Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Al Gore slams COP28 climate summit host UAE, says its emissions soared
5 Dec 2023
Climate advocate and former US Vice President Al Gore slammed the UAE - host of the COP28 climate summit - saying its position as overseer of international negotiations on global warming this year was an abuse of public trust.
Rishi Sunak hits back at criticism of fleeting COP28 visit
5 Dec 2023
UK prime minister rejects suggestion half-day stay shows lack of ‘seriousness.’ Rishi Sunak defended his decision to only attend COP28 for a half a day, saying it would be wrong to “measure our impact here by hours spent.”
What Brazil should have said at COP28 - but didn’t
5 Dec 2023
Brazil’s President Lula made important contributions to COP28 in demanding that the 1.5°C temperature increase limit be respected, in recognising the risk of Amazon forest collapse, and in promising to end Brazil’s Amazon deforestation by 2030.
What sea level rise will look like in cities that have hosted climate summits
5 Dec 2023
As global leaders and delegates gather in Dubai for the annual UN climate summit, a new analysis shows how the host cities of previous summits could be inundated — if not entirely submerged — by rising ocean waters.
G7 countries agree to phase out coal by 2030, announces French President Emmanuel Macron
4 Dec 2023
Over $12 billion pledged for Green Climate Fund; 118 countries commit to tripling renewable and double energy efficiency by 2030.
Clashes over fossil fuels, Gaza war at COP28 climate summit
4 Dec 2023
Israel’s assault on Gaza resumes the day after the summit reaches an agreement over a long-sought rehabilitation fund.
US announces $3 billion pledge to green climate fund
4 Dec 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris announced COP28 that the US is pledging $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund — the world’s largest climate fund — created to help developing countries handle climate change.
COP28 president says there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phase-out of fossil fuels
4 Dec 2023
UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber says phase-out of coal, oil and gas would take world ‘back into caves’.
How the US, oil industry plans to drastically cut methane emissions at the forefront of COP28
4 Dec 2023
The US government and the oil industry have announced plans to drastically reduce emissions of methane, one of the most dangerous GHGs, due to its heightened ability to raise global temperatures.
Global hospitals may face imminent shutdowns due to extreme weather
4 Dec 2023
A report by XDI reveals that 1 in 12 hospitals worldwide could face shutdowns due to extreme weather events from climate change.
Climate aid fund established on first day of COP28 after 30-year controversy
1 Dec 2023
COP28 climate summit head Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber notched a win on the first official day of talks in Dubai, with the adoption of an agreement to set up a "loss and damage" fund to help developing nations.
Four questions for COP28 to settle about a global carbon market
1 Dec 2023
As carbon credits face intense scrutiny, negotiators will wrangle over how to ensure the integrity of a new global carbon market.
COP28: How seven policies could help save a billion lives by 2100
1 Dec 2023
In a recent review of more than 180 peer-reviewed articles — which I conducted with fellow researcher Richard Parncutt — we found that a scientific consensus has formed around the so-called 1,000-ton rule.
From tree planting to ‘sponge cities’: why nature-based solutions are crucial to fighting the climate crisis
1 Dec 2023
Nature could hold the key to protecting humanity as the planet heats, but scientists say it is still an underused option.
US expected to reach new record for fossil fuel production this year
1 Dec 2023
The year 2023 is already expected to be the hottest on record, following a record-hot summer. But despite this, the US is expected to reach record numbers in fossil fuel production for the year.
Climate change ambassador explains why Australia won't back Pacific's calls to urgently phase out fossil fuels
1 Dec 2023
Australia's climate change ambassador says the federal government cannot yet back the Pacific's call to rapidly phase out fossil fuels because it's grappling with "complex" and "difficult" issues thrown up by decarbonisation.
Big meat unveils battle plans for COP28
30 Nov 2023
Polluting livestock companies and lobby groups will target pavilions in a coordinated campaign at the UN climate summit, documents show.
Can a climate summit in an oil state change anything?
30 Nov 2023
The world's most important climate meeting, which starts today, is being hosted in Dubai by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - one of the world's top ten oil producers.
Climate change is the biggest human health risk, says Africa's disease boss
30 Nov 2023
Climate change is the biggest threat to human health in Africa and the rest of the world, the head of the continent's public health agency said.
Has wind power blown it?
30 Nov 2023
Financial headwinds could be a passing storm or a long-term headache for the carbon-free energy source.
US moves to protect wolverines as climate change melts their mountain refuges
30 Nov 2023
The North American wolverine will receive long-delayed threatened species protections under a Biden administration proposal released in response to scientists warning that climate change will likely push them toward extinction.
We can’t address the climate crisis without nature
30 Nov 2023
At a climate summit, Bill Gates sparked controversy by dismissing tree planting as a climate crisis solution, calling it “complete nonsense.”
Saudi Arabia’s grand plan to ‘hook’ poor countries on oil
29 Nov 2023
Climate scientists say fossil fuel use needs to fall rapidly – but oil-rich kingdom is working to drive up demand.
Biden not scheduled to attend COP 28 climate summit
29 Nov 2023
US President Biden is not expected to attend the opening of COP 28 this week but will send top US officials to the UN climate summit in Dubai, the White House confirmed.
