Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
EU countries cautious on Brazil’s push for new climate body
8 Apr 2025
Brazil’s idea to create a new multilateral body under the UN climate regime to fast-track implementation of COP decisions has triggered cautious responses from key developed countries, with Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden backing reform discussions but warning against weakening the core UNFCCC process.
Do climate goals matter in a bad economy?
8 Apr 2025
It would be understandable for a climate concerned person to fear that economic headwinds will be yet another force that slows climate action.
World’s largest deforestation project fells forests for bioethanol fuel, sugar and rice in Indonesia
8 Apr 2025
Indonesia plans to clear forests about the size of Belgium to produce sugarcane-derived bioethanol, rice and other food crops, potentially displacing Indigenous groups who rely on the land to survive.
Hopes fade for climate cash from carbon price on shipping
8 Apr 2025
Government negotiators look set to agree to keep the money raised by taxing shipping emissions within the maritime sector.
UK to relax electric car rules as US tariffs hit
8 Apr 2025
The government has announced a relaxation of electric vehicle sales targets to help the car industry in the face of trade tariffs from the US.
Space probe to map carbon content of world’s remotest tropical forests
8 Apr 2025
Revolutionary scanner to be fired into Earth orbit this month to measure effects of deforestation.
Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer
7 Apr 2025
The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate.
How Trump’s tariffs could spark a new plastic crisis
7 Apr 2025
Amid escalating trade tensions and tariffs on recyclable materials, the president’s policies threaten environmental progress and may drive consumers back to disposable plastics.
Offsets discredited
7 Apr 2025
Eight critical flaws in industry reports expose how misleading data analysis is used to promote the carbon offset industry.
The truth about Trump’s Greenland campaign
7 Apr 2025
When the president talks about security in the Arctic, he’s talking about climate change.
Finland's last active coal-fired power and heat plant shuts down
7 Apr 2025
Finland's last coal-fired power and heat plant in active production will shut down permanently on Tuesday, enabling Helsinki energy group Helen to cut its emissions and put an end to rising energy costs for its customers, its chief executive said.
‘Fossil fuels are killing us’: Major study details how fossil fuels are driving climate, health and biodiversity crises
7 Apr 2025
In a new review published in the journal Oxford Open Climate Change, scientists have issued an urgent warning that the fossil fuel industry and its products are driving intertwined crises threatening humans, wildlife and our shared future on this planet.
What Donald Trump’s dramatic US trade war means for global climate action
4 Apr 2025
US President Donald Trump’s new trade war will not only send shockwaves through the global economy – it also upsets efforts to tackle the urgent issue of climate change.
US banks predict climate goals will fail – but air conditioning firms will thrive
4 Apr 2025
Reports predict global heating will bring catastrophes and that air conditioning market could grow by 41%.
Former world leaders urge EU to hold the line on climate
4 Apr 2025
A group of former world leaders is urging Europe to keep pushing its green agenda even as trade wars and defence spending distract attention from climate issues, Ireland's former President Mary Robinson told Reuters on Tuesday.
Rewilding death in the Appalachian mountains
4 Apr 2025
A growing conservation burial movement is challenging the funeral industry’s environmental footprint while healing the land.
New EV solar charger can supply enough power for short daily trips
4 Apr 2025
GoSun, a solar technology company, is accepting deposits for its new EV solar charger. The device mounts onto the roof rack of the car, unfolds over the length of the electric vehicle and plugs into the charging port to turn solar energy into power for the car.
What’s the best way to make the tomato industry more carbon-efficient? Hint: It’s not local.
4 Apr 2025
Tomatoes are the most-farmed vegetable in the world. Researchers set out to quantify the carbon footprint of this ballooning industry—and then identify ways to shrink it.
Macron vows to defend science as host of UN oceans summit
3 Apr 2025
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to defend science from attacks by "major powers" as he tried to rally global support behind an upcoming UN summit on ocean conservation.
China can greatly reduce its reliance on coal, but probably won’t
3 Apr 2025
Even though solar and wind power are growing at a blistering pace.
Properties destroyed as ‘horrendous’ waves batter Sydney coast
3 Apr 2025
Residents have been evacuated, properties flooded and coastal infrastructure damaged after a large swell combined with a king tide to batter the Australian shore.
Behind the scenes at Kyoto: Drama and diplomacy on the world stage
3 Apr 2025
What did it take to get nearly 200 nations to agree on tackling climate change in 1997? And what have we learned in the decades since?
By zapping seawater with electricity, scientists make a solid carbon-negative building material
3 Apr 2025
In a double whammy, the method sucks up carbon dioxide and upcycles it into a material that can be used to make concrete, cement, plaster, and paint.
Is the Earth losing resilience, and does it matter?
