Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Living fabrics can help to clean the air
10 Feb 2020
Mushroom, pineapple and algae: it sounds like the topping for a rather unusual pizza. In fact, they could be the crucial ingredients in the wardrobe of the future as growing numbers of designers try to create fashion that doesn’t harm the environment.
Trump blanks climate crisis in State of the Union
7 Feb 2020
In his State of the Union address to a divided Congress, President Trump president has extolled his own role in making the nation the world’s leading oil and natural gas producer.
Johnson promises urgent climate action
7 Feb 2020
Boris Johnson has promised “urgent action” on the climate crisis, taking personal leadership of this year’s UN climate talks after a blistering attack by the sacked former minister who was to lead them.
Japan races to build coal-burning power plants
7 Feb 2020
Just beyond the windows of Satsuki Kanno’s apartment overlooking Tokyo Bay, a behemoth from a bygone era will soon rise: a coal-burning power plant, part of a buildup of coal power that is unheard-of for an advanced economy.
We hate flight shame – but not enough to quit flying
7 Feb 2020
Despite flying being the single-fastest way to grow individual carbon footprints, people still want to fly. Passenger numbers even grew by 3.3 per cent globally last year alone.
Tesla could soon be world’s most valuable company
7 Feb 2020
Tesla shares continue blockbuster surge, with more analysts and investors recognising the trillion dollar-plus potential of the Elon Musk electric car and energy company.
Electric vehicle sales triple in Australia
7 Feb 2020
Electric vehicle sales in Australia more than tripled last year but were still far lower than in a majority of developed countries, industry data shows.
Does Britain know what it's doing with Glasgow?
5 Feb 2020
Developing countries and climate campaigners are growing increasingly concerned that the UK lacks a clear strategy for hosting vital UN talks in Glasgow this year.
Rome airport pioneers eco-friendly tarmac
5 Feb 2020
Rome’s Fiumicino airport is testing a pioneering tarmac developed by an Italian company, made of a material that has twice the lifespan of traditional asphalt and is better for the environment.
Emissions ‘business as usual’ story is misleading
4 Feb 2020
Stop using the worst-case scenario for climate warming as the most likely outcome — more-realistic baselines make for better policy.
Global waste problem looks like a job for the IoT
4 Feb 2020
The Internet of Things can be used to develop smarter and more effective ways of managing and reducing waste.
Give them a shot of the truth
4 Feb 2020
Australia’s bushfire crisis was remarkable for the deluge of disinformation spread by climate deniers.
Groups plan to sue Trump over airline emissions
4 Feb 2020
Protest groups plan to sue the US Environmental Protection Agency for failing to regulate aircraft emissions after a 2016 agency determination that those emissions pose a danger to public health.
Tropical forests losing CO2 ability, says study
3 Feb 2020
The world’s tropical forests are losing their ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, while boreal forests are absorbing emissions at an increasingly fast rate, a new study finds.
Military man takes command of the Amazon
3 Feb 2020
President Jair Bolsonaro has caused widespread dismay by appointing an ex-military colleague to oversee protection of the Amazon.
OPINION: These fires have changed us
3 Feb 2020
By THOMAS KENEALLY | Last Australian autumn, and all through winter, a group of retired fire chiefs wanted to meet with prime minister Scott Morrison, and warn him that Australia had passed, as if through a gate, to a new level of combustibility, and that the fire peril for the coming summer would be unprecedented in length and ferocity.
Asian countries spurn and burn waste imports
3 Feb 2020
Two years after China’s ban on other countries' waste, Southeast Asian nations are struggling to deal with import surge, and are enacting bans of their own.
Climate crisis 'increasing violence against women'
31 Jan 2020
Climate breakdown and the global crisis of environmental degradation are increasing violence against women and girls, while gender-based exploitation is in turn hampering our ability to tackle the crises, a major report has concluded.
Looking for the next battery breakthrough?
31 Jan 2020
The era of electric vehicles might have arrived, but the full potential of the technology has not.
Protesters ‘call bullshit’ on News Corp coverage
31 Jan 2020
Campaigners from Extinction Rebellion have dumped a load of manure outside the Queensland office of News Corp to protest against the media giant’s coverage of climate change.
Guardian bans ads from fossil fuel firms
31 Jan 2020
The Guardian will no longer accept advertising from oil and gas companies, becoming the first major global news organisation to institute an outright ban on taking money from companies that extract fossil fuels.
Rewilding the Arctic would be a mammoth task
31 Jan 2020
It would be a monumental task to start rewilding the Arctic, but the climate payoff could be mammoth.
