Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Hydrogen gas study for towns wins funding
24 Feb 2020
By ANDREW SPENCE | Adelaide-based Australian Gas Networks has been awarded $1.28 million in Federal Government funding to support a study into introducing renewable hydrogen into South Australian and Victorian towns.
What’s holding back China’s bamboo furniture makers?
24 Feb 2020
Wood consumption has jumped 173 per cent in China over the past decade, and restrictions on felling primary forest mean the country relies on wood imports for over half its demand.
Record Antarctic temperatures fuel sea level worry
21 Feb 2020
Sea levels might threaten coastal cities sooner than expected, scientists say, as ice loss speeds up and Antarctic temperatures rise.
Coronavirus cuts China’s CO2 emissions
21 Feb 2020
As China battles one of the most serious virus epidemics of the century, the impacts on the country’s energy demand and emissions are only beginning to be felt.
Researchers claim solar efficiency breakthrough
21 Feb 2020
A flexible solar “skin” that could be used to generate power on homes, cars and phones is a step closer to development after the technology was used to break a world record for electricity conversion, researchers say.
UK airports must shut to reach 2050 climate target
21 Feb 2020
All UK airports must close by 2050 for the country to reach its target of net zero climate emissions by then, scientists say.
Tesla creeps closer to 640-mile mark
21 Feb 2020
Tesla has announced an increased range as a step toward bringing electric vehicles — and their contribution to combating climate change — into the mainstream.
Oil and gas climate impact worse than we thought
20 Feb 2020
The oil and gas industry has had a far worse impact on the climate than previously believed, according to a study indicating that human emissions of fossil methane have been underestimated by up to 40 per cent.
Renewables could power the world by 2050
20 Feb 2020
Wind, water and solar sources − the renewable energy trio − could meet almost all the needs of our power-hungry society in 30 years.
Climate change could wipe out coral reefs by 2100
20 Feb 2020
The changing climate could destroy nearly all remaining coral reefs by the end of the century, according to new research.
Coal giant eyes 30% fall in carbon emissions
20 Feb 2020
Mining giant Glencore has predicted its carbon footprint will shrink by almost a third by 2035, but will not set climate targets for the company.
Why we must protect 30% of Earth for animals
20 Feb 2020
Governments should sharply expand protected areas for animals and plants to cover 30% of the planet by 2030 to pull back from “the precipice of irreversible loss of biodiversity”, a group of former foreign ministers says.
Some aerosol emissions might have an up-side
20 Feb 2020
Human aerosol emissions might have partially offset global economic inequality by reducing warming.
Bezos pledges $10b to save the planet
19 Feb 2020
Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and Washington Post owner, has announced that he is donating $10 billion to save the Earth’s environment – barely a month after it was revealed Amazon threatened to fire employees who spoke out about the company’s role in the climate crisis.
Climate research struggles to find funding
19 Feb 2020
Climate research is the poor relation of the academic world. Since 1990 it has won less than five per cent of the research funds available.
Morrison backs technology over taxation
19 Feb 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described a report he might adopt a technology investment target to avoid signing up to a commitment of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as speculation, but confirmed his government will take a “technology over taxation” approach to climate change.
Malaysia’s banks buck trend against coal
19 Feb 2020
Malaysia’s major banks are bucking a global trend toward the decarbonisation of the finance industry by continuing to finance new coal-fired power projects in Southeast Asia, a new report has found.
Air NZ emissions climbing, says global report
18 Feb 2020
Air New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster than its emissions-reduction schemes are coping with, a new paper shows.
EU plans to halve municipal waste by 2030
18 Feb 2020
The European Commission will aim to “absolutely decouple” economic growth from natural resource use in a draft circular economy action plan due to be unveiled in March.
Carbon pricing role crucial, say experts
18 Feb 2020
Carbon pricing is emerging as central to international climate negotiations, the Mercator Climate Institute says.
Europe’s airports face watery grave
18 Feb 2020
More than 20 of Europe’s airports could be under water by the end of the century if current climate trends continue.
CROSSING THE LINE: A scientist’s road from neutrality
18 Feb 2020
American scientist Nathan Phillips, who has just ended a 14-day hunger strike, said he was compelled to action by dissatisfaction with academia’s passivity and the fervor of his students.
There's more to it than just trucks, says Volvo
18 Feb 2020
Shifting the heavy transport sector from diesel to electricity will take more than just the availability of trucks, says Swedish auto maker Volvo.
Johnson names new COP26 president
18 Feb 2020
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Alok Sharma to preside over the COP26 UN climate talks in November.
Earth just had its hottest January on record
17 Feb 2020
The Earth had its hottest January in recorded history last month, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Climate change already hurting Aust, says reserve bank
17 Feb 2020
Australia’s leading economic regulator has warned that climate change is already having a “profound” effect on the Australian economy, dragging down production, the value of Australian exports and the confidence of Australian consumers.
FIGUERES: The only uncertainty is how long we’ll last
17 Feb 2020
Christiana Figueres, leader of the 2015 Paris Agreement, talks about her new book, The Future We Choose, and why it’s crunch time for humanity.
Billions of acres of cropland await the Big Thaw
17 Feb 2020
As the climate warms in the decades ahead, billions of acres, most of them in the northern hemisphere, will become suitable for agriculture and could, if ploughed, emit a massive, planet-altering amount of greenhouse gases.
