Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Trump stranglehold adds to growing doubts at climate talks
8 Nov 2024
Nearly 200 nations will soon gather for the annual COP29 summit, where efforts to increase funding for poor countries and slash emissions will run against the reality of a hostile American president.
Deadlock over climate finance is undermining Paris agreement, Singapore minister says
8 Nov 2024
Efforts by the United States and others to persuade more countries to contribute to a new global climate financing initiative risks undermining the Paris agreement, Singapore's Environment Minister Grace Fu told Reuters on Wednesday.
European climate agency says this will likely be the hottest year on record - again
8 Nov 2024
For the second year in a row, Earth will almost certainly be the hottest it’s ever been.
Big Oil’s dirty legacy in Nigeria
8 Nov 2024
Who will clean up the environmental mess when Shell and others pull out of the Niger Delta?
Climate adaptation finance gap swells to at least $187bn per year
8 Nov 2024
This is according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s ‘Adaptation Gap Report 2024’, which emphasises the increasing vulnerability of developing nations to the worsening effects of climate change and underscores the urgent need for much greater financial support.
‘Drill, baby, drill’: What Trump’s victory could mean for the future, according to climate experts
7 Nov 2024
Trump's victory could be a 'major blow' for global climate action but experts say it may not slow the roll of the green transition.
Why didn’t climate change come up more in the presidential campaign?
7 Nov 2024
Climate change has dangerously supercharged fires, hurricanes, floods and heat waves. Why didn’t it come up more in the presidential campaign?
Leaders from key countries to skip COP29 climate summit
7 Nov 2024
World leaders from major economies including the United States, the European Union and Brazil are planning to skip this year's United Nations climate change summit, known as COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Scotland passes climate change legislation
7 Nov 2024
Scotland has officially scrapped annual climate targets as well as its 2030 and 2040 interim targets, but is still aiming to reach net-zero by 2045.
Dams have taken half the water from Australia’s second biggest river – and climate change will make it even worse
7 Nov 2024
The largest wetland on Australia’s second longest river, the Murrumbidgee in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, is drying up. This is bad news for the plants, animals and people who rely on the vast Lowbidgee Floodplain.
EU accused of inviting fossil fuel executives to COP28 under false pretences
7 Nov 2024
The European Commission is facing criticism from politicians and campaigners for giving a free pass for senior oil and gas executives to attend last year’s COP28 summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
‘The world is watching’: Why US election result could dictate global progress on climate action
6 Nov 2024
The US presidential election comes just days ahead of the world’s most important climate negotiations at COP29. Experts say the outcome will have a profound impact on the US’ leadership role at the talks, and beyond.
How the media is failing us
6 Nov 2024
COMMENT: Journalists setting global news agendas tend to have higher incomes and little personal experience of societal catastrophe. Our complacency and lack of scientific training encourage us to underplay the biggest story of them all, climate change.
Legal experts say Trump could quit Paris pact – but leaving UNFCCC much harder
6 Nov 2024
As the US Senate approved the US joining the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it’s unclear if a president could easily pull the country out.
Returning grazing land to native forests would yield big climate benefits
6 Nov 2024
Removing cattle from carbon-rich soils in the eastern U.S. and western Europe while intensifying production elsewhere could drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions, with little hit to global protein production, a new study shows.
Global efforts to curb methane fall short as emissions keep rising
6 Nov 2024
Methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry, including coal mining, remain close to a record level set in 2019.
COP29: What is the ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance?
6 Nov 2024
As nations assemble at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, one issue is expected to dominate the summit: climate finance.
The US election’s climate choice
5 Nov 2024
There are many clear choices at stake in the US Presidential election. One of the starkest is climate.
China hopes US will continue climate change collaboration whoever wins election, official says
5 Nov 2024
China hopes the United States will be able to continue to cooperate with other countries on climate change, whatever the outcome of the presidential election next week, a senior government official said on Friday.
We are in danger of forgetting what the climate crisis means: extinction
5 Nov 2024
COMMENT: The catastrophic floods in Valencia remind us that the fate of human beings and animals is what is truly important.