Tech giants power record surge in renewables
30 Jan 2020
The world’s biggest tech companies fuelled a record surge in the amount of renewable energy sold directly to global corporations last year, according to new figures.
Oslo court backs Arctic oil exploration
30 Jan 2020
An Oslo appeals court has endorsed Norway’s plan for new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.
State marks first for coastal building rules
30 Jan 2020
New Jersey will become the first US state to require that builders take into account the impact of climate change, including rising sea levels, in order to win government approval for projects.
Amazon staff risk jobs to protest climate policies
30 Jan 2020
Amazon has threatened with dismissal hundreds of employees who are demanding the company adopts more eco-conscious practices.
GM to invest billions in EV plant
30 Jan 2020
General Motors will invest more than $2 billion in its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to make the facility the automaker’s first devoted entirely to electric vehicles.
Race to exploit seabed set to wreak havoc
29 Jan 2020
New research warns that ‘blue acceleration’ – a global goldrush to claim the ocean floor – is already impacting on the environment.
Hybrids surge on to greenest cars list
29 Jan 2020
After several years of all-electric cars dominating the annual list of greenest vehicles, 2020 brings a surprise – a resurgence of the hybrid.
China, India face crticism over potent pollutants
29 Jan 2020
A new study suggests that China and India might not be living up to recent pledges to dramatically reduce emissions of a greenhouse gas nearly 13,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
How this science could help us cut emissions
29 Jan 2020
A sense of climate emergency is permeating the global consciousness thanks to high-profile campaigning, but many of us have been slow to actually make changes in the way we live.
City buses might moove to dung-drive
29 Jan 2020
Not in their wildest dreams did the residents of Karachi’s Cattle Colony think that the filth they were living in for more than four decades would generate wealth as well as energy.
MORE PLASTIC: Big Oil’s Plan B already in the pipeline
28 Jan 2020
As public concern about plastic pollution rises, the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are pouring billions of dollars into new plants intended to make millions more tonnes of plastic than they now pump out.
Welcome to 2020: It’s hot – and getting hotter
28 Jan 2020
The year is less than four weeks old, but scientists already know that carbon dioxide emissions will continue to head upwards – as they have every year since measurements began – leading to a continuation of the Earth’s rising heat.
Conservation scientists grieving after bushfires
28 Jan 2020
For many conservation biologists and land managers, the unprecedented extent and ferocity of the Australian bushfires has incinerated much more than koalas and their kin.
Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight
28 Jan 2020
The Doomsday Clock, a symbol created in 1947 to represent humankind’s proximity to global catastrophe, is now just 100 seconds to midnight for the first time.
Australians might be told to evacuate their drought towns
13 Dec 2019
The NSW state government is considering evacuating the residents of as many as 90 towns seriously affected by drought.
China’s top climate negotiator steps down
13 Dec 2019
What is the legacy of Xie Zhenhua, a key architect of the Paris Agreement and one of the world’s longest-serving climate diplomats?
Indonesia forest fires cost $5.2 billion
13 Dec 2019
The total damage and economic loss from forest fires in Indonesia this year amounts to at least $5.2 billion, says the World Bank.
Europe Green Deal will change whole economy
12 Dec 2019
Nearly every major aspect of the European economy is to be re-evaluated in light of the imperatives of the climate and ecological emergency, according to sweeping new plans set out by the European Commission.
US seeks further block on climate compo
12 Dec 2019
The US government is pushing to ensure it can never be held accountable for the damage caused by climate change in vulnerable countries.
Only 3min flight, but Canada claims first for electric plane
12 Dec 2019
A plane billed as the first commercial aircraft running entirely on electricity has taken to the skies in Canada.
Court finds Exxon not guilty of fraud
11 Dec 2019
Exxon Mobil has prevailed in a lawsuit in which the energy giant was accused of downplaying the toll climate change regulations could take on its business.
The climate is in trouble, but it's not all doom and gloom
11 Dec 2019
Global temperatures are on course to rise by 3deg to 5deg by the end of the century and global emissions continue to increase. But there are genuine reasons for hope.
How to design a forest fit to heal the planet
11 Dec 2019
There's more than one way to plant a tree – and some of the most widely used techniques aren’t up to scratch.
At last, wildlife TV is engaging with the climate
11 Dec 2019
The BBC’s new wildlife television series featuring David Attenborough, Seven Worlds, One Planet, marks a drastic departure from previous programmes.
This small German town took back the power
11 Dec 2019
The case for ambitious and transformative environmental policy is being made with increasing fervour and a series of “Green New Deals” have been proposed.
1.9b people at risk from mountain water shortages
10 Dec 2019
A quarter of the world’s population is at risk of water supply problems as mountain glaciers, snow-packs and alpine lakes are run down by global heating and rising demand, according to an international study.
