Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Reforestation to capture carbon could be done much more cheaply, study says
19 Aug 2024
New research shows that a mix of natural forest regrowth and tree planting could remove up to 10 times more carbon at $20 per metric ton than previously estimated by the IPCC, the UN’s climate science panel.
How climate change has pushed our oceans to the brink of catastrophe
19 Aug 2024
For decades, the oceans have absorbed much of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gases. The latest observations suggest they are reaching their limits, so how worried should we be?
We pumped extra CO₂ into an oak forest and discovered trees will be ‘woodier’ in future
19 Aug 2024
Oak trees accumulate more wood when there is more carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere.
Fighting global warming, one abandoned oil well at a time
19 Aug 2024
When Curtis Shuck learned that the oil and gas industry had left orphaned wells all over the US, he made it his mission to cap as many as he could.
A Trump election win could lead to billions of tonnes more carbon pollution
16 Aug 2024
Experts say climate policies contained within rightwing manifesto would wreck US climate targets and cost jobs.
World Bank prices $225 million bond linked to Amazon reforestation
16 Aug 2024
The World Bank issued a $225 million, principal-protected nine-year bond linked to reforestation in the Amazon, the global lender said on Tuesday, calling it the biggest outcome bond it has ever priced.
Wildfires in Canada and the Amazon made more likely by climate change
16 Aug 2024
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense as the climate warms, researchers behind first annual global wildfire report warn.
Ancient building material could cut modern industry emissions
16 Aug 2024
Generating heat for industrial processes creates 17% of global carbon emissions. Cheap firebricks could store renewable electricity for one-tenth the cost of batteries.
Kids in France are pedalling toward two-wheeled equality
16 Aug 2024
More than 500,000 students have learned to bike safely, encouraging them to live healthier, more independent and lower-carbon lives.
Carbon offset setback risks corporate backtrack on climate goals
15 Aug 2024
Stalled efforts to expand companies' use of carbon credits to offset greenhouse-gas emissions are raising the prospect that some will backtrack or abandon targets to shrink their carbon footprint.
Half a billion children live in areas with twice as many very hot days as in 1960s
15 Aug 2024
Unicef analysis also finds children in eight countries spend more than half the year in temperatures above 35C.
Who is legally responsible for climate harms? The world’s top court will now decide
15 Aug 2024
The International Court of Justice will clarify states’ legal responsibility for impacts of climate change. Although non-binding, its opinion will matter for thousands of climate lawsuits.
Tropical Storm Ernesto hits Caribbean, heads to Puerto Rico
15 Aug 2024
Tropical Storm Ernesto battered the northeast Caribbean on Tuesday as it took aim at Puerto Rico, where officials shuttered schools and government agencies.
Wildfires can contaminate the water farmers use to irrigate crops and support livestock
15 Aug 2024
The wildfires that burned across Maui, Hawaii, in August 2023 became the deadliest conflagration in the United States in more than a century.
How four cities are cooling down creatively
15 Aug 2024
Cities around the world are trying everything from reflective paint to underground water channels to manage the hotter days ahead.
Australian fossil fuel exports ranked second only to Russia for climate damage with ‘no plan’ for reduction
14 Aug 2024
Coal and gas exports expected to remain roughly at current level until at least 2035 with 4.5% of emissions linked to Australia, report finds.
More than 47,000 heat-related deaths in Europe last year
14 Aug 2024
Heat-related deaths in Europe last year would have been 80% higher without adaptation work, scientists estimate.
Modern fuel-efficient jets can cause more warming than older planes
14 Aug 2024
Passenger planes and private jets that fly higher can create longer-lasting contrails, meaning their contribution to global warming has been underestimated.
Will climate cash help democrats win US election?
14 Aug 2024
An area near Pittsburgh is being recast into a clean energy hub by IRA cash. It’s a test of whether climate policies can help Democrats beat Trump.
The lost history of what Americans knew about climate change in the 1960s
14 Aug 2024
It wasn't just scientists who were worried, but Congress, the White House, and even Sports Illustrated.
A line-by-line fact check of the Musk-Trump interview
14 Aug 2024
Donald Trump told some wild lies about climate change in his two-hour live-streamed conversation with Elon Musk last night.
By land, sea and sky, Māori are using Indigenous knowledge to combat climate change
13 Aug 2024
Justin Parkin-Rae takes a break from pulling chunks of weeds from around one of the many rivers that snake through Kaikōura.
Breakthrough flexible solar panels are so thin they can be printed on any surface – even backpacks
13 Aug 2024
Oxford University researchers have developed a flexible perovskite material about 100 times thinner than a human hair that can generate solar electricity just as efficiently as traditional silicon panels.
