Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
How climate change could bust the housing market
4 Nov 2019
An investor whose firm saw the 2008 mortgage crisis coming, is warning that another financial disaster may be growing inside the real estate market: this time inflated by climate change denial on the coasts.
TILLERSON TALKS: Former Exxon chief in the dock
4 Nov 2019
Former ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson has taken the witness stand in the company's climate fraud trial and gave the clearest defense yet for his former employer.
Madrid steps up to host COP25 talks
4 Nov 2019
Madrid will host the Cop25 UN climate talks, stepping in after Chile withdrew amid social unrest.
Argentina changes waste rule and opens doors to plastics
4 Nov 2019
Argentina has changed its definition of waste in a move that could allow it to import millions of tonnes of plastic waste discarded in the US.
Rising sea levels threaten homes of 300m people
31 Oct 2019
More than three times more people are at risk from rising sea levels than previously believed, research suggests.
Chile pulls out of hosting COP25
31 Oct 2019
Chile, wracked by civil unrest for a fortnight, has withdrawn from hosting the 2019 UN climate talks.
MEET THE COBOTS: The robots who will be your colleagues
31 Oct 2019
The latest industrial robots look like petting-zoo versions of the big machines found in many modern factories – small, cute and you can play with them. But don’t be deceived by their cuddly appearance.
New Dubai city green revolution in the desert
31 Oct 2019
Fenced off by a wall of trees, about 20km from the high rises towering over Dubai’s city centre, lies a small solar-powered settlement aiming to become a green oasis in the desert.
Why offshore windfarms could do the job
30 Oct 2019
Erecting wind turbines on the world’s best offshore sites could provide more than enough clean energy to meet global electricity demand, according to a report.
How can China tame e-commerce emissions?
30 Oct 2019
China is ground zero of the e-commerce boom, which is creating a growing mountain of waste and fuelling carbon emissions worldwide.
Fuel industry forces Russia to change plans
30 Oct 2019
The Russian government has gutted its proposed law to regulate emissions, apparently caving in to the country’s powerful fossil fuel industry.
Nations (minus the US) pledge nearly $10b
30 Oct 2019
The US did not take part in an international climate fund meeting at which wealthy countries pledged nearly $10 billion to assist poorer nations in combatting climate change.
Flying less plays a small but positive part in climate fight
30 Oct 2019
As the notion of flight shame is taking off around the world, emissions from aviation are making a small but growing contribution to global warming.
SUVs second-biggest cause of emissions rise, says study
29 Oct 2019
Growing demand for SUVs was the second largest contributor to the increase in global CO2 emissions from 2010 to 2018, an analysis has found.
FARTY PARTY: Munich beer bash is a gas for emissions
29 Oct 2019
Scientists say the annual Munich Oktoberfest celebration of beer, bands and bratwurst produces methane emissions as high as some major cities.
Macron turns on climate protesters
25 Oct 2019
Why are climate protesters being tear-gassed under the watch of France’s president, a self-defined climate champion?
JUNGLE BUNGLE: Brazil pushes Amazon to 2021 tipping point
25 Oct 2019
The destructive policies of Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro could push the Amazon rainforest to an irreversible tipping point within two years.
US green economy boasts 10 times more jobs
25 Oct 2019
The green economy has grown so much in the US that it employs around 10 times as many people as the fossil fuel industry.
Exxon turned its back on us, say scientists
25 Oct 2019
Telling their story before a Congressional committee for the first time, two former ExxonMobil scientists have detailed how the oil giant turned its back on the research they did for the company 40 years ago on the looming threat of climate change.
Why science must go on a war footing
24 Oct 2019
Science, as it’s mostly practised today, is not up to the task of delivering timely knowledge on solutions to climate change.
Packed court watches as Exxon goes on trial
24 Oct 2019
ExxonMobil has gone on trial in a packed courtroom in New York, where the oil giant stands accused of defrauding investors by misleading them about the risks it faces from future climate regulations.
Cities seek help to set up waste-energy plants
24 Oct 2019
Garbage from homes, schools and businesses around the globe amounted to 2.2 billion tonnes) in 2016, disproportionately discarded by people in North America, Europe and Central Asia.
HORROR STORY: It's scary the pollution Halloween produces
24 Oct 2019
Halloween next week will produce a frightening amount of plastic pollution in the form of food and costume packaging, masks and accessories, and costumes made from polyester, nylon, and acrylic.
Canadian election gives carbon tax a chance
23 Oct 2019
Environment leaders say the federal election result should be a signal from Canadians that climate change should no longer be fodder for partisan bickering.
We're letting down humanity, says climate scientist
23 Oct 2019
As the climate emergency becomes ever more acute, scientists need to alter the way they approach it – or face being part of the problem.