Investors fight back against climate wreckers
10 Dec 2019
Two strands of action are being taken by investors against the planet’s biggest and most polluting companies to try to coerce them into complying with climate targets.
Denmark adopts climate law to cut emissions
10 Dec 2019
Denmark’s parliament has adopted a new climate law, committing to reach 70 per cent below its 1990 emissions in the next 11 years.
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
Wed 20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
The US Department of Agriculture bans support for renewables, a lifeline for farmers
Today 12:30pm
The agency said it’s concerned that farmland is being consumed by wind and solar facilities – which occupy a tiny fraction of the country’s productive acres.
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.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
Wed 20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Media round-up
Fri 15 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Australia could be about to leapfrog New Zealand on climate targets; 'strangled' rivers are fighting back; and 10 rangatahi will join Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation at the United Nations' major climate conference in Brazil.
Govt opts for status quo for ETS auctions
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has chosen not to increase auction volumes in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a decision applauded by carbon market insiders and climate campaigners alike, despite it contradicting the Climate Change Commission’s advice.
Forestry the source of all ETS risk, says top economist
Fri 15 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Forestry is the source of all of the risk in New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme and it's inevitable that the scheme has to be reformed, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment chief economist Geoff Simmons.
Activists facing intimidation tactics at Bathurst mine
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Liberation Aotearoa activists suspended 80m high in a coal bucket at a the Stockton mine on the West Coast say coal mining company Bathurst Resources is using ‘hostile’ tactics to try and remove them.
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?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
Mon 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.”
Dry winter pushed up Spark’s emissions
Today 12:30pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Increased use of coal and natural gas to generate electricity in the last year caused a spike in scope 1 and 2 emissions reported by telecommunications operator Spark NZ.
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.
'Sam the Trap Man' on why he's running for council
Today 12:30pm
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | From the bush to Gisborne’s council chambers is what “Sam the Trap Man” hopes to achieve this October.
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.
Cyclone Gabrielle’s intense rainfall made landslides inevitable
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Cyclone Gabrielle was one of the most extreme landslide-triggering events ever recorded globally.
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
Fri 15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
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.
Governments in Global South get dedicated support to tap into carbon markets
Today 12:30pm
Media release – VCMI | A new toolkit will help emerging markets and developing economies decide how best to generate and sell carbon credits to access climate finance, accelerate innovation and help close the $1.3 trillion climate finance gap.
Will reflective roofs help beat the heat?
Fri 15 Aug 2025
Media release - University of Auckland | About 500 roofs across four continents have been painted with a reflective coating, as part of research into tackling the health impacts of climate change.
How the meat industry uses environmental groups to make beef seem climate-friendly
11 Aug 2025
The meat industry may have enlisted environmental groups to persuade people to “feel better” about eating beef, despite the sector’s ballooning emissions of climate-heating pollution.
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.
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.
Why insurers worry the world could soon become uninsurable
11 Aug 2025
Top insurers fear the climate crisis could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable.
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.
Forestry sector could take legal action over ETS changes
14 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The forestry sector is threatening legal action against the Government over changes to legislation intended to limit whole farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
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.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
13 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has been focussed on reducing the Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ and carbon prices should rise soon, according to the Secretary for the Environment.
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.
Oil states accused of using scare tactics in bid to sink green shipping deal
12 Aug 2025
Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oil-reliant countries are campaigning to stop the adoption of the IMO’s Net-zero Framework in October.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Failed plastic treaty 'significant disappointment'
Mon 18 Aug 2025
The failure of negotiations on a legally-binding global plastics treaty is a "significant disappointment," but no treaty is still better than a weak one, according to a New Zealand expert.
Strong NZ representation in upcoming global climate report
Today 12:30pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Eighteen New Zealanders are among more than 600 experts appointed by the IPCC for its next painstaking scientific deep dive into the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
'Not giving up' – Right to repair bill in doubt
Today 12:30pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bill that would make it easier for New Zealanders to access spare parts and the information to repair a product themselves while also cutting carbon emissions is looking unlikely to make it into law.
Govt rejects Te Kuha coal mine fast-track bid
13 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The controversial Te Kuha coal mine on the West Coast has had its application for fast-track approval declined, after failing to meet seven of the application criteria.
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.
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’.
Heat pumps could cut household energy bills by $1.5 billion a year
12 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Heat pumps could save Kiwi households hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as well as freeing up energy for industrial users, according to a new report.
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.
African $60 billion high-speed rail project takes shape
Fri 15 Aug 2025
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Africa has received a new update that could see construction begin soon.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
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.
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.
