Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Supercharged by climate change, western megafires explode simultaneously
1 Aug 2024
In western North America, wildfire season is in full swing—and well on its way toward setting records.
The climate is changing so fast that we haven’t seen how bad extreme weather could get
1 Aug 2024
Extreme weather is by definition rare on our planet. Ferocious storms, searing heatwaves and biting cold snaps illustrate what the climate is capable of at its worst.
For the best forest restoration ROI, focus on the least and most logged places
1 Aug 2024
Researchers working in an experimental forest in Borneo showed that forest ecosystems undergo sudden shifts when logging reaches certain thresholds.
SBTi details possible uses of carbon credits despite finding little evidence they work
31 Jul 2024
The referee on corporate net-zero targets is at the forefront of a debate over the legitimacy of offsets.
Study offers new policy tool for considering ‘Indigenous climate justice’
31 Jul 2024
Addressing climate justice calls for a “fundamental, decolonial constitutional change”, according to a new study published in Climate Policy.
Plant-based meat needs government support to scale up, but a culture war stands in the way
31 Jul 2024
Public funding helped electric vehicles go mainstream. Are alternative proteins next — or are they too polarising?
Climate change causing more change in rainfall, fiercer typhoons, scientists say
31 Jul 2024
Climate change is driving changes in rainfall patterns across the world scientists said, which could also be intensifying typhoons and other tropical storms.
State of the climate: 2024 now very likely to be warmest year on record
30 Jul 2024
As 2024 passes its midpoint, the global climate continues to push into uncharted territory.
Yellen says $3 trillion needed annually for climate financing, far more than current level
30 Jul 2024
US Treasury Secretary said that the global transition to a low-carbon economy requires $3 trillion in new capital each year through 2050, far above current annual financing.
UK’s Labour will honour pledge of £11.6bn in overseas climate aid
30 Jul 2024
Labour will honour a pledge of £11.6bn in overseas aid for the climate crisis, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, told an unusual meeting of COP presidents past and present.
Wildfires push devastation and spread smoke across US West
30 Jul 2024
Firefighters made progress over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas in the western United States, but further evacuations have been necessary.
Electric vehicles strain the automaker-big oil alliance
30 Jul 2024
In the clean car battle, the oil industry leans on friends—including Donald Trump—to keep gasoline transport alive, while carmakers steer toward an EV future.
Help us, methane mitigation. You’re our only hope.
30 Jul 2024
Rob Jackson, climate scientist and chair of the Global Carbon Project, argues that restoring methane to preindustrial levels is the best lever to limit global heating in the next few decades.
UN Secretary-General says the world must turbocharge the fossil fuel phaseout
29 Jul 2024
As a new report shows accelerating warming threatens 70 percent of the world’s workers, Antonio Guterres warns that wealthy countries expanding fossil fuel industries “are signing away our future.”
‘This used to be a beautiful place’: how the US became the world’s biggest fossil fuel state
29 Jul 2024
No country has ever in history produced as much oil and gas as the US does now and Louisiana is ground zero.
Arctic warming plays a devastating role in accelerating global heating
29 Jul 2024
Buried beneath the icy surface of the Arctic tundra lie secrets that hold the key to understanding global climate patterns and their changes over time.
The great climate change wealth transfer is here
29 Jul 2024
There has rarely been a better time to be a seller of fossil fuels — nor a worse time to be exposed to their effects.
Paris Olympics promote sustainability for good reason
29 Jul 2024
Europe is in the midst of a heat wave, and while Olympic athletes in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games might be spared the worst of it, the weather will still be hot.
It’s time for Azerbaijan to shift gears on diplomacy ahead of COP29
29 Jul 2024
COMMENT: Amid record-breaking climate impacts, the COP29 host nation needs to ramp up action for an ambitious outcome in Baku.
Scientists discover trees absorb methane – so forests are even more important in the climate fight than we thought
26 Jul 2024
Tree bark in the world’s forests absorbs the greenhouse gas methane – a discovery that could have big implications for tackling climate change.
A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked
26 Jul 2024
Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion.
Landmark lawsuit challenges Britain’s climate change adaptation plan
26 Jul 2024
In a landmark climate case, Friends of the Earth and two people whose lives have been severely affected by the changing climate are suing the government of the United Kingdom over its failure to safeguard people, property and infrastructure against foreseeable effects of the climate crisis.
Tasmanian 'Eco-Milk' tests shoppers' thirst for climate-friendly dairy
26 Jul 2024
A small dairy in Tasmania is stocking supermarket shelves with what it says is the world's first branded milk produced by cows fed with a seaweed that makes them emit lower levels of environmentally damaging methane gas.
'Heat is a killer': Experts explain why it matters that heat records were broken this week
26 Jul 2024
Heat records have never tumbled at such speed before and it could have dire consequences for people everywhere, especially Europe which is the fastest warming continent on Earth.
Beef is carbon-intensive - but by how much is surprisingly unclear
26 Jul 2024
The way beef is farmed, and how we measure its emissions, produces dramatically variable greenhouse gas footprints, according to new research.