Melting glaciers reveal five islands in Arctic
23 Oct 2019
The Russian navy says it has discovered five new islands revealed by melting glaciers in the remote Arctic.
Ozone hole smallest since 80s, thanks to the wonky weather
23 Oct 2019
Wonky weather has given us the smallest Antarctic ozone hole on record since the 1980s, according to NASA.
Renewables could grow 50% in next five years
23 Oct 2019
Global supplies of renewable electricity are growing faster than expected and could expand by 50 per cent in the next five years, powered by a resurgence in solar energy.
Cook Islands sacked me, says opponent of seabed mining
22 Oct 2019
The public champion of the world’s largest marine reserve – the Cook Islands’ Marae Moana – has said she lost her job managing it because she supported a moratorium on seabed mining in the Pacific.
Exxon and oil sands go on trial in New York
22 Oct 2019
The New York attorney-general says Exxon used two sets of books and misled investors by downplaying the potential costs of carbon emissions.
Engineers turn backs on new fossil fuel projects
22 Oct 2019
Engineering firms in Australia are under increased pressure from their own employees to abandon controversial fossil fuel projects, as the sector turns its attention to the climate crisis.
Warming forces world of ice into retreat
22 Oct 2019
New evidence from the air, space, atmospheric chemistry and old records is testament to global warming impacts on the speed of change in the frozen world.
It's a tragic, desperate mess, says Attenborough
21 Oct 2019
Humanity has made a “tragic, desperate mess” of the planet, Sir David Attenborough has said.
Cocaine traffickers fuel climate change
21 Oct 2019
An ever-expanding US market for cocaine is leading to drug traffickers destroying swathes of tropical forest to create new transport routes.
Why driverless cars won’t deliver a transport revolution
21 Oct 2019
The breathless hype around driverless electric vehicles once promised an urban transport “revolution”.
Europe’s largest floating solar plant up and running
21 Oct 2019
The Rhône valley in southern France is best known for its wines and food. Now, it can also add solar power to its list of attractions.
Temperatures driving alarming levels of hunger
18 Oct 2019
The climate crisis is driving alarming levels of hunger in the world, undermining food security in the world’s most vulnerable regions, according to this year’s global hunger index.
Trump plans to open 'America's Amazon' to loggers
18 Oct 2019
Donald Trump’s administration is proposing to lift longstanding restrictions on logging in part of southeast Alaska known as “America’s Amazon”.
Sorry about that, says Ecuador, and reinstates Big Oil subsidies
18 Oct 2019
Calm has returned to the streets of Quito after Ecuador’s government agreed to reinstate fuel subsidies following 11 days of nationwide, violent protests.
BARE FACTS: Australia's hidden climate crisis
17 Oct 2019
Farming communities in Australia are bitterly divided over an epidemic of land clearing they say is sabotaging efforts to address climate change.
XR eyes legal action over London ban
17 Oct 2019
Extinction Rebellion is eyeing a legal challenge after police placed a London-wide ban on the group’s ongoing climate protest.
Stand aside, science, we can solve this in any old kitchen
17 Oct 2019
Forget the laboratory - substances to solve some environmental problems can be easily created in a kitchen, new research shows.
Shell has no choice but to keep drilling, says CEO
16 Oct 2019
Shell CEO Ben van Beurden has warned of the consequences of rejecting oil and gas too quickly.
Queensland wants to jail XR protesters
16 Oct 2019
Queensland has proposed two-year jail sentences for Extinction Rebellion protesters caught with a locking device used to fix people in public places.
Copenhagen sprints to crown of first carbon-neutral capital
16 Oct 2019
Green growth and ‘hedonistic sustainability’ have helped to keep the public on board as Copenhagen seeks to be the first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
We'll see more ebola outbreaks, say scientists
16 Oct 2019
Outbreaks of ebola – the deadly virus that causes severe bleeding and liver and kidney failure – are likely to increase as the climate warms, scientists say.
Google donations finance climate deniers
15 Oct 2019
Google has made “substantial” contributions to some of the most notorious climate deniers in Washington despite its insistence that it supports political action on the climate crisis.
SURVIVAL CITY: What happens if cities act but nations don't?
15 Oct 2019
It is cities, not national governments, that are most aggressively fighting the climate crisis – and in 30 years they could look radically different.
It’s only October, so what’s with all these bushfires?
15 Oct 2019
Summer might be more than six weeks away, but out-of-control bushfires have already torn across parts of eastern Australia in recent days, destroying homes and threatening lives.
Big Three oversee $300b in fossil fuel investments
14 Oct 2019
The world’s three largest money managers have built a combined $300bn fossil fuel investment portfolio using money from people’s private savings and pension contributions, the Guardian reveals.
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.
