Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
EU Court rules plant-based burger labeling lawful
11 Oct 2024
The European Court of Justice ruled that plant-based foods such as burgers and sausages can continue to be labelled with names mimicking their meaty counterpart in a dispute that has lasted over three years.
Coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as declared, report warns
11 Oct 2024
Australia’s coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as they currently declare, underscoring the need to introduce independent reporting of the potent greenhouse gas, an energy thinktank has warned.
Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
10 Oct 2024
A few dozen kilometres from the Philippine capital Manila sits a coal plant that some hope could be a model for how developing countries can quit the polluting fossil fuel.
Australia suffers setback in green hydrogen race
10 Oct 2024
Australia’s bid to become a global hydrogen superpower has been dealt a blow, with the nation’s biggest energy utility pulling out of building a large-scale green hydrogen hub despite the project being shortlisted for a share of $2 billion of funding from the Albanese government.
Drought has dried a major Amazon River tributary to its lowest level in over 122 years
10 Oct 2024
One of the Amazon River’s main tributaries has dropped to its lowest level ever recorded, reflecting a severe drought that has devastated the Amazon rainforest and other parts of the country.
Why have hurricanes gone crazy?
10 Oct 2024
While hurricanes occur naturally, human-caused climate change is supercharging them and exacerbating the risk of major damage, writes Kevin Trenberth.
Researchers find a new use for biochar: filtering microplastics from farm soils
10 Oct 2024
In initial experiments, they found that the biochar was able to remove a striking 86% to 92% of the plastic particles from soil samples.
Hurricane Helene prompts questions about raising animals in increasingly vulnerable places
10 Oct 2024
Hurricane Helene is just the latest event to underscore the perils of raising tens of thousands of animals in industrial-scale facilities as weather patterns grow more extreme.
Hurricane Milton closes in on Florida as thousands flee
9 Oct 2024
Residents have been warned to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday night local time, with $1 trillion worth of commercial properties directly in its path.
US home insurance rates are rising fast with climate change fuelling more severe weather
9 Oct 2024
Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country.
Amazon state that will host COP30 strikes largest carbon credit sale in history
9 Oct 2024
A coalition of developed countries and corporations has agreed to a massive purchase of carbon credits from the Amazon rainforest worth $180 million.
Canada’s carbon tax faces the axe
9 Oct 2024
The carbon tax is popular, innovative and helps save the planet, but as prime minister Justin Trudeau trails in the polls, the opposition is trying to persuade voters that environmental policy is a burden.
Australian Security Leaders Climate Group calls on federal govt to overhaul climate threat preparedness
9 Oct 2024
The danger of climate change has led to calls for a radical overhaul of how the federal government is planning to manage climate threats.
Exported gas produces far worse emissions than coal, major study finds
8 Oct 2024
New research challenges the idea that sending liquefied natural gas around the world is a cleaner alternative to burning coal.
Will carbon capture help the UK tackle climate change?
8 Oct 2024
There is a lot of rousing rhetoric today about carbon capture, following the government’s pledge of £21.7bn of public funds over the next 25 years to help kick-start the industry in the UK.
COP16 host Colombia pushes for unified UN climate and nature pledges
8 Oct 2024
Colombia wants to write a unified climate and biodiversity pledge, seeking to combine efforts to protect nature with those to tackle climate change in United Nations talks.
Parts of Antarctica are turning green faster than we thought from climate change, 'shocked' scientists say
8 Oct 2024
Satellite images show the area covered by vegetation has grown dramatically and is now 10 times larger than it was four decades ago and the rate of change is speeding up.
Indonesia proceeds with ambitious energy transition
8 Oct 2024
The U.S., other developed nations and private banks pledged $21.6 billion to the Just Energy Transition Partnership, generating cautious optimism. But financing has been slow, prompting concerns in Jakarta.
Toxic chemical releases during flooding are a silent and growing threat
7 Oct 2024
Hundreds of industrial facilities with toxic pollutants were in Hurricane Helene’s path as the powerful storm flooded communities across the Southeast of the United States.
Why Chevron is sponsoring Hurricane Helene journalism
7 Oct 2024
The oil giant wants to convince the public that its new ultra-high-pressure offshore drilling project, Anchor, is climate-friendly.
Revealed: how the fossil fuel industry helps spread anti-protest laws across the US
7 Oct 2024
Fossil fuel lobbyists coordinated with lawmakers behind the scenes and across state lines to push and shape laws that are escalating a crackdown on peaceful protests against oil and gas expansion.
NASA analysis shows irreversible sea level rise for Pacific islands
7 Oct 2024
In the next 30 years, Pacific Island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Fiji will experience at least 15 centimeters of sea level rise, regardless of whether greenhouse gas emissions change in the coming years.