3 Apr 2025
Part 2: What the Earth might be telling us about resilience and climate sensitivity.
More than 1,900 scientists write letter in ‘SOS’ over Trump’s attacks on science
2 Apr 2025
Members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine warned Americans of ‘real danger in this moment’.
Banks see a dire climate future — and ways to profit
2 Apr 2025
Top banks are quietly advising their clients on how to build a financial life raft — or perhaps life yacht — from the wreckage of runaway climate change.
Global warming of more than 3°C this century may wipe 40% off the world’s economy, new analysis reveals
2 Apr 2025
The damage climate change will inflict on the world’s economy is likely to have been massively underestimated, according to new research by my colleagues and I which accounts for the full global reach of extreme weather and its aftermath.
Study finds deforestation is a leading indicator of Ebola outbreaks
2 Apr 2025
A new CDC-led study identifies deforestation as a leading indicator of Ebola virus spillover. Using machine learning and two decades of satellite data, researchers found that forest loss and fragmentation were among the strongest predictors of where the virus might jump from animals to humans. The model doesn’t prove causation—but it does help identify environmental patterns that could guide preparedness in regions facing rising ecological pressure.
Scientists shielding farming from climate change need more public funding. But they’re getting less
2 Apr 2025
Erin McGuire spent years cultivating fruits and vegetables like onions, peppers and tomatoes as a scientist and later director of a lab at the University of California-Davis. Then the funding stopped.
Disaster as Trump’s energy policy totally disregards climate change
2 Apr 2025
COMMENT: Energy — where we get it, how we use it and what it costs — is fundamental to the quality and stability of modern life. It influences virtually everything we do and affects everything we hope to have in the future.
Rain records to fall in Queensland with Townsville to set new annual high
1 Apr 2025
Queensland cities and towns are dealing with the effects of flooding – including extensive stock losses and widespread damage – after a year’s worth of rain fell in a matter of days.
Trump administration cancels clean energy grants as it prioritises fossil fuels
1 Apr 2025
President Donald Trump’s administration is terminating grants for two clean energy projects and roughly 300 others funded by the Department of Energy are in jeopardy as the president prioritises fossil fuels.
Hosting the UN climate summit is far from ‘madness’ – here’s how Australia stands to benefit
1 Apr 2025
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton would withdraw Australia’s bid to co-host next year’s global climate summit if the Coalition wins the federal election.
Commentary: Welcome to the age of Big Oil's managed decline
1 Apr 2025
Top oil and gas companies are losing confidence in the outlook for their core businesses.
London police arrest six people at climate change meeting
1 Apr 2025
British police raided a Quaker meeting house in London on Thursday and arrested six women attending a meeting on climate change and the war in Gaza, according to a statement from Quakers UK.
The case against a carbon credit farm in Madagascar
1 Apr 2025
The Italian multinational Tozzi Green has begun planting trees on land that local residents claim was stolen from them.
Christians worldwide urged to take legal action on climate crisis
31 Mar 2025
Christians around the world are being encouraged to take legal action against polluters and those who finance them.
Digging for minerals in the Pacific’s graveyard: The $20 trillion fight over who controls the seabed
31 Mar 2025
Today, the ocean that Kahoʻohalahala and so many other Indigenous peoples crossed, cared for, and survived on is on track to be mined for polymetallic nodules.
EU encourages stockpiling of 72 hours of food for emergencies
31 Mar 2025
European households will be encouraged to stockpile 72 hours of food to deal with emergencies, according to a plan to prepare for a crisis proposed on Wednesday by the commission.
Arctic ends winter with lowest sea ice cover on record – scientists
31 Mar 2025
The new record shows how Arctic sea ice has ‘fundamentally changed’ from earlier decades, scientists said.
What the ESG backlash reveals—and what comes next
31 Mar 2025
There was a time, not long ago, when the corporate world spoke with confidence about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Every major firm had a sustainability strategy. Reporting teams expanded. Investor decks were reworked. Boards set net-zero targets, and executives attended climate summits. The shift felt real—perhaps even irreversible.
Global soil moisture in ‘permanent’ decline due to climate change
31 Mar 2025
A new study warns that global declines in soil moisture in the 21st century could mark a “permanent” shift in the world’s water cycle.
EU appears to back down on carbon levy on international shipping
28 Mar 2025
The long-awaited carbon levy on international shipping that was to supply vital climate finance looks set to be significantly diluted, after the EU appeared to be backing down in global talks, in a blow to vulnerable countries.
Parisians vote to ban cars from 500 more streets
28 Mar 2025
Parisians have voted in favour of pedestrianising 500 more streets in the French capital, bolstering City Hall’s ongoing campaign to reduce car usage and enhance air quality.
Climate investors see opportunity in Trump’s anti-climate push
28 Mar 2025
US President Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies spell opportunity for some climate investors.