Heat-related deaths and diseases rising due to climate change, experts warn
5 Nov 2024
Lancet report says average person experienced 50 more days of dangerous temperatures than normal due to climate crisis.
Prince William begins a visit to South Africa that focuses on climate and the environment
5 Nov 2024
Prince William will speak with young environmentalists and local fishermen during a visit to South Africa starting Monday that will see his annual Earthshot Prize award $1.2 million in grants to five organisations for innovative environmental ideas.
Austria's alpine refuges and trails crumble as climate warms
5 Nov 2024
Experts say warmer temperatures across the Alps are accelerating glacier melt and thawing permafrost, the year-round ice that binds together giant slabs of rock.
Spain’s apocalyptic floods show two undeniable truths: the climate crisis is getting worse and Big Oil is killing us
4 Nov 2024
COMMENT: If past experience is any guide, the world’s reaction to the floods in Spain last week will be similar to that of motorway drivers at a crash scene: slow down, take in the horror, outwardly express sympathy, inwardly give thanks that fate picked someone else – and foot on the accelerator.
Verra’s plan to review carbon credits faster with fewer staff raises integrity concerns
4 Nov 2024
Verra’s new CEO said that “faster does not equal to compromise on integrity” – but independent carbon market experts are sceptical.
Climate-fuelled extreme weather is hiking up car insurance rates
4 Nov 2024
Home insurers have raised premiums after extreme weather events. Now car insurers in the U.S. are doing the same thing.
An overlooked solution for climate-friendly buildings: Better floor plans
4 Nov 2024
A new algorithm-based method of designing floor plans for apartment buildings could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring more efficient use of space, according to a new study.
Nine years after the Paris Agreement, the UN confronts the world’s failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
4 Nov 2024
In one of three new reports on emissions, UN officials went as far as saying that the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius may be out of reach.
UN report obscures meat’s true climate impact
4 Nov 2024
A United Nations climate report made headlines last week with a stark warning: the planet is on track to heat by 2.6 to 3.1 degrees Celsius within the century.
Deadliest weather made worse by climate change - scientists
1 Nov 2024
Human-caused climate change made the ten deadliest extreme weather events of the last 20 years more intense and more likely, according to new analysis.
BRICS countries reject global climate action
1 Nov 2024
Sovereignty was the theme of this year’s BRICS Summit, the 16th annual conference of major oil producing and rapidly developing countries.
Authoritarianism is on the rise. Is climate change to blame?
1 Nov 2024
There's evidence that global warming creates fertile ground for political strongmen to come to power.
The case for Kamala Harris in a burning world
1 Nov 2024
By Jeff Goodell | COMMENT: The race between Harris and Trump is not about saving the planet. It’s about saving ourselves.
California's schools are embracing vegan meals
1 Nov 2024
How have plant-based lunches spread so successfully? Credit environmentally conscious students — and a handful of state funding programmes.
COP29 must kickstart stalled progress on the lifeline that is adaptation
1 Nov 2024
Targets for adapting to climate change are meaningless without the means to act. It’s time for a clear adaptation finance goal.
Spain battles deadliest flood disaster in decades as death toll rises
31 Oct 2024
Spain is enduring its worst flooding disaster in decades, with at least 95 people dead and dozens more missing, after huge rains swept the eastern province of Valencia and beyond.
Planet-heating pollutants in atmosphere hit record levels in 2023
31 Oct 2024
Carbon dioxide concentration has increased by more than 10% in just two decades, reports World Meteorological Organization.
Fossil fuel transition pledge left out of COP16 draft agreement
31 Oct 2024
An earlier draft decision at the UN nature summit included a call to transition away from fossil fuels – but it has been cut from the latest version.
Mercedes-Benz opens Europe’s first battery recycling plant
31 Oct 2024
Mercedes-Benz has opened Europe’s first battery recycling plant with an integrated mechanical-hydrometallurgical process, making it the first car manufacturer to close the battery recycling loop with an in-house facility.
Microsoft clinches ocean-based carbon removal deal
31 Oct 2024
The tech giant will contract an initial 1,333 tons of carbon dioxide removal from Ebb Carbon, with options to purchase up to 350,000 tons of removal over 10 years.
