Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Morgan Stanley tallying its climate impact
21 Jul 2020
Morgan Stanley will become the first major United States bank to publicly disclose how much its loans and investments contribute to climate change.
Making electricity from methane-rich water
21 Jul 2020
The massive Lake Kivu stores huge amounts of methane gas, which Rwanda is extracting to produce electricity.
Is storing CO2 in rocks a solution to climate change?
21 Jul 2020
An effective climate change solution may lie in rocks beneath our feet.
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.
Is climate law change a first nail in the coffin for Climate Commission?
Thu 6 Nov 2025
The Government’s sweeping overhaul of New Zealand’s climate laws has drawn sharp condemnation, with one expert predicting it's another step towards 'the beginning of the end' for the Climate Change Commission.
NZ off-track for 2030 methane target
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is no longer on track to meet its 2030 methane target, according to the Ministry for the Environment.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
New Indigenous-led Climate Institute opens at Lincoln University
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Media release | Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University proudly announces a pivotal new chapter in climate resilience with the establishment of the Kāika Institute of Climate Resilience.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Does NZ's 2035 NDC meet Paris Agreement obligations?
Fri 7 Nov 2025
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: New Zealand’s 2035 Paris Agreement Target needs strengthening, with multiple reasons the 51 to 55% emissions reduction target does not meet our obligations under the accord.
Carbon market tanks off the back of Govt’s proposed climate law changes
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Secondary market prices dropped 20% in early morning compliance carbon trading yesterday, as the market woke up to Tuesday’s late-breaking government announcement of proposed law changes to climate policy.
Scrutiny on energy security
3 Nov 2025
A special debate in Parliament put the Government’s energy security agenda under scrutiny, with parties splitting sharply over the role of gas, the place of an LNG import terminal, and how far to push market reform to ease pressure on power bills.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
UN chief scolds nations for failing climate goals ahead of COP30 summit
Fri 7 Nov 2025
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tore into nations for their failure to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as Brazil hosted world leaders for a summit ahead of the COP30 climate conference in the rainforest city of Belem.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
Fri 7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Govt gas expansion 'climate vandalism' – Greens
Fri 7 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has labelled the Government’s move to broaden the scope of its $200 million fossil gas investment fund as vandalism, accusing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of breaking trust with New Zealanders.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Solar geoengineering in wrong hands could wreak climate havoc, scientists warn
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Blocking the sun may reduce global heating – but ‘rogue actor’ could cause drought or more hurricanes, report finds.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Govt delays will damage carbon market confidence, experts warn
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Emissions Trading Scheme experts have warned the Government that its move to delay decisions on the country’s emissions budgets will further undermine confidence in an already weak carbon market.
“Dirty and expensive:” City of Sydney bans gas as it votes to electrify all new big buildings
Thu 6 Nov 2025
The City of Sydney has followed the example of the ACT and Victoria governments and voted unanimously to require all newly built residential buildings, medium to large commercial buildings, hotels, and serviced apartment buildings, to be all-electric.
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.”
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
Tue 4 Nov 2025
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
No major banks have yet committed to stop funding new oil, gas and coal, research finds
24 Oct 2025
‘The objectives of the Paris agreement are slipping further out of reach,’ say researchers.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
Wed 5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
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
31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
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.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
Wed 5 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
Undermining the ETS is poor policy – Mindful Money
Fri 7 Nov 2025
Politicising settings for the Emissions Trading Scheme creates uncertainty for investors at a time when we need clear and stable policy, says Mindful Money's Barry Coates.
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.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
31 Oct 2025
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
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.
Here comes the sun: solar surge gathers pace
Tue 4 Nov 2025
More than $700 million of new solar investment advanced last week, underscoring the pace of the renewable buildout.
AgriZero backs first nitrous oxide solution with $1.2m investment
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A Kiwi ag-tech start-up developing a device for cows to wear to drastically cut nitrous oxide emissions has secured $1.2 million in government-industry funding.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Govt climate policy set by vested interests to delay emissions cuts - Carr
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Rod Carr, former Climate Change Commission chair, says the Government’s move to unlink the Emissions Trading Scheme from our international climate target to 2030 undermines the credibility of emissions pricing as a tool for climate action – and is yet another Coalition Government policy designed to benefit vested interests rather than ordinary New Zealanders.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
