Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Barclays bows to investor pressure
2 Apr 2020
Barclays has bowed to investor pressure over its climate track record and announced plans to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050.
Hydrogen not the answer for transport, says study
2 Apr 2020
Renewable hydrogen has the potential to slash the global greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuel power generation by more than one-third, but it’s not the answer for low-carbon automotive transport, says a new report.
Australia has 'probably the worst year in a century'
2 Apr 2020
Record heat and drought across Australia delivered the worst environmental conditions across the country since at least 2000, with river flows, tree cover and wildlife being hit on an unprecedented scale, says a new report.
Asia Pacific degradation worries UN
2 Apr 2020
A surge in Asia Pacific carbon emissions and the degradation of its environmental resources is alarming, says the UN.
Australian academics call for survival strategy
1 Apr 2020
A group of Australian scientists, business leaders, public servants and academics is calling for nations to work together to develop a strategy for humans to survive climate change, pandemics and other looming threats.
What will the world be like after coronavirus?
1 Apr 2020
From an economic perspective, there are four possible futures post-covid-19: a descent into barbarism, a robust state capitalism, a radical state socialism, and a transformation into a big society built on mutual aid.
Our war with the environment is leading to pandemics
31 Mar 2020
The Global covid-19 crisis and the climate and biodiversity crises are deeply connected, health experts say.
Campaigners attack Japan's 'shameful' climate plans
31 Mar 2020
Japan has laid out its plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris agreement in the run-up to UN climate talks this year, becoming the first large economy to do so.
Trump throws lifeline to oil industry
31 Mar 2020
The Trump administration's unprecedented decision to suspend enforcement of US environmental laws amid the covid-19 crisis throws a lifeline to the oil industry.
Stage set for surge in sustainable investing
30 Mar 2020
The coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout will trigger a skyward surge in sustainable, responsible and impactful investing over the next 12 months, says the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.
Coronavirus hinders climate science
30 Mar 2020
The global response to the coronavirus pandemic is disrupting climate science.
Pandemic recovery needs green strings attached
30 Mar 2020
Governments and financial institutions are under growing pressure to make economic bailouts designed to counter the coronavirus pandemic dependent on climate action in the longer term.
Scientists seek signs of economic shock on CO2 levels
27 Mar 2020
Scientists are monitoring the atmosphere at a mountaintop in Hawaii for clues that the coronavirus will be the first economic shock in more than 60 years to slow a rise in carbon dioxide levels that are heating the planet.
Pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution
27 Mar 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is shutting down industrial activity and temporarily slashing air pollution levels around the world, satellite imagery shows.
Earth's deepest ice canyon vulnerable to melting
27 Mar 2020
East Antarctic's Denman Canyon is the deepest land gorge on Earth, reaching 3500m below sea level. It's also filled top to bottom with ice which has a significant vulnerability to melting.
Too early to predict impact, says WMO
26 Mar 2020
The World Meteorological Organisation says it’s too soon to predict the impact the covid-19 pandemic will have on climate change.
Oil eyes $10 as world runs out of storage space
26 Mar 2020
The world might soon run out of space to store its extra oil as Saudi Arabia prepares to increase fossil fuel production.
Smoke from bushfires killed hundreds
26 Mar 2020
Smoke from Australia’s recent bushfires killed hundreds of people and sent thousands to hospitals and emergency rooms, according to a new study.
Shell to slash $9 billion from spending
25 Mar 2020
Royal Dutch Shell plans to slash $9 billion from its spending plans to weather the collapse in oil market prices in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Pensacola plays host to a climate killer
25 Mar 2020
Ten miles north of Pensacola, Florida, an aging chemical plant, its tanks, smokestacks and stainless steel pipes sprawling across hundreds of acres, is a climate killer hiding in plain sight.
It's official, e-cars produce less CO2
25 Mar 2020
Electric vehicles produce less carbon dioxide than petrol cars across the vast majority of the globe – contrary to the claims of some detractors, who have alleged that the CO2 emitted in the production of electricity and their manufacture outweighs the benefits.
European recycling markets reel from coronavirus
24 Mar 2020
By MARK VICTORY | Concerns over the long-term impact of the coronavirus outbreak on key European recycling markets sharply escalated this week, following the adoption of further containment measures across the continent.
Climate change is harder to spot in some places
24 Mar 2020
Changeable weather in mid-latitude countries might have masked the impact of climate crisis up to now, a new study finds.
Why planners must look beyond history to judge risks
24 Mar 2020
Predictions based on past weather extremes are dramatically underestimating growing threats of extreme heat and rain linked to warming, researchers find.
Poor water systems greater risk than virus, says UN
23 Mar 2020
Decades of chronic underfunding of water infrastructure is putting many countries at worse risk in the coronavirus crisis, experts said as the UN marked World Water Day.
Virus forces climate activists to rethink tactics
23 Mar 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has created a quandary for the climate activists just as the movement has achieved unprecedented momentum.
Australian leaders told to get on with it
20 Mar 2020
Australia’s Government has been told to implement comprehensive climate-change policies in the national interest.
One summer cost Greenland 600 billion tonnes of ice
20 Mar 2020
Greenland lost 600 billion tonnes of ice last summer due to an exceptionally warm season, according to a new study.
