Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Climate-science denial is feeding the covid-19 pandemic
21 Jul 2020
After the fossil fuel industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars undermining climate science, it’s easy to see how epidemiology came next.
Push on with the plan, Aucklanders told
20 Jul 2020
Auckland's plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change should not be postponed because of the covid-19 pandemic, councillors are being told.
Island states urge EU to link to tougher target
20 Jul 2020
VULNERABLE COUNTRIES are urging the EU to link its coronavirus recovery funds and seven-year budget to a tougher 2030 climate target.
Don’t abandon plans for high-speed rail in Australia
20 Jul 2020
The Grattan Institute’s call to abandon plans for any high-speed rail network in Australia fails to look at the wider benefits such a project can bring by way of more productive economies and more sustainable towns and cities.
Portugal ends coal burning two years ahead of schedule
20 Jul 2020
Portugal is the third EU country this year to announce early closure of its last coal plants, as rising carbon costs and competition from gas and clean energy bite.
South Korea backtracks on green promise
20 Jul 2020
For South Korea it seems, climate care is a case of going green at home – and doing the opposite overseas.
Plunge in mass transit ridership deals huge blow
20 Jul 2020
Transit agencies are asking Congress for relief as commuters return to their cars and fare revenues tank. Meanwhile, driving direction requests - and carbon emissions - soar.
Australian flying car wins $1m grant
20 Jul 2020
The New South Wales government has awarded almost $1m from a regional grants fund to a company developing what deputy premier John Barilaro describes as an electric flying car.
We're encroaching on Antarctica’s last wild places
17 Jul 2020
Since Western explorers discovered Antarctica 200 years ago, human activity has been increasing. Now, more than 30 countries operate scientific stations in Antarctica and more than 50,000 tourists visit each year.
US eyes climate disaster, but Biden plan might just work
17 Jul 2020
The world’s food supply is imperiled by a climate crisis already upon us, and Joe Biden this week put forward an agenda to address it that’s as bold as you could hope from a man who actually intends to get elected.
How banks are trying to capture the green transition
17 Jul 2020
Private-sector banks in the UK should have a central role in financing climate action and supporting a just transition to a low carbon economy, says a new report.
Official dietary guidelines are harming the planet, study finds
17 Jul 2020
Official dietary advice across the world is harming both the environment and people’s health, according to scientists who have carried out the most comprehensive assessment of national dietary guidelines to date.
Buffett coal-country utility wants to cut coal
17 Jul 2020
PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Energy, is a company aiming to ramp up its use of renewable energy at the same time as it navigates some extreme differences of opinion about what the energy future should look like.
Methane levels have hit a scary record high
16 Jul 2020
While the world has been focused on a global pandemic and widespread protests, another crisis is gathering in the atmosphere.
VERTICAL CRUISE SHIPS: How to remake housing towers
16 Jul 2020
After 3000 people in nine public housing towers in Melbourne were placed under the harshest coronavirus lockdown in Australia so far, acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly referred to the towers as “vertical cruise ships”.
EU spent lots on fossil fuels during energy crisis
16 Jul 2020
France, Germany and Italy have collectively spent $44 billion on fossil fuels during the coronavirus crisis, compared to $29 billion for clean energy, according to fresh data released yesterday.
Powerful backers support a UK nuclear future
16 Jul 2020
Insulating homes and installing renewable energy are the cheapest answers to climate change. Yet powerful backers urge a UK nuclear future.
Heat might leave tropical trees unable to germinate
16 Jul 2020
If a plant can’t germinate, it’s heading for extinction. For many tropical trees, conditions could soon become too hot to procreate.
BIG CHILL: How nations battle 'zombie' appliances
15 Jul 2020
Used fridges and air conditioners, imported from Europe, are straining Africa's limited power supplies as the continent battles rising heat.
Earth cooled naturally long before human heating
15 Jul 2020
A new reconstruction of the history of global temperatures for the last 12,000 years supports an argument often put forward by climate sceptics: that global climate is subject to natural cycles driven by astronomical forces and planet Earth might be in one, with human heating not responsible.
Car tyres major source of ocean microplastics
15 Jul 2020
More than 200,000 tonnes of tiny plastic particles are blown from roads into the oceans every year, according to research.