Green hydrogen has stalled in nearly every corner of Australia. So why is the government still revving it up?
28 Mar 2025
The green hydrogen revolution wasn’t supposed to go like this. In September, the climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, declared Australia “the green hydrogen capital of the world” with “50-plus companies on the ground” and a pipeline of investments worth $200bn.
COP30 president vows to defend global climate fight
28 Mar 2025
Brazil's UN COP30 president on Tuesday said that this year's summit would aim to defend climate action by governments against "serious" geopolitical challenges, while also pushing the private sector to contribute more to the fight.
Why middle class Brits who think collapse is coming still stay silent
28 Mar 2025
OPINION: In one hand, an oat latte. In the other, a phone with social feeds full of doom-scroll posts about the end of the world. Across Britain, a quiet transformation is happening.
Indonesia confirms $20 billion climate deal despite US exit
27 Mar 2025
The Indonesian government confirmed a $20 billion commitment from rich nations to help it shut polluting coal plants and transition to cleaner energy sources remains in place, despite the US exit from the agreement.
China to expand carbon trading market to steel, cement and aluminium
27 Mar 2025
China released plans on Wednesday to expand its carbon trading market into the steel, cement and aluminium smelting industries, a move that will require an additional 1,500 firms to purchase credits to cover their emissions, the environment ministry said.
FMA urges sharper focus on climate risk disclosures
Tue 26 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand companies are making steady progress in climate-related financial disclosures, but the Financial Markets Authority says many organisations still need to provide clearer and more robust reporting on physical climate risks and their potential business impacts.
Climate Leaders Coalition on PM meetings: 'it wasn’t us'
Mon 25 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The 81-member Climate Leaders Coalition is distancing itself from the actions of members who lobbied the Prime Minister’s Office to intervene and stop a landmark climate change court case.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns
20 Apr 2026
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.
Govt ramps up war on wilding pines with $79m boost
Mon 25 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is ramping up efforts to contain the spread of wilding pines with a $79 million funding boost aimed at protecting farmland, biodiversity hotspots, tourism landscapes and water catchments across New Zealand.
Thumbs up for Govt help for businesses transitioning from gas
Tue 26 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Businesses and climate advocates alike have welcomed the Government’s pre-budget announcement that it will help secure cheap lending for businesses transitioning from gas, as New Zealand’s domestic supply dwindles.
Govt unveils long-awaited voluntary carbon market guidance
15 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has released long-awaited guidance for New Zealand’s voluntary carbon and nature markets, as questions continue for the sector despite ministers signalling support for its growth.
Carbon News updates forward curve
13 May 2026
Carbon News has updated its ten-year NZU forward curve, following a recent rise in spot market prices, with NZUs rallying from about $34 in January to nearly $54 in early May.
New coal plants hit ‘10-year’ global high in 2025 – but power output still fell
Fri 22 May 2026
The number of new coal-fired power plants built around the world hit a “10-year high” in 2025, even as the global coal fleet generated less electricity, amid a “widening disconnect” in the sector.
Mike Smith’s asymmetric victory
Mon 25 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The New Zealand Government’s recent move, undercutting citizens’ rights and the rule of law to cancel the country’s most important climate case is a massive win for Mike Smith, the climate change activist who brought it.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
Conservation land open for voluntary carbon market schemes
12 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government is to open up the Crown-owned conservation estate to private investment in voluntary carbon market projects.
Marae solar project boosts sustainability and mana motuhake
Mon 25 May 2026
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | Five marae from Whanganui to Taumarunui are running on solar power and many more could join a major green energy initiative aimed at cutting electricity costs and strengthening community resilience.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
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.
How do hurricanes and typhoons form and is climate change making them stronger?
Mon 25 May 2026
Rising temperatures mean that hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones have the potential to bring stronger winds and heavier rain – and scientists warn it only takes one strong storm to bring major impacts.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
Biomass sector asks: where did the love go?
18 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand has sufficient biomass in its plantation forests to replace natural gas for industrial process heat at lower costs than electrification, but is failing to get the attention it deserves, sector leaders say.
Govt’s LNG plan puts trade deals at risk, lawyers warn
Tue 26 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action are warning that the government’s plans for an LNG import terminal and to subsidise gas fields are in breach of New Zealand’s free trade agreements with the UK and the EU.
Hipkins pans LNG plan as ‘massive step backwards’
19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told a Queenstown audience that a Government he leads would not proceed with a planned LNG import terminal, if elected at November’s election.
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.”
New funding for low methane farming uptake
29 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government will co-fund projects under an Early Adoption Accelerator scheme announced today to accelerate the uptake of low emissions farming technologies emerging from the AgriZero public-private partnership.