World’s hottest day recorded on Sunday, climate monitor says
25 Jul 2024
Global average surface air temperature was 17.09 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service says.
20 ways policymakers can help businesses fight nature loss
25 Jul 2024
COMMENT: Nature underpins our collective wellbeing and our very survival. It provides the foundation of our economic system, supports human development and equality, and increases our resilience to climate change.
Why Asia's future hinges on a collective approach to sustainable finance
25 Jul 2024
Asia is experiencing significant health crises due to climate change, causing disruptions in productivity, increasing healthcare costs and undermining workforce stability.
South Africa passes its first sweeping climate change law
25 Jul 2024
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law a broad climate change act that will set caps for large emitters and require every town and city to publish an adaptation plan.
Just Stop Oil’s harsh sentences are the logical outcome of Britain’s authoritarian turn against protest
25 Jul 2024
Lengthy prison sentences have been imposed on five Just Stop Oil activists for coordinating direct action on the M25, the main ring road around London.
Birthing the Blob
25 Jul 2024
With ecosystems increasingly squeezed by anthropogenic warming, even cleaning up pollution can cause problems.
UN attacks companies’ reliance on carbon credits to hit climate targets
24 Jul 2024
The UN has outlined its opposition to companies using credits to cancel out their carbon dioxide footprint, putting it on a collision course with big oil and technology groups.
What’s on the table for food systems at COP29?
24 Jul 2024
Food systems advocates are eager to ensure that food and agriculture remain central topics, building on the momentum from COP28 in Dubai.
Maritime commerce and climate change: how effective would a carbon tax on shipping be?
24 Jul 2024
With 11 billion tonnes of goods traded internationally by sea every year, shipping accounts for around 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
When Kamala Harris sued Obama over fracking
24 Jul 2024
A 2016 lawsuit illustrates why some activists believe Harris will be more aggressive on climate than Biden.
A global wealth tax is needed to help fund a just green transition
24 Jul 2024
COMMENT: Brazil and France have proposed a tax on the super-rich to fight against poverty and climate change – G20 finance ministers should get behind it this week.
Rio Tinto class action over Bougainville mine damage set for October hearing
24 Jul 2024
The first hearing date has been set in a class action against miner Rio Tinto for historical environmental and social damage caused by the Bougainville copper mine in Papua New Guinea.
Projects under construction in China have twice the capacity of the rest of the world’s renewable energy projects combined
23 Jul 2024
Renewable energy projects are rapidly expanding in China, so much so that the country has double the amount of renewable capacity under construction compared to all other countries combined.
Von der Leyen threads the climate needle to keep her job
23 Jul 2024
The German politician has secured a second term as European Commission president with a political program carefully designed to woo both conservatives and environmentalists.
Niger floods toll increases - 53 dead, 18,000 affected
23 Jul 2024
Flooding caused by heavy rains lashing Niger since June has killed 53 people and impacted 18,000, as the west African country grapples with the effects of climate change.
Trump’s environmental impact endures, at home and around the world
23 Jul 2024
His break from the Paris accord inspires other populist leaders, while his reshaping of the federal courts and environmental rollbacks distrupt efforts to counter climate change.
Climate activists have received months-long sentences. Are tougher laws eroding Australians’ right to protest?
23 Jul 2024
NSW enacts highest number of new laws among states, with climate protesters disproportionately affected, report finds.
Methane leaking out of old mining site in Dharawal National Park near Sydney that closed decades ago
23 Jul 2024
In the heart of what appears to be a pristine national park, a greenhouse gas is leaking out of an underground coal mine more than 30 years after it was last used.
How Kamala Harris’ platform could differ from Joe Biden’s
22 Jul 2024
President Joe Biden’s decision to abandon his reelection bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris means that Harris could soon become the standard-bearer for the Democratic Party’s biggest priorities — including climate change.
Climate activists alarmed by Trump’s ‘dangerous’ pick for vice president
22 Jul 2024
‘JD Vance will empower Donald Trump to enact even worse damage on our planet,’ campaign group warns.
Caribbean seeks help in fighting climate change after Hurricane Beryl devastates small islands
22 Jul 2024
Caribbean officials demanded more access to funding and help in fighting climate change, weeks after Hurricane Beryl devastated the region.
South Africa’s new environment minister must focus on people, not profits from fossil fuels – climate ecologist
22 Jul 2024
There are huge profits to be made in exploiting South Africa’s natural resources, but these come at a cost to society and the environment.
UK first European country to approve lab-grown meat, starting with pet food
22 Jul 2024
Lab-grown pet food is to hit UK shelves as Britain becomes the first country in Europe to approve cultivated meat.
How simple tech can supercharge the race to net zero
22 Jul 2024
To even out the intermittent power supply from wind and solar, we need to build vast energy storage facilities.
Australian Super accused of greenwashing by investing funds from ethical option in coal, oil and gas industries
19 Jul 2024
Australia's largest super fund has invested money from its 'Socially Aware' option in the coal, oil and gas industries.
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.
