Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
This Utah county is buying lawns to save water
17 May 2024
Would you ditch your grass for less-thirsty plants? In a place where every drop of water counts, a little cash compels residents to say yes.
Why we need rapid deployment of carbon capture technologies
16 May 2024
Amid the accelerating climate crisis, the urgency to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 has become a global imperative, with some required technologies still in need of rapid development.
Scientists achieve over 1000 degrees Celsius with solar power alone rather than fossil fuels
16 May 2024
When you hear about solar energy, you immediately think of blue panels and clean electricity.
EU countries approve law to slash CO2 emissions from trucks
16 May 2024
EU countries gave their final approval to a law to cut carbon dioxide emissions from trucks, which will require most new heavy-duty vehicles sold from 2040 to be emissions-free.
‘Climate change is here and it kills’: Heat-related deaths rise by 30% in Europe
16 May 2024
Researchers tracking the link between climate change and health say the adverse impacts are far-reaching.
How much is a planet worth?
16 May 2024
OPINION: Donald Trump recently told fossil fuel execs that a clean billion would get them literally anything they want in his next administration. That they would use that power to once-and-for-all overheat the earth is a given.
Children pulled from mud as hundreds die in severe flooding in Afghanistan
16 May 2024
Three bewildered children sit on the roof of a mosque in Baghlan province, northern Afghanistan, their eyes blinking away mud that covers their entire bodies.
Banks have given almost $7tn to fossil fuel firms since Paris deal
15 May 2024
Among world’s top 60 banks those in US are biggest fossil fuel financiers, while Barclays leads way in Europe.
Attacks on environmental journalists growing worldwide, UN report finds
15 May 2024
“Without reliable scientific information about the ongoing environmental crisis, we can never hope to overcome it,” said Audrey Azoulay, head of UNESCO.
Moment of truth for gas
15 May 2024
On LNG there are two paths before us and decisions made in the next 6 months will determine what the world looks like in 50 years.
South Asia pre-monsoon heatwave breaking records due to climate change
15 May 2024
South and Southeast Asia are experiencing another record heatwave, with forecasts anticipating that the heatwave will continue in certain parts of the region before rain or cool winds bring a respite.
How carbon markets can deliver to the front lines of the climate crisis
15 May 2024
Nations across the Global South are facing a searing dilemma, and the choices they make will impact us all.
More desalination is coming to Australia’s driest states – but super-salty outflows could trash ecosystems and fisheries
15 May 2024
From around 1996 to 2010, Australia was gripped by the millennium drought and as water shortages bit hard, most capital cities built large seawater desalination plants.
Australia’s PM faces internal revolt from inner-city Labor MPs over gas strategy
14 May 2024
Resources minister Madeleine King released party’s future gas strategy, which says new sources will be needed ‘to 2050 and beyond’.
Thousands evacuate as wildfire grows ‘dramatically’ in western Canada
14 May 2024
Thousands of people in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia (BC) have been evacuated from their homes as authorities warn that a enormous wildfire continues to grow.
Biden to set 100% tariff on electric cars made in China
14 May 2024
It’s not official yet, but the Wall Street Journal says the Biden administration is expected to increase the import tariffs on electric cars made in China from 25% to 100%, a move that may embolden regulators in the European Union to do likewise.
Von der Leyen slammed for ‘huge’ climate mistakes
14 May 2024
Teresa Ribera, a front-runner to become the EU’s next Green Deal commissioner, lashed out at her potential future boss in an interview.
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory just captured ominous signals about the planet’s health
14 May 2024
Atmospheric levels of planet-warming carbon dioxide aren’t just on their way to yet another record high this year — they’re rising faster than ever, according to the latest in a 66-year-long series of observations.
'Getting smashed': World's avocado growing regions could shrink by 40 per cent by 2050
14 May 2024
A new report claims avocados are being "smashed" by the climate crisis, with areas deemed suitable for growing the superfood expected to contract by between 14 and 41 per cent by 2050.
I understand climate scientists’ despair – but stubborn optimism may be our only hope
13 May 2024
Opinion: Fighting spirit helped us achieve the Paris accords in 2015 – and we need it now the world is on course to overshoot 1.5C.
