today 10:45am
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
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.
2025 on track to be second or third warmest year on record
Today 10:45am
As it passes its midway point, 2025 is on track to be the second or third warmest year on record. However, it is very unlikely to beat 2024 as the hottest year.
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.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
Today 10:45am
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.
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.
European Central Bank to consider 'climate factor' when lending to banks
Today 10:45am
The European Central Bank will add climate change considerations to its lending operations from late 2026, raising pressure on banks to channel financing towards greener sectors as the euro zone seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
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.
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.
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.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
Today 10:45am
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
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
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.
The EU’s ‘fantasy’ $750B energy promise to Trump
Today 10:45am
The EU has narrowly avoided a full-blown trade war with Donald Trump by pledging to buy $750 billion of U.S. oil and gas by the end of his term. But achieving that will be almost impossible.
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.
Tilting at windmills? Trump’s claims about turbines fact-checked
Today 10:45am
The US president has taken a swipe at wind power as the blades visible from his Turnberry golf course turn.
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.
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.
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.