Wary of Trump and Azerbaijan, businesses shun COP climate talks
13 Aug 2024
Companies are anxiously wondering: Can we get hotel rooms? What about the autocratic regime hosting? What if Trump wins?
Chinese battery industry faces consolidation wave
13 Aug 2024
Companies cancel investments and smaller players leave amid slowing EV sales, fierce competition and stricter regulations.
UK could approve 13 new oil and gas projects despite North Sea pledge
13 Aug 2024
The UK government could approve 13 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea, with the fuel produced emitting 350m tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) if burned.
Why is there still a gap between public opinion and scientific consensus, and how can we close it?
13 Aug 2024
As children, many of us played the “telephone” game – a message is whispered from one person to the next, invariably getting distorted as it passes along the line.
Oil companies sold the public on a fake climate solution — and swindled taxpayers out of billions
12 Aug 2024
This spring, Democrats wrapped up a nearly three-year investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s role in climate disinformation, and asked the Department of Justice to pick up where they left off.
Renewable energy carbon credits rejected by high-integrity scheme
12 Aug 2024
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market decided existing renewables methodologies don’t do enough to prove their emissions reductions are additional.
From climate change to landfill, AI promises to solve Earth’s big environmental problems – but there’s a hitch
12 Aug 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised our lives in myriad ways, from personalising our social media feeds to giving us driving directions and monitoring our health.
July ends 13-month streak of global heat records, but experts warn against relief
12 Aug 2024
Climate scientists say that the world is continuing to warm, despite brief respite in record breaking temperatures.
Carbon ‘insets’ tackle emissions by unleashing the power of capitalism
12 Aug 2024
The certificates trace reduction instead of offsetting it with unconnected activity like planting trees.
Kyoto tells us how humanity can come together on climate change
12 Aug 2024
A play celebrates the agreement that opened nations worldwide to accepting the science of climate change.
Great Barrier Reef endangered by hottest oceans in 400 years, study finds
9 Aug 2024
Researchers say the world is losing ‘one of our icons’ as human activity fuels temperature increases.
Solving the carbon market ‘integrity crisis’
9 Aug 2024
It’s been a rough couple of years for the voluntary carbon market, with allegations about the shaky integrity of various projects, and a huge slump in demand.
Wildfires are creating their own thunderstorms
9 Aug 2024
As wildfires become more frequent and intense, they’re creating raging thunderstorms that fuel them even further, making them much more difficult to fight.
Tim Walz’s green resume has an oily stain
9 Aug 2024
Indigenous water protectors say Walz broke his promise to stop a massive tar sands pipeline from passing through their protected land.
US, India, Russia, Japan are building out wind power much too slowly for climate change, report says
9 Aug 2024
The world is falling well short of a promise made at global climate talks last year to triple the amount of wind power, according to a report by an energy think tank.
Repeating aids believing: climate misinformation feels more true through repetition
9 Aug 2024
If you consider yourself a climate science supporter, you probably wouldn’t think simple exposure to a sceptic’s claim could shift your views.
Carbon market faces upheaval as 32% of all credits fail test
8 Aug 2024
The market for carbon offsets faces renewed upheaval after a major category of credits failed to win approval from a key oversight body.
Should companies get paid when governments phase out fossil fuels? They already are.
8 Aug 2024
A common part of free trade agreements helps fossil fuel companies force big payouts from governments phasing out oil and gas projects.
Cooking oil won’t be enough to make aviation sustainable
8 Aug 2024
Pressure is growing to boost the production of sustainable aviation fuels, but each solution has big drawbacks.
Deforestation harms climate less than other types of Amazon degradation, study finds
8 Aug 2024
Brazil's President came into office in 2023 pledging to tackle deforestation in the Amazon and restore his country as a climate leader after years of intense destruction in the world's largest rainforest under predecessor.
Is carbon capture an efficient way to tackle CO2?
8 Aug 2024
It could be a scene from science fiction. Towering over dark, mossy lava fields are stacks of noisy machines the size of shipping containers, domes, and zig-zagging silver pipes.
International Energy Agency’s divisive mission to decide the future of oil
7 Aug 2024
The International Energy Agency forecasts that the world will reach peak oil in 2029. Oil companies accuse it of playing climate politics.
China plans new carbon emission controls as it aims for 2030 peak
7 Aug 2024
China will accelerate the development of a carbon emissions control system to help it achieve its goal of reaching a peak in the emissions of the climate-warming gases by 2030.
Brazil’s Carvalho to lead seabed-mining authority following predecessor’s controversial term
7 Aug 2024
Brazilian oceanographer Leticia Carvalho has been named the next secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) after winning an election that could change the course of the deep-sea mining industry.