Who wants what at COP28?
29 Nov 2023
As a year of record-breaking temperatures and climate change-fuelled disasters draws to a close, nations are once again preparing to gather for another round of UN climate talks.
World's biggest iceberg three times the size of New York City is escaping Antarctica after almost 40 years
29 Nov 2023
The gigantic iceberg A23a, which broke off from Antarctica in 1986, is finally moving away from the icy continent after being stuck on the seafloor for decades.
Leaks reveal how McKinsey drives African climate agenda
29 Nov 2023
Whistleblowers raise alarm over American consultancy’s growing influence in pushing carbon markets and developing energy transition plans.
No easy way to communicate the impacts of climate change, says study
29 Nov 2023
A new study outlines how researchers sought to reduce the psychological distance of climate change by showing a 3D virtual simulation of a storm surge to see if it would change their behaviours and attitudes regarding climate change.
COP28: UAE planned to use climate talks to make oil deals
28 Nov 2023
The United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals, the BBC has learned.
The green battery of the future is right under your feet
28 Nov 2023
As the world transitions to renewable energy, some researchers are looking for a more Earth-friendly alternative to lithium ion batteries.
Portugal just ran on 100 percent renewables for six days in a row
28 Nov 2023
For nearly a week, the country of 10 million met customer needs with wind, hydro and solar — a test run for operating the grid without fossil fuels.
Heat, disease, air pollution: how climate change impacts health
28 Nov 2023
Growing calls for the world to come to grips with the many ways that global warming affects human health have prompted the first day dedicated to the issue at crunch UN climate talks.
Most people don’t realise how much progress we’ve made on climate change
28 Nov 2023
The rapid rise of renewables and EVs has already put us on a safer path.
Indigenous peoples and local communities can make the voluntary carbon market work for them
28 Nov 2023
The voluntary carbon market has the potential to address $4.1 trillion in nature financing gap by 2050 and support Indigenous peoples and local communities — when done right.
Oil and gas industry needs to let go of carbon capture as solution to climate change, IEA says
27 Nov 2023
The oil and gas industry faces a reckoning over its role in the clean energy transition, according to an International Energy Agency report.
Australia climate change activists disrupt shipping at coal port
27 Nov 2023
A climate change protest off Australia's east coast disrupted operations at the country's biggest coal export port on Saturday.
Green growth or degrowth: what is the right way to tackle climate change?
27 Nov 2023
Nearly all the world’s governments and vast numbers of its people are convinced that addressing human-induced climate change is essential if healthy societies are to survive.
Brazil to propose mega fund to conserve forests at COP28 climate summit
27 Nov 2023
Brazil plans to propose a “huge” fund to pay for the conservation of tropical forests at the United Nations COP28 climate change summit, the country’s top climate negotiator said.
Devastating flooding in East Africa
27 Nov 2023
Heavy rainfall led to extensive flooding in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya in October and November.
China engineers complete largest solar farm on Earth in UAE ahead of Cop28
27 Nov 2023
The 4 million panels in the desert outside Abu Dhabi will reduce carbon emissions by 2.4 million tonnes per year and power 200,000 households.
Thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists attend COP meetings: NGOs
24 Nov 2023
Delegates openly affiliated with oil, gas and coal firms have attended the UN climate talks to address the escalating global impacts of human-induced climate change at least 7,200 times over the last 20 years.
In numbers: The state of the climate ahead of COP28
24 Nov 2023
Annual emissions may have just peaked but the world’s temperature will keep rising until we reach net zero.
Pacific women are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather
24 Nov 2023
Roughly 90 kilometres from northern Bougainville, the Carteret Islands were the first place in the world to move people due to climate change-related sea level rise.
China rolls out product carbon footprint directive in bid to meet global standards
24 Nov 2023
State planner NDRC sets new policy to calculate, label carbon footprints for ‘key products’ as EU moves toward carbon border tax.
Shell to face human rights claims in UK over chronic oil pollution in Niger delta
24 Nov 2023
More than 13,000 Nigerian villagers can bring legal claims against oil firm, rules high court.
The case for climate neuroscience
24 Nov 2023
In a new paper, brain scientists lay out how their field could probe the reciprocal relationships between the changing climate and the brain.
Is it too late to keep global warming below 1.5C? The challenge in seven charts
23 Nov 2023
Chances are rapidly disappearing to limit Earth’s temperature rise to the globally agreed mark, but researchers say there are some positive signs of progress.
US carbon emissions set to fall again, a key sign of progress
23 Nov 2023
A projected drop in US greenhouse gas emissions—one of the largest of the past decade—is still not enough to meet the country’s commitments under the Paris climate accord.
Why deals at COP28 to ‘triple renewables’ and ‘double efficiency’ are crucial for 1.5C
23 Nov 2023
COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber has urged governments to agree on global goals to triple renewables capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
Iraqis displaced by climate change fall into poverty
23 Nov 2023
In a country of 43 million people, nearly one Iraqi in five lives in an area suffering from water shortages.
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.
