Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Australia sweats through hottest August on record with temperatures 3C above average
3 Sep 2024
The 2024 winter was the second hottest on record since weather data collection began in 1910.
‘These ideas are incredibly popular’: what is degrowth and can it save the planet?
3 Sep 2024
The post-growth movement says GDP is the wrong way to measure progress and we need a radical economic rewiring.
Looking for stability in a volatile stock market? Try green energy
3 Sep 2024
A novel statistical technique used to track global financial markets reveals the potential of clean energy investments to buffer against losses.
How ‘climate mainstreaming’ can address climate change and further development goals
3 Sep 2024
Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy urges Canadians to consider climate change impacts in their everyday decisions.
Hempcrete: The green brick taking on the challenge of climate change
3 Sep 2024
Hempcrete is a bio-based building material helping to power the drive to net-zero, but how can a product developed a millennia ago help tackle today's environmental challenges?
Climate change as a moral trigger: Starbucks and corporate jets
3 Sep 2024
The Starbucks saga reminds us that we live in an era of heightened climate sensibilities, where corporate reputations are tarnished by small acts of CEO’s perceived climate transgressions.
Surging methane emissions could be a sign of a major climate shift
2 Sep 2024
New studies suggest global warming boosts natural methane releases, which could undermine efforts to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas from fossil fuels and agriculture.
Green groups call on UK govt to stop subsidies for biomass plant
2 Sep 2024
More than 40 groups are calling on the government to scrap plans to pay billions in subsidies to the Drax biomass power plant, which was recently revealed as the country's worst carbon emitter.
Victory for South Korean climate activists as government ordered to improve carbon cutting plans
2 Sep 2024
It is the first ever legal case in East Asia challenging national climate policies so it could set a precedent.
A ‘global cold rush’ is reshaping the planet, and how the world eats
2 Sep 2024
Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves, says the expansion of the world's cold chain has wide-ranging climate implications.
Could permeable pavement ease flooding woes in New York City?
2 Sep 2024
It can’t help cities control the weather, but by slowing the flow of stormwater, permeable pavement can lessen flooding from big storms.
Changing how the rich eat would free up two times the emissions required for the diets of the poor to grow
2 Sep 2024
If we changed the world’s consumption patterns to focus more on plants and less on meat, we could reduce global emissions by almost 20%, a new study shows.
‘Immoral and unacceptable’: Tuvalu calls on Australia to set urgent deadline to end fossil fuels
30 Aug 2024
A day after agreement was ratified at the Pacific Island Forum, the country’s climate minister says ‘root cause of climate change’ must be addressed.
Canada wildfires last year released more carbon than several countries
30 Aug 2024
Wildfires that swept Canada's woodlands last year released more greenhouse gases than some of the largest emitting countries, calling into question national emissions budgets that rely on forests to be carbon stores.
GOP-led states urge Supreme Court to pause EPA plan meant to cut methane emissions by 80%
30 Aug 2024
Republican officials in 24 states asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to halt a Biden administration effort to reduce emissions of the planet-warming gas methane, adding to a series of emergency appeals challenging environmental regulations.
Record number of Americans killed by heat in 2023: Research
30 Aug 2024
Extreme heat killed more Americans in 2023 than any other year over nearly a quarter century of records, according to research.
New £38 million centre to study ‘alternative proteins’ launched in UK
30 Aug 2024
Scientists will explore whether lab-grown meat or proteins from sources such as insects, plants, fungi, and microbes could form part of the UK diet.
BBC accused of doing PR for major polluters
29 Aug 2024
The broadcaster’s in-house content studio has been paid to promote fossil fuel firms and petrostates with a history of persecuting journalists.
EU faces lawsuits over emissions rules, 'green' label for planes
29 Aug 2024
Environmental campaigners have taken the European Commission to court, seeking to force Brussels to upgrade its emissions rules for 2030 and, in a second case, scrap rules that label some planes as climate-friendly investments.
Expect energy shocks if producers assume oil demand dip by 2050, says Exxon
29 Aug 2024
The world is in for an energy shock if oil producers start assuming that a dip in global demand will occur by 2050, according to ExxonMobil.
More than 40% of world’s electricity came from zero-carbon sources in 2023
29 Aug 2024
Investments in renewables continue to outpace fossil fuels, a BloombergNEF report finds.
UN chief issues climate SOS, warns of ‘unimaginable’ catastrophe
28 Aug 2024
Speaking at a meeting of Pacific Island leaders in Tonga, Antonio Guterres warned the region was ‘uniquely exposed’.
Caribbean islands hope UN court will end ‘debt cycle’ caused by climate crisis
28 Aug 2024
The outcome of an international court case on climate change obligations could strengthen the legal position of Caribbean islands claiming damages from developed countries after natural disasters, lawyers say.
Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable
28 Aug 2024
Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier got its nickname the “Doomsday Glacier” for its potential to flood coastlines around the world if it collapsed.
Australian homeowners struggling to afford insurance as climate risks grow, report says
28 Aug 2024
Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for a growing number of Australian households as increased climate threats drive up their premiums.
