Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Australia sweats through hottest August on record with temperatures 3C above average
3 Sep 2024
The 2024 winter was the second hottest on record since weather data collection began in 1910.
‘These ideas are incredibly popular’: what is degrowth and can it save the planet?
3 Sep 2024
The post-growth movement says GDP is the wrong way to measure progress and we need a radical economic rewiring.
Looking for stability in a volatile stock market? Try green energy
3 Sep 2024
A novel statistical technique used to track global financial markets reveals the potential of clean energy investments to buffer against losses.
How ‘climate mainstreaming’ can address climate change and further development goals
3 Sep 2024
Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy urges Canadians to consider climate change impacts in their everyday decisions.
Hempcrete: The green brick taking on the challenge of climate change
3 Sep 2024
Hempcrete is a bio-based building material helping to power the drive to net-zero, but how can a product developed a millennia ago help tackle today's environmental challenges?
Climate change as a moral trigger: Starbucks and corporate jets
3 Sep 2024
The Starbucks saga reminds us that we live in an era of heightened climate sensibilities, where corporate reputations are tarnished by small acts of CEO’s perceived climate transgressions.
Surging methane emissions could be a sign of a major climate shift
2 Sep 2024
New studies suggest global warming boosts natural methane releases, which could undermine efforts to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas from fossil fuels and agriculture.
Green groups call on UK govt to stop subsidies for biomass plant
2 Sep 2024
More than 40 groups are calling on the government to scrap plans to pay billions in subsidies to the Drax biomass power plant, which was recently revealed as the country's worst carbon emitter.
Victory for South Korean climate activists as government ordered to improve carbon cutting plans
2 Sep 2024
It is the first ever legal case in East Asia challenging national climate policies so it could set a precedent.
A ‘global cold rush’ is reshaping the planet, and how the world eats
2 Sep 2024
Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves, says the expansion of the world's cold chain has wide-ranging climate implications.
Could permeable pavement ease flooding woes in New York City?
2 Sep 2024
It can’t help cities control the weather, but by slowing the flow of stormwater, permeable pavement can lessen flooding from big storms.
Changing how the rich eat would free up two times the emissions required for the diets of the poor to grow
2 Sep 2024
If we changed the world’s consumption patterns to focus more on plants and less on meat, we could reduce global emissions by almost 20%, a new study shows.
‘Immoral and unacceptable’: Tuvalu calls on Australia to set urgent deadline to end fossil fuels
30 Aug 2024
A day after agreement was ratified at the Pacific Island Forum, the country’s climate minister says ‘root cause of climate change’ must be addressed.
Canada wildfires last year released more carbon than several countries
30 Aug 2024
Wildfires that swept Canada's woodlands last year released more greenhouse gases than some of the largest emitting countries, calling into question national emissions budgets that rely on forests to be carbon stores.
GOP-led states urge Supreme Court to pause EPA plan meant to cut methane emissions by 80%
30 Aug 2024
Republican officials in 24 states asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to halt a Biden administration effort to reduce emissions of the planet-warming gas methane, adding to a series of emergency appeals challenging environmental regulations.
Record number of Americans killed by heat in 2023: Research
30 Aug 2024
Extreme heat killed more Americans in 2023 than any other year over nearly a quarter century of records, according to research.
New £38 million centre to study ‘alternative proteins’ launched in UK
30 Aug 2024
Scientists will explore whether lab-grown meat or proteins from sources such as insects, plants, fungi, and microbes could form part of the UK diet.
BBC accused of doing PR for major polluters
29 Aug 2024
The broadcaster’s in-house content studio has been paid to promote fossil fuel firms and petrostates with a history of persecuting journalists.
EU faces lawsuits over emissions rules, 'green' label for planes
29 Aug 2024
Environmental campaigners have taken the European Commission to court, seeking to force Brussels to upgrade its emissions rules for 2030 and, in a second case, scrap rules that label some planes as climate-friendly investments.
Expect energy shocks if producers assume oil demand dip by 2050, says Exxon
29 Aug 2024
The world is in for an energy shock if oil producers start assuming that a dip in global demand will occur by 2050, according to ExxonMobil.
More than 40% of world’s electricity came from zero-carbon sources in 2023
29 Aug 2024
Investments in renewables continue to outpace fossil fuels, a BloombergNEF report finds.
