Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
COP29's last-minute $300 billion deal is a mess and a miracle
28 Nov 2024
It went well past the official deadline, late into the night – but finally, COP29 ended with a deal. Hardly anyone felt victorious.
A planet in crisis: How can we solve our plastics problem?
28 Nov 2024
It boggles the mind to know we humans are literally made of stardust. Nearly all the elements in our bodies come from the stuff produced as stars exploded over the last 13 billion years.
China’s CO2 emissions have peaked or will in 2025, say 44% of experts in survey
28 Nov 2024
Research reflects rising optimism about country’s green transition as it takes leading position on climate action.
After nearly ten years of debate, COP29’s carbon trading deal is seriously flawed
27 Nov 2024
Negotiators at the COP29 climate conference in Baku have struck a landmark agreement on rules governing the global trade of carbon credits, bringing to a close almost a decade of debate over the controversial scheme.
Five charts: Why a UN plastics treaty matters for climate change
27 Nov 2024
A global treaty on plastics, which is being touted as the most important environmental treaty since the 2015 Paris Agreement, is set to be negotiated in South Korea over the next week.
Trump win forces carbon removal developers to reconsider oil
27 Nov 2024
Startups seeking to vacuum carbon dioxide from the skies have long had an uneasy relationship with the oil giants fueling global warming.
Carbon footprint of a total knee replacement in Australia on par with driving a car from Brisbane to Sydney
27 Nov 2024
Researchers have calculated the greenhouse gas impact from a single knee replacement. A three-hour operation has similar emissions compared to a 914-kilometre car trip.
The huge, high-tech, low-carbon kitchens feeding young Kenyans
27 Nov 2024
The Giga Kitchen is the jewel in the crown of Food4Education, a Kenyan nonprofit using high-tech, low-carbon and centralized kitchens to feed students en masse in what is Africa’s largest locally led and independently run school feeding program.
COP 29’s new carbon market rules offer hope after scandal and deadlock
26 Nov 2024
Governments have given the sector fresh hope by signing off rules that will create an international carbon trading system for countries to meet their Paris commitments.
How does $300 billion stack up?
26 Nov 2024
Countries agreed at the U.N.'s COP29 climate conference to spend $300 billion on annual climate finance. Here are some ways of understanding what that sum is worth:
Global Plastic Treaty: Talks begin to finalise deal for curbing plastic pollution
26 Nov 2024
Global plastic production has increased over 200-fold to hit almost 460 million tonnes annually since 1950.
170 climate protesters arrested after allegedly disrupting shipping in New South Wales
26 Nov 2024
Two protesters have been granted bail after facing court on charges relating to an anti-fossil fuel demonstration that allegedly disrupted the shipping channel leading into the world's largest coal port.
Climate change ‘burnout’ is taking its toll
26 Nov 2024
Activists and others on the front lines of the climate crisis, one therapist says, “are living in fight-or-flight mode constantly.” Here’s their battle-tested advice.
Inside the frantic manoeuvres that saved COP29 talks at a cost
26 Nov 2024
Two weeks of difficult negotiations came to the brink of failure before settling on a $300 billion deal that flashes warnings for the future of climate diplomacy.
Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Baku
25 Nov 2024
Developed nations have agreed to help channel “at least” $300bn a year into developing countries by 2035 to support their efforts to deal with climate change.
Study finds four global policies could eliminate >90% of plastic waste and 30% of linked carbon emissions by 2050
25 Nov 2024
A study released in Science determines that just four policies can reduce mismanaged plastic waste—plastic that isn't recycled or properly disposed of and ends up as pollution—by 91% and plastic-related greenhouse gases by one-third.
Tuvalu: The disappearing island nation recreating itself in the metaverse
25 Nov 2024
Facing erasure due to climate change, the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu is digitally backing up everything from its houses to its trees as it endeavors to save whatever it can.
Athletes see climate change as threatening their sports and their health. Some are speaking up
25 Nov 2024
Athletes spoke at the United Nations climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan to talk about the threat that climate change poses to them, to fans and to sport itself.
Group of nations make COP29 pledge on no new unabated coal power
22 Nov 2024
A total of 25 countries and the European Union are pledging to commit to no new unabated coal power in their next round of national climate plans, the latest global pledge aimed at curbing use of the fuel.
'A walking conflict of interest' - oil giants' favourite PR firms at climate talks
22 Nov 2024
Fossil-friendly communications companies are represented on some national delegations to the UN climate summit, analysis finds.
A draft deal on climate money for developing world is silent on how much as UN summit nears end
22 Nov 2024
Countries of the world took turns rejecting a new but vague draft text released early Thursday which attempts to form the spine of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change.
Europe’s Azerbaijan gas gambit is good news for Russia
22 Nov 2024
Europe keeps striking deals with Azerbaijan, even at COP29. And while it might not be Russian gas, Moscow is still likely to benefit.
Ford cuts jobs claiming weak demand for electric cars
22 Nov 2024
The company said it had to act because of difficult trading conditions, including intense competition and weak demand for electric vehicles.
Vatican in row at climate talks over gender rights
21 Nov 2024
The Vatican has blocked discussions over women’s rights at the UN climate summit following a row over gay and transgender issues, sources have told BBC News.
‘Underwhelming’: Poor countries push for way more climate funding than the EU is floating
21 Nov 2024
Privately, however, some conceded they may have to settle for the lower figures for now as COP29 talks amble toward the finish line.
Trump’s top staff choices could have far-reaching consequences for the climate
21 Nov 2024
Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s high-ranking staff choices have close ties to the fossil fuel industry.