STUDY SUCCESS: No doubts, carbon pricing works
15 Jul 2020
Putting a price on carbon should reduce emissions, because it makes dirty production processes more expensive than clean ones, right?
Johnnie Walker maker creates plastic-free paper-based bottle
15 Jul 2020
The multinational drinks company Diageo says it has created the world’s first paper-based spirits bottle that is 100% plastic-free.
UK premier faces court over covid-19 recovery
14 Jul 2020
Lawyers who stopped the expansion of Heathrow Airport because it would be bad for the climate are now turning their sights on Boris Johnson's covid-19 economic recovery plans.
Booming wood-pellet business is bad for the climate
14 Jul 2020
The United States' Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose a new rule declaring burning biomass to be carbon neutral, as industry looks to expand its domestic markets.
Melting glacier yields newspapers from 1966 plane crash
14 Jul 2020
COPIES of Indian newspapers onboard an Air India jet that crashed into Mont Blanc in the 1960s have been revealed by melting ice on the mountain’s Bossons glacier.
The plan to unite Biden and Bernie is finally here
13 Jul 2020
Once upon a time, many moons ago — ie back in April — Democratic presidential primary candidate Bernie Sanders agreed to exit the race and join forces with his mortal frenemy Joe Biden to help the former vice-president take the White House.
GAS CURSE: Mozambique’s multi-billion dollar gamble
13 Jul 2020
A decade after prospectors struck gas off Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, a consortium led by Total is signing contracts worth $16 billion to exploit it.
After the global oil and gas industry crash, what next?
13 Jul 2020
AN ESTIMATED $US1.6tn has been wiped from the global oil and gas industry this year, but the danger for Australia’s LNG sector remains little acknowledged.
Which species will win and lose in a warmer climate?
13 Jul 2020
As the global climate shifts, it’s important to know which species have adaptations to survive. Our research published today in PNAS found it largely depends on where they evolved.
Nature doesn't trust us any more
13 Jul 2020
Frozen ground in the Arctic is thawing, harming indigenous people’s hunting livelihoods and destabilising buildings and roads across the rapidly warming region.
First State to divest thermal coal assets
10 Jul 2020
One of Australia's biggest industry superannuation funds plans to sell down its investments in thermal coal miners in a bid to protect its members from the financial impact of climate change.
CO2 in atmosphere nearing levels of 15m years ago
10 Jul 2020
The amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere is approaching a level not seen in 15m years and perhaps never previously experienced by a hominoid, according to the authors of a study.
EV owners plug in to help to avoid blackouts
10 Jul 2020
Electric vehicles can help to keep the air clean in cities – as we’ve seen recently with the reduction of traffic through covid-19 lockdowns – but they face two obstacles.
Think covid-19 disrupted food chain? Wait and see ...
10 Jul 2020
The pandemic has revealed deep flaws in the world’s food system and food leaders are calling for global coordination and climate resilient agriculture.
Warming waters could see fewer common fish
10 Jul 2020
As many as 60 per cent of the world's fish species could struggle to breed and reproduce if climate change causes the Earth to warm by 5deg over the next 80 years, according to a new study.
Weather stations show there’s more heat and rain
9 Jul 2020
A major global update based on data from more than 36,000 weather stations around the world confirms that, as the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall are now more frequent.
Fossil fuel companies take at least $3b in covis aid
9 Jul 2020
More than 5600 companies in the fossil fuel industry have taken a minimum of $3b in coronavirus aid from the US federal government, according to a new analysis.
Climate activists see ‘new era’ after pipeline victories
9 Jul 2020
Climate activists sense a turning point in their war against the Trump administration's effort to cement a fossil-fueled future for the United States, with three major defeats for high-profile oil and gas pipeline projects.
OPINION: Coconut oil production threatens five times more species than palm oil
9 Jul 2020
By ERIK MEIJAARD | Born in the Netherlands and brought up in Germany, it wasn’t until I was 21 that I met my first coconut.
Rare night clouds may be warning sign of climate crisis
9 Jul 2020
Something magical appeared at night over London and other parts of Britain last month: ripples of electric blue clouds shimmered in the twilight sky after sunset.
Sun has a secret plan to become a lithium factory
8 Jul 2020
Lithium is used in everything from medication to mobile phone batteries, but where does it come from?