NZ Govt’s move to halt climate litigation under international scrutiny
19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Local and international NGOs have signed an open letter calling on the Government to reconsider its decision to shield major emitters from legal liability for climate-related harm.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
29 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, with predicted lower rainfall for some areas and heavier rain for others likely to impact multiple sectors of the economy as well as the carbon market.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
Media round-up
24 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is the real cost of storm-hit infrastructure? Urgency is needed over climate adaptation funding; and a community conservation group has won a legal victory against multinational mining company OceanaGold.
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.
Climate resolution conundrum for NZ
Tue 26 May 2026
By Vernon Rive | COMMENT: While the United Nations resolution endorsing a landmark climate ruling is significant – politically, diplomatically and legally – its impact on international climate negotiations and domestic action is likely to be indirect and incremental.
GIDI-style help cheaper than LNG: MBIE
11 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Officials advised ministers last July that the lowest-cost way to free up gas for use during dry winters was to assist industrial gas users to switch to electricity.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
30 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is being urged to shift its response to the fuel crisis away from short-term relief and towards measures that reduce demand, with public health experts warning it is missing an opportunity to boost energy security and lower household costs.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
Move to block lawsuits could strengthen climate case against Govt
14 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s plan to block climate lawsuits – while potentially fatal for one groundbreaking climate case – could actually bolster claims in another live climate case underway against the Government.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
Tue 26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
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.
Six NZ climate solutions up for 2026 Earthshot prize
Thu 21 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Six New Zealand climate and sustainability initiatives have been nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, with the shortlist showcasing Kiwi-led solutions tackling emissions, plastic waste and ocean restoration.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Govt had ‘little choice’ in signing key UN climate resolution – expert
Fri 22 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate policy expert Bronwyn Hayward said it was “shameful’ New Zealand didn’t throw more active support behind a pivotal climate resolution ratified by the United Nations this week.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
ESG funds include petrochemical companies, report finds
5 May 2026
Global banks have invested US$133bn into US petrochemical expansion, even as the industry is linked to climate change.
Greens bill to ban mining on conservation land drawn from ballot
Tue 26 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A Greens member’s bill seeking to ban new mining, prospecting and exploration on conservation land has been drawn from Parliament’s ballot, with the party saying the proposed law would close a loophole allowing mining on land set aside for environmental protection.
Media round-up
Fri 22 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Shane Jone is urging mining bosses to apply for fast-track before the election, climate risk is changing where investors put their money, and Hiringa gets more hydrogen-fuelled trucks on the road.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
NZ at risk of falling behind on EV transition
Fri 22 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An EV lobby group is warning that New Zealand is at a crossroads on transport electrification, with inconsistent policy settings and lagging charging infrastructure slowing uptake, while global adoption accelerates and fuel price shocks renew interest in electric vehicles.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Climate scientists accuse livestock industry of fuzzy math to downplay climate warming emissions
Fri 22 May 2026
A group of the world’s leading climate scientists are warning governments and the livestock industry against adopting an “accounting trick” that will imperil the all-out global effort required to control heat-trapping emissions.
Global wind and solar power outpace gas for first time in April, report shows
Fri 22 May 2026
Wind and solar combined generated more electricity than gas globally in April for the first month ever, data analysed by UK-based think tank Ember showed on Thursday.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Why both trees and technology are important in the race to mitigate carbon emissions
4 May 2026
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
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.
Rotorua extends diesel bus contract after NZTA declines extra funding
Mon 25 May 2026
By Mathew Nash, Local Democracy Reporter | Rotorua is stuck with its diesel-powered public buses after a funding snag played a part in setting back plans for zero-emission buses by years.
NZ votes in favour of key UN climate resolution
Thu 21 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | A pivotal United Nations resolution to recognise a landmark International Court of Justice climate ruling has passed with nations voting overwhelmingly in its favour, with New Zealand voting on the same side as Pacific allies who spearheaded the vote.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
4 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | NZ First is aiming to launch a national container return scheme, which could recycle over a billion wasted containers each year, reviving a policy shelved by the previous Labour-led Government in 2023.
Commission urges Govt action on climate risks
7 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate change currently poses major risks to our water infrastructure with “significant gaps” in readiness to manage risks and increasing hazards, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Why is Northern Ireland facing a growing threat from wildfires?
7 May 2026
Figures show that spring drought events are happening more often while there has been a sharp rise in "fire weather" - a mix of warmth, dryness, and wind that allows fires to ignite and spread rapidly. Experts warn this combination, along with climate change, is creating a longer and more volatile wildfire season.
Human health appears unaffected by living near wind turbines
Thu 21 May 2026
Media release: PNAS | High-resolution data collected across the United States show negligible evidence of adverse health outcomes tied to wind turbine exposure, a study finds.