Parcels might join people on city buses
17 Feb 2020
Sydney is looking at using its public transport system to cut the number of delivery vans clogging its streets.
New BP chief vows net-zero emissions by 2050
14 Feb 2020
BP's new chief executive Bernard Looney has outlined plans to cut the company's carbon emissions from its operations and barrels produced to net-zero by 2050.
Cities turn to freewheeling public transport
14 Feb 2020
In the United States, once the home of car culture, cities are increasingly experimenting with free public transport. But the idea is not an American preserve: it’s catching on fast across the globe.
Antarctic melt led to 3m sea level rise 120,000 years ago
14 Feb 2020
Mass melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet, driven by warmer ocean temperatures, was a major cause of extreme sea level rise more than 100,000 years ago, according to new research.
Renewables to power outback mine
14 Feb 2020
By ANDREW SPENCE | Australian mining company Oz Minerals plans to power its proposed West Musgrave copper nickel mine in central Australia with up to 80 per cent renewables.
Splatter tests show decline in insect numbers
14 Feb 2020
Two scientific studies of the number of insects splattered by cars have revealed a huge decline in abundance at European sites in two decades.
Study blames fossil fuel pollution for 4m deaths
13 Feb 2020
Air pollution from burning fossil fuels is responsible for more than 4 million premature deaths around the world each year and costs the global economy about $US8 billion ($NZ12.37 billion) a day, according to a study.
Trump budget slashes environment funding
13 Feb 2020
President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal 2021 calls for significant reductions to US environmental programmes at federal agencies, including a 26 per cent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Green transport set to rule cities by 2030
13 Feb 2020
From public transport to cycling, sustainable transport is on course to overtake driving in the world’s biggest cities within a decade, according to a new study.
Fresh water from sunshine keeps thirst at bay
13 Feb 2020
An international team of scientists has developed a cheap way to provide fresh water to thirsty communities by making seawater drinkable without using electricity.
BBC to film the Greta Thunberg story
13 Feb 2020
The BBC will produce a television series about 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Bankers' book delivers stark climate change warning
12 Feb 2020
The Green Swan brings a clear message from people who should know: bankers say the climate crisis means major change lies ahead.
Rise of climate anxiety 'overwhelming and terrifying’
12 Feb 2020
Medical experts are concerned that young people’s mental health is being particularly hit by reality of the climate crisis.
Maps of Europe predict scale of climate catastrophe
12 Feb 2020
A series of detailed maps have laid bare the scale of possible forest fires, floods, droughts and deluges that Europe could face by the end of the century without urgent action to adapt to and confront global heating.
Bushfire towns find water contaminated
12 Feb 2020
Communities affected by the Australian bushfires are starting to reckon with a complex, expensive aftermath: the threat to their drinking water.
Most nations ignore climate plans update
12 Feb 2020
The Marshall Islands, Suriname and Norway have submitted plans for tougher action to tackle climate change before a five-year milestone of the Paris Agreement in 2020 - but almost 200 others - including New Zealand - have ignored an informal February 9 deadline.
Big solar projects running into trouble
11 Feb 2020
Some of the most ambitious large-scale solar projects have been plagued by delay, ultimately making them a financial burden rather than a beacon on the renewable power horizon.
Gates eyes $830m hydrogen superyacht
11 Feb 2020
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is hoping to hit the seas in the world's first hydrogen-powered superyacht - and it will set him back around $US830 million.
Mystery deaths focus battle for the butterflies
11 Feb 2020
The deaths of two butterfly conservationists have drawn focus to a troubling tangle of disputes, resentments and violence.
Antarctica logs hottest day on record
10 Feb 2020
Antarctica has logged its hottest temperature on record, with an Argentinian research station thermometer reading 18.3deg, beating the previous record by 0.8deg.
New material could clean up fossil fuel industry
10 Feb 2020
A new material with the potential to slash carbon dioxide emissions from the refining of crude oil has got scientists excited.
How Big Oil's fake news fooled America
10 Feb 2020
For more than a century, oil industry spinmasters downplayed misdeeds, twisted facts, and cajoled the media into mimicking their talking points.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Today 12:00pm
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Media round-up
Today 12:00pm
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
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.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Today 12:00pm
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
Wed 18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
Flawed decision-making around taxing electricity to fund LNG import terminal
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: The Government's decision to back an LNG import terminal exemplifies an egregious failure in public policy and energy sector governance.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
Thu 19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
Wed 18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Seabed miners quit South Taranaki fast-track bid
Today 12:00pm
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Would-be seabed miners have abandoned their fast-track bid to mine in South Taranaki waters, saying they can’t change the minds of the panel that rejected their application.
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.
Partnership to advance Pacific science and environmental leadership
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Media release | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in Pacific-led science, research and capacity-building, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ocean stewardship.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
IEA Declaration strengthens international co-operation on critical minerals
Today 12:00pm
Media release – NZ Government | New Zealand has joined international leaders at the 2026 International Energy Agency Ministerial meeting in committing to strengthen global co-operation on critical minerals to strengthen long‑term energy security.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Climate ambassador moves on
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
Mon 16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Today 12:00pm
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