Billionaires, frequent flyers, oil and gas: Who could fund COP29’s $1tn finance target?
21 Nov 2024
“It makes common sense to tax mega polluters and the mega-rich to ensure that we have the money needed for climate action at home and globally” according to one campaigner.
Australia commits additional $50 million to deal with climate change
21 Nov 2024
The Australian government has committed an extra $50 million towards a global fund to deal with the loss and damage caused by climate change.
World’s 1.5C climate target ‘deader than a doornail’, experts say
20 Nov 2024
Scientists say goal to keep world’s temperature rise below 1.5C is not going to happen despite talks at Cop29 in Baku.
UN climate lead says millions of lives are at stake and delegates should 'cut the theatrics'
20 Nov 2024
As COP29, the annual U.N. global climate conference, heads into its second and final week, the United Nations' top climate representative is reminding delegates of what's at stake if they fail to act now.
Climate skeptics urge Trump to boost coal, gut science in agencies
20 Nov 2024
Activists who downplay climate change delivered a wish list to Trump’s transition team, with one calling his win “a tremendous opportunity” to reverse US policy.
'Out of sync': The trillion-dollar climate puzzle that's become a diplomatic nightmare
20 Nov 2024
Climate negotiators at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, are discussing the details of how much money rich countries should provide to poor countries to help them mitigate emissions and cope with climate impacts. What they haven't decided yet is how much it will be – or many of the other details, such as the target date to deliver the money and who will contribute.
Australia accused of ‘exporting climate destruction’ on tiny Pacific neighbours with massive gas expansion plans
20 Nov 2024
Pacific governments at a UN climate summit are criticising Australia’s plans for a massive gas industry expansion in Western Australia, saying it could result in 125 times more greenhouse gas emissions than their island nations release in a year.
G20 talks in Rio reach breakthrough on climate finance, sources say
19 Nov 2024
Diplomatic tensions over global warming spilled over into the G20 summit negotiations in Brazil this week, with sources saying the 20 major economies reached a fragile consensus on climate finance that had eluded U.N. talks in Azerbaijan.
China concerned about Trump’s climate impact, says Beijing envoy
19 Nov 2024
“Everybody’s concerned about next steps,” Beijing’s top climate envoy Liu Zhenmin tells reporters.
What is the ‘new collective quantified goal’ on climate finance?
19 Nov 2024
Countries need to invest trillions of dollars to build clean-energy systems, prepare for an increasingly hotter world and deal with the aftermath of climate change-fuelled disasters, and the UN climate convention specifically requires developed nations to provide climate finance to help developing countries do this.
Fossil fuel giants paying thousands to sponsor COP29 events
19 Nov 2024
Oil and gas majors are splashing the cash in order to have a presence at the flagship climate talks in Azerbaijan.
Is Australia's migration system ready for rising numbers of climate refugees?
19 Nov 2024
Australia is now obligated to help Tuvalu when it calls for help to respond to "the devastating impacts of climate change."
The Guardian view on Cop29: 1.5C has been passed – so speed up the green transition
19 Nov 2024
Predictions that this will be the first calendar year in which the 1.5C warming limit enshrined in the Paris agreement is surpassed provide a stark backdrop to the UN’s 29th climate conference.
COP29: Six key reasons why international climate finance is a ‘wild west’
18 Nov 2024
Developed nations have committed to providing billions of dollars of “climate finance” to developing countries, as part of the global effort to tackle climate change.
The UN climate summit upends daily life in Baku
18 Nov 2024
For the millions living in and around Baku, hosting the COP29 climate summit has brought disruption — and even hardship — to their daily lives.
Barbados PM asks Donald Trump for face-to-face meeting on climate
18 Nov 2024
Mia Mottley, who has championed climate action, says she would seek common ground with the US president-elect.
Oil and gas are a 'gift of God', says COP29 host
18 Nov 2024
President Aliyev accused the West of hypocrisy for criticising country’s fossil-fuel dependence while buying its oil and gas.
‘COP Fatigue’: Experts warn that size and spectacle of global climate summit is hindering progress
18 Nov 2024
Streamlining the process by breaking up the annual climate conference into smaller events could speed progress toward limiting dangerous global warming.
Global carbon emissions inch upwards in 2024 despite progress on EVs, renewables and deforestation
15 Nov 2024
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels continue to increase, year on year. This sobering reality will be presented to world leaders at the international climate conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
We study climate change. We can’t explain what we’re seeing
15 Nov 2024
The Earth has been exceptionally warm of late, with every month from June 2023 until this past September breaking records. It has been considerably hotter even than climate scientists expected.
UK unveils principles for voluntary market in nature credits
15 Nov 2024
The UK is setting out its own principles for the voluntary market for nature credits, representing a vote of confidence in a largely experimental financial product that’s intended to protect biodiversity.
US ‘likely’ to pledge new climate target, says White House
15 Nov 2024
Donald Trump’s return raised doubts over whether the Biden administration would still produce the plan ahead of a February deadline.
Poorer nations need $1tn a year by 2030 in climate finance, top economists find
15 Nov 2024
Study says funding to cope with climate breakdown needed five years earlier than expected.
The 100 most influential climate leaders in business for 2024
15 Nov 2024
Finance is the climate story of 2024, with decision makers, executives, researchers, and innovators around the world working to help unlock the necessary funding and resources needed to drive successful and equitable climate action.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 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.
Media round-up
Fri 20 Feb 2026
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
Fri 20 Feb 2026
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
Fri 20 Feb 2026
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
Fri 20 Feb 2026
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
Fri 20 Feb 2026
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.