Wind and solar are ‘fastest-growing electricity sources in history’
13 May 2024
Wind and solar are growing faster than any other sources of electricity in history, according to new analysis from thinktank Ember.
Vermont could become first US state to make biggest emitters pay for climate-related damages
13 May 2024
Vermont’s House of Representatives has passed S.259, a state bill aimed at collecting recovery costs for climate-related damages from the biggest emitters, such as fossil fuel companies.
Despite drought, Amazon deforestation alerts hit five-year low
13 May 2024
The Brazilian Amazon experienced a 47% decrease in deforestation in April compared to last year, marking the lowest level in five years, and a 51% decrease over the past 12 months.
BP and Shell ‘shaped’ UK carbon tax proposals, private emails show
13 May 2024
Internal documents expose how oil and gas majors were given the chance to influence a report by the Policy Exchange think tank.
World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target
10 May 2024
Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity, poll of hundreds of scientists finds.
Australia backs gas beyond 2050 despite climate fears
10 May 2024
Australia has announced it will ramp up its extraction and use of gas until "2050 and beyond", despite global calls to phase out fossil fuels.
What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign
10 May 2024
Donald Trump has pledged to scrap President Biden’s policies on electric vehicles and wind energy, as well as other initiatives opposed by the fossil fuel industry.
Corporate climate watchdog document deems carbon offsets largely ineffective
10 May 2024
Staff at an influential corporate climate action group whose board announced a plan to allow companies to offset greenhouse gas emissions from their supply chain with carbon credits has now found such offsets are largely ineffective.
Europeans want governments to focus more on curbing migration than climate change
10 May 2024
Europeans focus more on curbing immigration than on climate change and less than 15% of those interviewed across the globe consider climate issues to be among the top three priorities for their government.
Inside the climate protests hell-bent on stopping Tesla
10 May 2024
Tesla’s gigafactory in Germany will temporarily pause production as a group of protesters encamped in the surrounding forest have ramped up their efforts to stop the company’s expansion.
Carbon pricing is seen as a ‘way out’ for the Malaysian steel industry to cut emissions
9 May 2024
Carbon pricing is seen as a ‘way out’ for the Malaysian steel industry to cut emissions.
Methane emissions from gas flaring being hidden from satellite monitors
9 May 2024
Use of enclosed combustors leaves regulators heavily reliant on oil and gas companies’ own flaring data.
It's all about the gas
9 May 2024
OPINION: Do we build out gas to replace coal for producing electricity, or do we go straight to sun, wind, and batteries? It’s the argument that will decide how much our earth overheats.
The ‘world’s largest’ vacuum to suck climate pollution out of the air just opened
9 May 2024
The “world’s largest” plant designed to suck planet-heating pollution out of the atmosphere like a giant vacuum has begun operating in Iceland.
2024 sees record start to year for UK's electric vehicle sales
9 May 2024
Sales of electric vehicles have got off to a record start this year, the latest sign that British consumers are shifting their preferences towards greener modes of transport.
Pakistan records its wettest April since 1961 with above average rainfall
9 May 2024
Pakistan has recorded its wettest April since 1961, with more than double the usual rainfall for the month, the national weather centre said.
BP was warned gas-driven climate change could cause ‘unprecedented famine’
8 May 2024
Yet the oil and gas major led a campaign to present gas as a climate solution, new ‘confidential’ documents released by a US Congressional investigation reveal.
Australian cattle industry suggests shift from net zero target to ‘climate neutral’ approach
8 May 2024
The US cattle industry adopted a ‘climate neutral’ goal in 2021 but scientists say that ‘misses the point’ in keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C.
Headed toward the finish line, plastics treaty delegates ‘work is far from over’
8 May 2024
Some environmental groups see the United States, the global leader in oil production, as an obstacle to a robust plastics agreement.
Landslides and massive flooding kills dozens in Brazil
8 May 2024
Massive flooding and landslides triggered by days of heavy rain in Brazil's southernmost state have killed 55 people, according to local authorities.