China coal plant approvals plunge as green power grows: Study
28 Aug 2024
China approved the building of nine gigawatts of coal power generation in the first half of 2024, down by more than 80 per cent compared with a year earlier as the nation adds renewable energy capacity in record amounts.
Solar above, batteries below: here’s how warehouses and shopping centres could produce 25% of Australia’s power
27 Aug 2024
Imagine if Australian cities became major producers of clean energy, rather than relying on far-flung solar and wind farms.
Floods swamp Bangladesh as nation finds its feet after protests
27 Aug 2024
Floods triggered by torrential rains have swamped a swath of low-lying Bangladesh, adding to the new government's challenges after weeks of political turmoil.
1,500 policies to fix global warming were implemented in 41 countries. Here are the ones that worked best
27 Aug 2024
As the need for effective global climate action becomes ever more urgent, a “first-of-its-kind” analysis has identified policies around the world that have done the most to rein in planet-heating pollution.
Communicating consensus strengthens beliefs about climate change, finds 27-country study
27 Aug 2024
Climate scientists have long agreed that humans are largely responsible for climate change.
Will we be ready? Geoengineering policy lags far behind pace of climate change
27 Aug 2024
The history of geoengineering policymaking has been piecemeal over past decades, with U.N. bodies failing to create or implement rigorous binding international regulatory frameworks.
Australia passes landmark bill mandating climate risk disclosures for companies
26 Aug 2024
New reporting standards require climate resilience assessments under both 1.5°C and 2.5°C warming scenarios.
Pacific Islands leaders to meet as region faces ‘polycrisis’ of threats
26 Aug 2024
The last time UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a summit with the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum, he made international news as he stood thigh-deep, dressed in a suit and tie, in the sea off the coast of Tuvalu.
Summer heat arrives in August, threatening to break all-time Australian winter temperature records
26 Aug 2024
Extraordinary August heat is developing across Australia, causing temperatures to spike up to 16 degrees Celsius above average while threatening all-time seasonal records in multiple states.
Kamala Harris avoids getting specific on climate change — for now
26 Aug 2024
Harris has backed away from past climate policies to avoid breaking with Biden. How long will that last?
Heat deaths in Europe may triple by end of the century, study finds
26 Aug 2024
Countries in south most at risk, with rise likely to outstrip fall in cold-related deaths if global heating hits 3C or 4C.
Which governments are backpedalling on climate commitments?
23 Aug 2024
New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK are among countries that have revised, or may revise, climate commitments for fiscal ends.
The scientist who proposes pumping sulfuric acid into the atmosphere to cool the planet
23 Aug 2024
American physicist David Keith is the best-known promoter of solar geoengineering, a controversial alternative in the fight against climate change.
The 1.5°C target is dead, but climate action needn't be
23 Aug 2024
For the first time, climate scientists have explicitly said it will be impossible to limit peak warming to 1.5°C. Now our focus should be on taking action, not meaningless platitudes and slogans.
Global warming may be factor in deadly Italian shipwreck, climatologist says
23 Aug 2024
Global warming may have contributed to the freak storm that sank a luxury British-flagged yacht off the coast of Sicily, Italian climatologist Luca Mercalli told Reuters.
Democratic platform calls for net-zero agricultural emissions by 2050
22 Aug 2024
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the climate-smart initiative will spur the development of sustainable farm products and markets for them.
How ‘green’ electricity from wood harms the planet — and people
22 Aug 2024
Many nations have embraced burning wood pellets to produce electricity — under the assumption that it is carbon neutral.
China is backing off coal power plant approvals after a 2022-23 surge that alarmed climate experts
22 Aug 2024
Approvals for new coal-fired power plants in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, after a flurry of permits in the previous two years raised concern about the government’s commitment to limiting climate change.
You can’t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°C
22 Aug 2024
Like the proverbial frog in the heating pan of water, we refuse to respond to the climate and ecological crisis with any sense of urgency.
The livestock lobby is waging war on ‘lab-grown meat’
22 Aug 2024
OPINION: These new proteins could be our best hope of averting catastrophe. But governments are trying to have them banned.
China reports record high flood incidents with frequent, heavy rainfall across north and south
21 Aug 2024
Since the start of this year's flood season, China's major rivers have experienced 25 significant flood events, the highest number recorded since data collection began in 1998.
I’ve cancelled my holiday because of climate change
21 Aug 2024
OPINION: Extreme heat and the associated effects of climate change will stop us going to traditional resorts.
Azerbaijan raises alarm over Caspian Sea's 'catastrophic' shrinking
21 Aug 2024
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin his concern over what he said was the "catastrophic" shrinking of the Caspian Sea.
Humans can work with nature to solve big environmental problems – but there’s no quick fix
21 Aug 2024
“Nature-based solutions” are gaining momentum in environmental policy, including in Australia.
Climate change is making the Middle East uninhabitable
21 Aug 2024
ANALYSIS: It’s been a brutal summer for the region—and the effects are spreading to the rest of the world.
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.