UN chief issues climate SOS, warns of ‘unimaginable’ catastrophe
28 Aug 2024
Speaking at a meeting of Pacific Island leaders in Tonga, Antonio Guterres warned the region was ‘uniquely exposed’.
Caribbean islands hope UN court will end ‘debt cycle’ caused by climate crisis
28 Aug 2024
The outcome of an international court case on climate change obligations could strengthen the legal position of Caribbean islands claiming damages from developed countries after natural disasters, lawyers say.
Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable
28 Aug 2024
Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier got its nickname the “Doomsday Glacier” for its potential to flood coastlines around the world if it collapsed.
Australian homeowners struggling to afford insurance as climate risks grow, report says
28 Aug 2024
Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for a growing number of Australian households as increased climate threats drive up their premiums.
China coal plant approvals plunge as green power grows: Study
28 Aug 2024
China approved the building of nine gigawatts of coal power generation in the first half of 2024, down by more than 80 per cent compared with a year earlier as the nation adds renewable energy capacity in record amounts.
Solar above, batteries below: here’s how warehouses and shopping centres could produce 25% of Australia’s power
27 Aug 2024
Imagine if Australian cities became major producers of clean energy, rather than relying on far-flung solar and wind farms.
Floods swamp Bangladesh as nation finds its feet after protests
27 Aug 2024
Floods triggered by torrential rains have swamped a swath of low-lying Bangladesh, adding to the new government's challenges after weeks of political turmoil.
1,500 policies to fix global warming were implemented in 41 countries. Here are the ones that worked best
27 Aug 2024
As the need for effective global climate action becomes ever more urgent, a “first-of-its-kind” analysis has identified policies around the world that have done the most to rein in planet-heating pollution.
Communicating consensus strengthens beliefs about climate change, finds 27-country study
27 Aug 2024
Climate scientists have long agreed that humans are largely responsible for climate change.
Will we be ready? Geoengineering policy lags far behind pace of climate change
27 Aug 2024
The history of geoengineering policymaking has been piecemeal over past decades, with U.N. bodies failing to create or implement rigorous binding international regulatory frameworks.
Australia passes landmark bill mandating climate risk disclosures for companies
26 Aug 2024
New reporting standards require climate resilience assessments under both 1.5°C and 2.5°C warming scenarios.
Pacific Islands leaders to meet as region faces ‘polycrisis’ of threats
26 Aug 2024
The last time UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a summit with the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum, he made international news as he stood thigh-deep, dressed in a suit and tie, in the sea off the coast of Tuvalu.
Summer heat arrives in August, threatening to break all-time Australian winter temperature records
26 Aug 2024
Extraordinary August heat is developing across Australia, causing temperatures to spike up to 16 degrees Celsius above average while threatening all-time seasonal records in multiple states.
Kamala Harris avoids getting specific on climate change — for now
26 Aug 2024
Harris has backed away from past climate policies to avoid breaking with Biden. How long will that last?
Heat deaths in Europe may triple by end of the century, study finds
26 Aug 2024
Countries in south most at risk, with rise likely to outstrip fall in cold-related deaths if global heating hits 3C or 4C.
Which governments are backpedalling on climate commitments?
23 Aug 2024
New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK are among countries that have revised, or may revise, climate commitments for fiscal ends.
The scientist who proposes pumping sulfuric acid into the atmosphere to cool the planet
23 Aug 2024
American physicist David Keith is the best-known promoter of solar geoengineering, a controversial alternative in the fight against climate change.
The 1.5°C target is dead, but climate action needn't be
23 Aug 2024
For the first time, climate scientists have explicitly said it will be impossible to limit peak warming to 1.5°C. Now our focus should be on taking action, not meaningless platitudes and slogans.
Global warming may be factor in deadly Italian shipwreck, climatologist says
23 Aug 2024
Global warming may have contributed to the freak storm that sank a luxury British-flagged yacht off the coast of Sicily, Italian climatologist Luca Mercalli told Reuters.
Democratic platform calls for net-zero agricultural emissions by 2050
22 Aug 2024
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the climate-smart initiative will spur the development of sustainable farm products and markets for them.