An estimated 40 people are dying each day in Myanmar as heat lingers in region
8 May 2024
Animals are at risk from a lack of water in a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary as soaring temperatures linger over most of Southeast Asia.
EU proposes first sanctions on Russia’s LNG sector
8 May 2024
Until now, the EU hasn’t targeted Moscow’s lucrative gas sector, newly proposed sanctions would hit about a quarter of Russia’s LNG revenues.
Plastic manufacturing and processing are still increasing, study finds
7 May 2024
Plastic is now a scourge polluting our waterways, exposing us to PFAS “forever chemicals” and making its way into our bloodstreams in the form of microplastics.
Airlines lobby against EU plan to monitor non-CO₂ emissions
7 May 2024
Global carriers ask Brussels to weaken landmark plans to require monitoring and disclosure of all emissions.
India reported over 75,000 forest fires in April
7 May 2024
A senior official said a warmer than usual April and a drier winter this year are the reasons for sudden surge in forest fires.
Shell’s £6.1bn profits fuel fresh climate change row
7 May 2024
Oil giant says it will reward shareholders with US$3.5bn - as big investors threaten revolt over 'climate-wrecking' policies.
Corporate climate disclosure has passed a tipping point. Companies need to catch up.
7 May 2024
Until recently, companies could decide whether to share information about their greenhouse gas emissions and how climate change might affect their business models.
Climate change is making hurricanes more destructive
7 May 2024
Climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging.
UN approves complaint process for carbon credit projects
6 May 2024
The United Nations has introduced new rules to allow people harmed by projects under the global carbon credit market it is designing to file a formal appeal.
UK's new climate action plan unlawful due to delivery risk
6 May 2024
Britain's latest climate action plan is unlawful because ministers were not told of the risk that key policies could not be delivered, London's High Court ruled.
Farm-level emissions cuts possible, but almost everything stands in the way
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Progress to slash farming emissions is being blocked by limited farmer confidence in mitigation tools, inconsistent engagement, misinformation and a lack of clear policy signals, according to a new report.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
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.
‘Cali Fund’ aiming to raise billions for nature receives first donation – of just $1,000
16 Dec 2025
A major biodiversity fund – which could, in theory, generate billions of dollars annually for conservation – received its first donation of just $1,000 in November.
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.
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.
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.
Global coal demand hit record high this year but is set to decline by 2030
18 Dec 2025
Global coal demand reached a record high in 2025 but is expected to decline by 2030 as renewables, nuclear power and abundant natural gas squeeze its dominance in power generation.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
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.
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.
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.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
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.”
Westpac NZ announces partnership to form Blue Economy hub in Nelson
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Westpac NZ has announced a new three-year partnership with the Nelson Regional Development Agency and Kernohan Engineering to help accelerate the development of a sustainable marine economy – also known as the blue economy.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
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.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
Wetlands and biodiversity at risk as mining rules loosen: Greenpeace
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greenpeace says Government changes to national direction instruments under the RMA paves the way for mining in wetlands and biodiversity hotspots and will expose some of Aotearoa’s most fragile ecosystems to irreversible damage.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
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.
Offshore windfarms enhance function of coastal waters and diversity of aquatic life
19 Dec 2025
Media release | A study conducted by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia and Dalian Ocean University in China has found that offshore windfarms can improve marine ecosystems and diversify aquatic food chains.
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
16 Dec 2025
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
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.
Could tidal energy one day power NZ?
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests Aotearoa holds some of the world’s strongest tidal-stream energy potential – enough to generate up to 93% of today’s electricity use – but one expert cautions that extracting energy at such a scale could have significant impacts and remains highly uncertain.
NZ could lose nearly all glaciers this century without stronger climate action
16 Dec 2025
New Zealand could see 97% of its glaciers vanish by 2100, with new international modelling projecting a rapid acceleration in glacier extinction from the 2030s onward – even under lower-warming scenarios.
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.
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.
The surprisingly convincing case against cars
19 Dec 2025
Life After Cars dares to imagine how different, and enriching, a car-free world could be.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Media round-up
12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