Carbon offset pioneer charged with $100 million fraud scheme
4 Oct 2024
US regulators say Australian national Ken Newcombe faked data for carbon credits investment. The Goldman and World Bank veteran denies the allegations but is facing up to 20 years in jail.
Our leaders are collaborating with fossil fuel colonialists
4 Oct 2024
By Tim Winton | COMMENT: The lassitude that distinguishes our moment is born of sorrow and buried rage. We act like colonial subjects because, in effect, that’s what we are
Barcelona is turning subway trains into power stations
4 Oct 2024
Barcelona is using its subways’ regenerative braking to power trains, stations and neighbourhood EV chargers. Could other cities do this?
Enough, already: why humanity must get on board with the concept of ‘sufficiency’
4 Oct 2024
Humanity’s rapacious consumption is more than Earth and its climate can handle, which is driving an ecological crisis.
A federal attempt to foster ‘high-integrity voluntary carbon markets’ falls short
4 Oct 2024
New guidance for credit-based derivatives gives “imprimatur to a system that doesn’t have credibility to begin with.”
Climate was a top question at the vice presidential debate
3 Oct 2024
Both candidates actually answered — sort of.
Climate scientists call on UK govt to pause £1bn plans for carbon capture
3 Oct 2024
Leading climate scientists are urging the government to pause plans for a billion pound investment in “green technologies” they say are unproven and would make it harder for the UK to reach its net zero targets.
Azerbaijan is using COP29 to ‘peacewash’ its global image
3 Oct 2024
Azerbaijan is hosting the next UN climate summit, COP 29, in November. Their proposed agenda omits discussions on phasing out fossil fuels and excludes civil society participation.
Fossil fuel dominance of India’s power mix to end by 2030, says central bank
3 Oct 2024
India's burgeoning economy continues to be overwhelmingly powered by fossil fuels including coal, but that dominance will be consigned to the history books by end of this decade, according to the country's central bank.
‘Nowhere is safe’: shattered Asheville shows stunning reach of climate crisis
2 Oct 2024
The historic North Carolina city was touted as a climate ‘haven’ – a reputation deadly Hurricane Helene left in ruins.
Major gaps between EU farming incentives and Green Deal goals: report
2 Oct 2024
The European Court of Auditors reviewed the EU's reform of agriculture subsidies and found a "noticeable gap" between farming incentives and the EU's overall green targets, the ECA said in a report on Monday.
Climate scientists sound alarm over Asia’s rising seas
2 Oct 2024
Scientists are urgently calling for global action, including reducing fossil fuel use, as the Pacific Ocean’s sea levels rise faster than the global average and the warming Indian Ocean drives storms, erratic rainfall, and droughts.
Sorry, AI won’t ‘fix’ climate change
2 Oct 2024
OPINION: OpenAI’s Sam Altman claims AI will deliver an "Intelligence Age," but tech breakthroughs alone can't solve global warming.
Create ‘positive tipping points’ with climate mandates, governments urged
2 Oct 2024
Requiring key sectors to switch to clean energy by specific times could trigger benevolent cascades, a report claims.
Sloths may die out due to climate change
2 Oct 2024
The survival of sloths is under threat due to climate change, according to a new study.
UN General Assembly closes with growing consensus on fossil fuel phase out imperative
1 Oct 2024
Media release | The 79th United Nations General Assembly concluded with a growing global consensus on the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels.
Australia’s ‘immoral’ coalmine decision akin to drowning its Pacific neighbours, Tuvalu’s climate minister declares
1 Oct 2024
Tuvalu’s climate minister says Australia’s decision to approve three coalmine expansions calls into question its claim to be a “member of the Pacific family”, and undermines the Australian case to co-host the 2026 UN climate summit with island nations.
Germany to struggle reaching international climate finance target – govt officials
1 Oct 2024
It will be very difficult for Germany to reach its target of providing developing countries with at least six billion euros in climate finance from its federal budget by 2025, said government officials in Berlin.
Trump calls climate change a ‘scam’ after Hurricane Helene hammers states
1 Oct 2024
Donald Trump has sparked controversy for declaring that climate change is “one of the great scams” after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction, killing more than 100 people, across the southeast US.
ESG is dead. Long live ESG
1 Oct 2024
OPINION: We must urgently address the tension between profitability and sustainability.
Earth is close to passing 7 of 9 planetary boundaries
30 Sep 2024
Scientists have found that Earth may soon pass another planetary boundary, meaning it could be operating outside of the safe limits for seven of the nine defined planetary boundaries.
UK's last coal-fired power station set to close
30 Sep 2024
The closure of the UK's last coal-fired power station has been described by officials as a "tremendously important milestone" in energy production.
Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
30 Sep 2024
Rising waters are slowly but surely swallowing Carnie Reimers's backyard in the Marshall Islands, pushing her toward an agonizing choice: stay in the only home she's ever known or leave and face the prospect of becoming a climate refugee.