South Korea boils in summer heat that may set new records
7 Aug 2024
As South Korea swelters under summer heat that looks set to break records, newspaper headlines are using words mostly reserved for describing high-heat culinary techniques.
Climate change deniers make up nearly a quarter of US Congress
7 Aug 2024
There are 23 climate denialists in the Senate and 100 in the House, making the US an outlier internationally.
Tropical Storm Debby could prove just as dangerous as a major hurricane
7 Aug 2024
Tropical Storm Debby came ashore in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane Monday and quickly downgraded, but the storm still poses serious threats as it slogs on toward Georgia and South Carolina.
Is climate law change a first nail in the coffin for Climate Commission?
Thu 6 Nov 2025
The Government’s sweeping overhaul of New Zealand’s climate laws has drawn sharp condemnation, with one expert predicting it's another step towards 'the beginning of the end' for the Climate Change Commission.
Big ag processors coy about govt changing climate policy
Today 10:30am
By Liz Kivi | While some economists are predicting that government backsliding on agricultural methane goals could hurt exporters’ access to premium markets, New Zealand’s major processors are remaining tight-lipped over the potential implications.
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.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
Today 10:30am
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.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Does NZ's 2035 NDC meet Paris Agreement obligations?
Fri 7 Nov 2025
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: New Zealand’s 2035 Paris Agreement Target needs strengthening, with multiple reasons the 51 to 55% emissions reduction target does not meet our obligations under the accord.
Carbon market tanks off the back of Govt’s proposed climate law changes
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Secondary market prices dropped 20% in early morning compliance carbon trading yesterday, as the market woke up to Tuesday’s late-breaking government announcement of proposed law changes to climate policy.
Scrutiny on energy security
3 Nov 2025
A special debate in Parliament put the Government’s energy security agenda under scrutiny, with parties splitting sharply over the role of gas, the place of an LNG import terminal, and how far to push market reform to ease pressure on power bills.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
Leaders of world’s biggest polluters are no-shows as heads of state gather for UN climate summit
Today 10:30am
World leaders descending on the United Nations annual climate summit in Brazil on Thursday will not need to see much more than the view from their airplane window to sense the unfathomable stakes.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
Fri 7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Nation-building projects and the energy transition
Today 10:30am
By Ian Mason | COMMENT: Last month, the Labour Party announced its first key election policy: to create a ‘New Zealand Future Fund’ to deliver “lasting national value, stronger communities, lower costs, more resilient industries, and opportunities that keep talent and ideas in New Zealand”.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Solar geoengineering in wrong hands could wreak climate havoc, scientists warn
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Blocking the sun may reduce global heating – but ‘rogue actor’ could cause drought or more hurricanes, report finds.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Govt delays will damage carbon market confidence, experts warn
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Emissions Trading Scheme experts have warned the Government that its move to delay decisions on the country’s emissions budgets will further undermine confidence in an already weak carbon market.
Govt gas expansion 'climate vandalism' – Greens
Fri 7 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has labelled the Government’s move to broaden the scope of its $200 million fossil gas investment fund as vandalism, accusing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of breaking trust with New Zealanders.
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.”
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
Tue 4 Nov 2025
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
No major banks have yet committed to stop funding new oil, gas and coal, research finds
24 Oct 2025
‘The objectives of the Paris agreement are slipping further out of reach,’ say researchers.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
Wed 5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
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.
Media round-up
31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
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.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
Wed 5 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
Undermining the ETS is poor policy – Mindful Money
Fri 7 Nov 2025
Politicising settings for the Emissions Trading Scheme creates uncertainty for investors at a time when we need clear and stable policy, says Mindful Money's Barry Coates.
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.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
EU’s new climate target lines up multibillion dollar boost for carbon markets
Today 10:30am
Analysts estimate the EU will buy at least 50 billion euros worth of carbon credits in the 2030s to help meet its emissions-cutting goals.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Cost gaps in Fast-Track law could silence environmental voices – EDS
Today 10:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Environmental Defence Society is warning that flaws in the Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024 could shut out critical conservation input, after legal advice found key statutory bodies can’t recover costs for participating in the process and councils face uncertainty over which costs are covered.
Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
31 Oct 2025
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
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.
Here comes the sun: solar surge gathers pace
Tue 4 Nov 2025
More than $700 million of new solar investment advanced last week, underscoring the pace of the renewable buildout.
AgriZero backs first nitrous oxide solution with $1.2m investment
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A Kiwi ag-tech start-up developing a device for cows to wear to drastically cut nitrous oxide emissions has secured $1.2 million in government-industry funding.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
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.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