Marseille turns green with election of first woman mayor
8 Jul 2020
Marseille has become the latest French municipality to elect a green mayor in a wave that has swept the country since local elections at the end of last month.
Tesla top on back of tech boost and China sales
7 Jul 2020
Electric motor manufacturer Tesla became the world's most valuable carmaker last week, overtaking Toyota, despite never having made an annual profit.
‘Million-mile’ batteries are coming
7 Jul 2020
Electric vehicles have a clear environmental advantage over their gas-guzzling counterparts, but when it comes to longevity, the two are in a dead heat.
Nuclear plans flounder through muddy dispute
7 Jul 2020
Vast quantities of mud, which campaigners say might contain radioactive particles, are the latest problem to confront the UK’s nuclear plans for two new reactors under construction in the West of England.
Aussies score on covid but limp on climate change
7 Jul 2020
Australia has been ranked third behind South Korea and Latvia in a global report on the effectiveness of its response to the covid-19 pandemic -- but 37th in in the fight against climate change.
What an ocean hidden under Antarctica reveals about our future climate
6 Jul 2020
Jules Verne sent his fictional submarine, the Nautilus, to the South Pole through a hidden ocean beneath a thick ice cap. Written 40 years before any explorer had reached the pole, his story was nevertheless only half fiction.
$10b of precious metals dumped each year in e-waste
6 Jul 2020
At least $10 billion worth of gold, platinum and other precious metals are dumped every year in the growing mountain of electronic waste that is polluting the planet, according to a new UN report.
Proud California dairy farmer takes it on the chin
6 Jul 2020
Californian dairyman Scott Magneson just keeps on farming, despite the economic fallout from a pandemic and the extreme weather — floods, drought, wildfires — linked to climate change.
New courses focus on climate action, activism and creating vision
Fri 12 Sep 2025
Media release | Dark Times Academy’s final lineup of courses for 2025, launching in mid-September, will focus on taking action on climate, learning about practical activism, and creating visions for the future.
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.
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
Thu 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.
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
No bidders front to carbon auction - again
10 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Today’s quarterly carbon auction was a non-event yet again, making it the third consecutive auction this year with no bidders, with the secondary market price still limping along at nearly 20% below the auction floor.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
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
Today 11:00am
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
Thu 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.
Science cuts will hold back climate research
Today 11:00am
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.
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
Indigenous forest 'islands' could help transition exotic plantations to native bush
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Native forest 'islands' within exotic plantations might be the key to transitioning plantations from exotic to Indigenous, according to new research.
Decline in global oil and gas field output accelerating, IEA says
Today 11:00am
The decline in output from mature global oil and gas fields is accelerating amid greater reliance on shale and deep offshore resources.
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
Fri 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.
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%
Fri 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.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
28 Aug 2025
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
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
Today 11:00am
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
Today 11:00am
The failure of the Gulf of Panama’s seasonal upwelling system has left scientists wondering what happens next.
Watts full-throated in National’s support for Paris
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts came to this week’s Climate Change and Business Conference with nothing to announce.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
‘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.
Invites-only fast-track for seabed mine slammed as 'rushed, awful'
Fri 12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With the wider public shut out of submissions, critics including Te Pāti Māori, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Greenpeace say the process strips away robust scrutiny and risks setting a dangerous precedent.
Ashburton councillor opposes climate strategy he voted for
Today 11:00am
Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter | Incumbent Ashburton councillor Phill Hooper says he doesn’t want to waste money on a climate change strategy, despite voting for the policy a few weeks ago.
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.
Solar and battery systems to boost resilience at Tasman community facilities
Tue 16 Sep 2025
Media release: Tasman District Council | Ten community facilities across Tasman District will soon be equipped with solar panels and battery storage, following confirmation of co-funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
The ozone hole continues to recover thanks to international action
Today 11:00am
Media release: World Meteorological Organization (WMO) | The Earth’s protective ozone layer is healing and the ozone hole in 2024 was smaller than in recent years, according to a new report.
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
Thu 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.
Hotter, longer, more frequent: NZ’s escalating heat risk
26 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Heat extremes in New Zealand will intensify faster than previously thought, according to a new study.
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?
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The leaderboard is quite different depending on what metric you look at.