California sues ExxonMobil for deceiving the public about plastic recycling
30 Sep 2024
California is suing oil and gas giant ExxonMobil for allegedly lying to the public about the promise of plastic recycling, the state’s attorney general announced.
Bahamas seeks help to pay off debt brought by huge storms, result of climate change
30 Sep 2024
The Bahamas is stuck in a financial pickle, much of it because of the whims of climate change, bureaucracy and the fossil fuel industry, said its prime minister, who adds that he is tired of promises of help but little action.
Helene gaining strength from climate change effects
27 Sep 2024
Tropical Storm Helene is gaining strength from warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico, an effect linked to climate change that appears to make hurricanes and storms more powerful.
Define ‘tree’: The fight over Woolworths’ eco-beef pledge
27 Sep 2024
Woolworths’ ban on beef reared on deforested land has prompted Australian farmers to campaign for rules to define the practice that would allow them to chop down trees as part of their land management.
Fifty years of observations, no reversal of glacier climate damage
31 Mar 2026
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Fifty years on from the first aerial survey of our Southern Alps glaciers, late snow and variable summer weather delivered a temporary reprieve from rapid ice loss, says Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Climate experts say spring is coming earlier. How will that affect agriculture and ecosystems?
Today 10:45am
An earlier spring affects when migratory birds arrive, leaves emerge, and fruit ripens — among plants and animals that determine ecosystem health.
$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.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New international protections for migratory species, including several found in New Zealand, are a positive step – but global protections won’t halt the decline of migratory species on their own, experts say.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Supply-side pressures and political uncertainty ahead for carbon market
Today 10:45am
By Kristen Green | ANALYSIS: With failed auctions, a surge of new forestry registrations, and an election a few months away, the NZ ETS in 2026 will be subject to a mix of supply-side pressures and political uncertainty.
Economic contraction will impact carbon market
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | While higher fossil fuel prices strengthen the long-run economics of decarbonisation, the current fuel crisis won’t inspire near-term confidence in the carbon market, according to Lizzie Chambers of Carbon Match.
Asia ramps up use of dirty fuels to cover energy shortfall triggered by Iran war
Thu 2 Apr 2026
South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plants
Death toll in Afghanistan flooding increases to 28, authorities say
Wed 1 Apr 2026
Afghan authorities said Monday that the death toll from severe weather that has struck swathes of the country over the past four days has increased to 28, with 49 people injured. Dozens of people have died from extreme weather in the country so far this year.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
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 price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
A matter of strategy
Today 10:45am
COMMENT: Even on the brink of a global commodities crisis, the possibilities for climate action aren't hopelessly foreclosed. Strategy can turn our fortunes around, writes David Hall.
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.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
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.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Labour mulls GIDI 2.0 as factory closures mount
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Factory closures across the country could have been prevented if the last Labour-led government’s GIDI fund to assist companies with the cost of electrification hadn't been scrapped, Labour energy spokesperson, Megan Woods, says.
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.”
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
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.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
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.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
Cleantech expo coming to Auckland
26 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s first national cleantech expo is set to bring together 30 innovators, in what organisers say is the country’s fastest growing area in the tech sector.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Fast-track approved project could deliver NZ’s largest wind farm
Today 10:45am
Media release: New Zealand Government |Fast-track approval has been granted for New Zealand’s largest wind farm project.
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Media round-up
Thu 2 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The widening political gap is deepening cracks in NZ's climate consensus, Christchurch recorded more than 30,000 extra cycling trips over two weeks, and is the energy crisis a renewable inflection point?
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
Thu 2 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists | The Prioritisation Report released yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system.
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.
AI’s arrival complicates Big Tech climate goals, and some worry it’s locking in more fossil fuels
Thu 2 Apr 2026
Six years ago, Google was confident that by 2030 it would power all operations with electricity generated from clean sources, including wind and solar power, and remove as much pollution as it produced. Today it calls those goals a “moonshot.” Microsoft says it’s still aiming to remove more carbon than it creates by 2030 but now describes the effort as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
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.
Fuel crisis powers surge in EV interest in Asia-Pacific region
Today 10:45am
Motorists across the Asia-Pacific region are switching to electric vehicles at a rapid pace, as rising fuel costs due to the Middle East war force consumers and companies to reconsider their reliance on petrol and diesel vehicles.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
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.
‘Stop burning fossil fuels’ pleads scientist as extreme rain causes floods yet again
27 Mar 2026
Northland and Auckland have again been lashed by heavy rain, with hundreds of people evacuated last night because of extensive flooding in the Far North, and some areas hit by more than a month's average rainfall in just 24 hours.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Record wind output helps shield the UK from worst of Iran war fallout
Wed 1 Apr 2026
Record output from wind farms has helped boost total clean power supplies in the United Kingdom to new highs so far in 2026, and allowed power firms to pare use of fossil fuels to multi-year lows.