Trump megadonor’s plan to change US democracy
31 Oct 2024
A Texas fracking billionaire wants to rewrite the US Constitution to advance climate denial and other extreme far-right priorities.
UN COP16 nature talks gridlocked as conservation funding trickles in
30 Oct 2024
Advocacy groups said the pledges – which brings the total raised by the fund to about $400 million – fell far short of the billions of dollars envisioned for the fund.
Alarm call as world's trees slide towards extinction
30 Oct 2024
Scientists assessing dangers posed to the world’s trees have revealed that more than a third of species are facing extinction in the wild.
US and European hydrogen stock prices collapse as prospects deflate
30 Oct 2024
Projects face lower than expected demand, regulatory uncertainties and growing investor scepticism.
PNG will not attend UN COP29 summit: Foreign Minister Tkatchenko
30 Oct 2024
Tkatchenko said: “Papua New Guinea is making this stand for the benefit of all small island nations. We will no longer tolerate empty promises and inaction, while our people suffer the devastating consequences of climate change.”
Landmark court case sees activist group sue gas giant Santos for allegedly misleading investors
30 Oct 2024
Gas giant Santos told investors it had a clear plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 but had no evidence to back it up, the Federal Court has heard during the first morning of litigation against the gas giant.
COP this – gas is not a climate solution
30 Oct 2024
Hosting COP31 climate talks is an opportunity to showcase South Australia to the world, writes Belinda Noble, but not if we allow it to promote gas.
Govt to invest $20 million for Pacific disaster and climate resilience
29 Oct 2024
New Zealand will contribute $20 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Planet will warm as much as 3.1°C under current policies: UN Report
29 Oct 2024
Without greater action, the planet will warm as much as 3.1 degrees Celsius, with a “massive gap between rhetoric and reality” that must be closed by new climate pledges under the Paris Agreement, according to the UN.
UK’s next Paris pledge should commit to ‘81% emissions cut by 2035’: govt advisors
29 Oct 2024
The UK should make an international pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 81% below 1990 levels by 2035, according to the government’s advisory Climate Change Committee.
Governments must vote in favour of moratorium on deep sea mining
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Media release - Greenpeace | The 30th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has ended with Greenpeace saying governments are continuing to fall short in protecting the deep sea.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
Tue 29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Carbon prices slide as market awaits ETS decision
Fri 1 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Volatility has returned to the secondary carbon market, with prices sliding again after plateauing in recent weeks, as the market waits for government decisions on Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
Coal use drove recent emissions increase
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Increased use of coal for electricity generation was a large driver for an increase in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in the last quarter.
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?
Fri 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.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Bill to restart oil and gas exploration clears final hurdle
Fri 1 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s Crown Minerals Amendment Bill is set to become law after passing its third reading in parliament last night, with critics calling it humiliating for the climate minister and an embarrassment to New Zealand's international reputation.
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.
Warmer than usual weather ahead, wetter in north and east, as La Niña signals strengthen
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Media release – Earth Sciences New Zealand | Seasonal Outlook Climate August to October 2025 suggests warm, damp weather, with La Niña’s possible return.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Wilding pines threaten Molesworth Station
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Without increased support, the unchecked spread of wilding pines will continue to creep across Marlborough’s high country – putting iconic landscapes and one of New Zealand’s top five biodiversity hotspots at serious risk, according to an expert.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
Thu 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.
A modest geothermal strategy
Thu 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.
European Central Bank to consider 'climate factor' when lending to banks
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The European Central Bank will add climate change considerations to its lending operations from late 2026, raising pressure on banks to channel financing towards greener sectors as the euro zone seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
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
Tue 29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
Wed 30 Jul 2025
Bathurst Resources has been forced to truck coal from its Stockton mine as climate activists occupy coal buckets at the mine for a third day.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
Thu 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.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Toxic algae are turning South Australia’s coral reefs into underwater graveyards
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia’s coastline.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Tilting at windmills? Trump’s claims about turbines fact-checked
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The US president has taken a swipe at wind power as the blades visible from his Turnberry golf course turn.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