The frightening origins of coronavirus
20 Mar 2020
In November 2002, a 46-year-old man from the Chinese coastal province of Guangdong developed a fever and struggled to breathe.
General Motors wants to go big on EVs
20 Mar 2020
General Motors' Bolt and Volt models never sold well, but now the company is touting a battery that has more range than Tesla’s.
Southeast Asian mangrove destruction is rampant
20 Mar 2020
Southeast Asia’s aggressive development to spur economic growth are stripping the region’s coasts of mangrove forests at rates faster than anywhere.
Study fingers US banks as largest fossil fuel financers
19 Mar 2020
A new analysis from a coalition of environmental groups has found that four US banks are the world’s largest fossil fuel financers.
China's greenhouse emissions rise 2.6%
19 Mar 2020
China’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 2.6 per cent in 2019 despite a fall in the share of coal in the country’s energy mix, driven by a rise in energy consumption and greater use of oil and gas.
Pandemic plays havoc with climate legislation
19 Mar 2020
Debate on new climate action is being delayed in Australia and the United States because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Johnson under pressure to stage UN climate talks
19 Mar 2020
Nicholas Stern, one of the most prominent global experts on the climate crisis, has urged UK leader Boris Johnson to resist calls to postpone vital UN climate talks this year, despite the coronavirus outbreak.
India finally takes climate crisis seriously
19 Mar 2020
With financial losses and a heavy death toll from climate-related disasters constantly rising, India is at last focusing on the dangers of global warming.
Blame the rich, says university study
18 Mar 2020
The rich are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis, a study by the University of Leeds of 86 countries claims.
South Korea wants Green New Deal
18 Mar 2020
South Korea's ruling party has announced its ambition for the nation to adopt a Green New Deal and deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Air pollution likely to increase virus death rate
18 Mar 2020
The health damage inflicted on people by long-standing air pollution in cities is likely to increase the death rate from coronavirus infections, experts have said.
Virus could hurt growth of solar power
18 Mar 2020
Fallout from the global spread of the Covid-19 virus could deliver the first down year for global solar growth since at least the 1980s, a new report says.
Old fridges still pumping out emissions
18 Mar 2020
Old fridges, air-conditioners and insulating foam still being used are contributing nine billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and causing a six-year delay in the recovery of the ozone hole.
Biden and Sanders go head to head on climate
17 Mar 2020
It only took 10 debates, a worldwide pandemic, and the winnowing of the Democratic field down to two men in their late 70s — but the American public finally got to hear a substantive debate about climate change.
Big Money firms back Amazon oil boom
17 Mar 2020
Five large financial firms from the US and UK are bankrolling an oil boom in the western Amazon, says a new report.
US shale will be first casualty of oil price war
17 Mar 2020
Although the oil price war was triggered by the Russia-Saudi fall-out, US shale will be the first casualty.
STOP THE ROT: The fight to save fresh food
17 Mar 2020
An American firm has developed an organic coating that extends the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables. Might it save the world?
Green turns brown as the ecosystem suffers
17 Mar 2020
The drought in eastern Australia drove the recent bushfires but it also caused another, less well- known, environmental calamity: entire hillsides of trees turned from green to brown.
Virus threatens climate action, says energy watchdog
16 Mar 2020
The coronavirus health crisis might lead to a slump in global carbon emissions this year but the outbreak poses a threat to long-term climate action by undermining investment in clean energy, according to the global energy watchdog.
Coronavirus could mean the end of Small Oil
16 Mar 2020
In a globalised world, the US economy cannot escape the effects of a global pandemic, geopolitical upheaval, and the subsequent plunge in oil prices.
Attenborough calls for ban on deep-sea mining
16 Mar 2020
Sir David Attenborough has urged governments to ban deep-sea mining, following a study warning of “potentially disastrous” risks to the ocean’s life-support systems if it goes ahead.
NSW makes life easier for electric vehicles
16 Mar 2020
New South Wales is aiming for a more-efficient transport future by encouraging electric vehicle uptake in its just-announced Net Zero Plan.
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.
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.
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.
At least 30 killed and several missing as heavy rains and floods lash northern China
Wed 30 Jul 2025
Thousands of people were evacuated as the region, including the capital Beijing, braced for more rainfall overnight.
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.
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.
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.
SBTi releases Net Zero Standard for banks, investors
24 Jul 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative announced the release of its finalised Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, aimed at enabling banks and investors to set net zero-aligned targets for their lending, investing, insurance and capital markets activities.
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.
Taranaki mayors want hydrogen kick-start from Wellington
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter Taranaki mayors want central government to partner up with their councils to kick-start a hydrogen industry. This despite ongoing questions about the gas’s effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions.
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.
All aboard for passenger rail in the golden triangle
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Media release – The Future Is Rail | New Zealand’s national passenger rail advocacy group, The Future is Rail, has announced its strong support for the Green Party’s proposal to establish a new passenger rail service connecting Auckland and Tauranga.
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.
As US climate data-gathering is gutted, Australian forecasting is now at real risk
Wed 30 Jul 2025
As damage from climate change intensifies, political change overseas is threatening Australia’s ability to track what’s happening now, and predict what will happen next.
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.
China's carbon emissions may have peaked thanks to renewables push
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Climate experts say China's carbon emissions may have peaked, which could affect global climate targets, the fight against global warming – and the Australian coal industry.
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.
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.