How ‘green’ electricity from wood harms the planet — and people
22 Aug 2024
Many nations have embraced burning wood pellets to produce electricity — under the assumption that it is carbon neutral.
China is backing off coal power plant approvals after a 2022-23 surge that alarmed climate experts
22 Aug 2024
Approvals for new coal-fired power plants in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, after a flurry of permits in the previous two years raised concern about the government’s commitment to limiting climate change.
You can’t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°C
22 Aug 2024
Like the proverbial frog in the heating pan of water, we refuse to respond to the climate and ecological crisis with any sense of urgency.
The livestock lobby is waging war on ‘lab-grown meat’
22 Aug 2024
OPINION: These new proteins could be our best hope of averting catastrophe. But governments are trying to have them banned.
China reports record high flood incidents with frequent, heavy rainfall across north and south
21 Aug 2024
Since the start of this year's flood season, China's major rivers have experienced 25 significant flood events, the highest number recorded since data collection began in 1998.
I’ve cancelled my holiday because of climate change
21 Aug 2024
OPINION: Extreme heat and the associated effects of climate change will stop us going to traditional resorts.
Azerbaijan raises alarm over Caspian Sea's 'catastrophic' shrinking
21 Aug 2024
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin his concern over what he said was the "catastrophic" shrinking of the Caspian Sea.
Humans can work with nature to solve big environmental problems – but there’s no quick fix
21 Aug 2024
“Nature-based solutions” are gaining momentum in environmental policy, including in Australia.
Climate change is making the Middle East uninhabitable
21 Aug 2024
ANALYSIS: It’s been a brutal summer for the region—and the effects are spreading to the rest of the world.
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?
Tue 7 Apr 2026
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.
Environmental groups launch legal action over Govt's 'tick-box approach' to conservation land
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society are taking the Government to court over decisions about the future of publicly-owned land on Te Tai Poutini/the West Coast.
New alliance wants renewable-led energy – and Govt to press pause on LNG
Today 11:00am
A newly formed coalition of business, consumer and energy organisations has unveiled a renewable-led strategy it says will strengthen the country’s energy security, and it’s calling on the Government to pause its plan for an LNG import terminal.
Supply-side pressures and political uncertainty ahead for carbon market
Tue 7 Apr 2026
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
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.
Genesis fires up pellet study with Nature’s Flame
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Genesis Energy is extending its quest for locally produced torrefied wood pellets to supplement coal and gas to fuel its Huntly power station, announcing it is investigating plant construction with established local solid fuels player Nature’s Flame.
Death toll in Afghanistan flooding increases to 28, authorities say
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.
EA entrenches 10kW export limit for residential solar
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The Electricity Authority intends to require all electricity networks to offer at least a 10 kilowatt (kW) export capacity for residential rooftop and other small-scale distributed generation.
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.
Severe tropical cyclones Maila And Vaianu threaten communities in Solomon Islands, PNG and Fiji
Wed 8 Apr 2026
Media release: 350.org |Two Category 3 Tropical Cyclones are currently moving through the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, while experts watch a third system potentially developing in the North Pacific.
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.
Renewable build-out runs into grid and firming limits
Wed 8 Apr 2026
New Zealand's electricity market entered 2026 with renewable generation at record levels and a substantial build pipeline finally moving from paper to construction. The harder question is whether the wider system can absorb and firm that capacity fast enough.
A matter of strategy
Tue 7 Apr 2026
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.
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.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
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.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
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
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.
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.
Free fares call as fuel crisis impacts school attendance
Wed 8 Apr 2026
An open letter is urging the Government to make public transport free for all school children and subsidised for students under 25, as rising fuel costs begin to impact attendance and access to education across the country.
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?
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.
Solar energy, cheap battery storage can meet 90% of India’s power demand at affordable costs: Ember report
Today 11:00am
Battery storage is now cheap enough in India that solar power can meet 90% of the country’s power demand at lower lifetime costs than current average purchase rates in most states, a new study has found, a finding that could potentially point to a future buffer against global energy shocks.
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
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
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
Tue 7 Apr 2026
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.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
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.
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.
Fast-track approved project could deliver NZ’s largest wind farm
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Government |Fast-track approval has been granted for New Zealand’s largest wind farm project.
