Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Wildfire rages through national park in Argentina
2 Feb 2024
More than a hundred firefighters are battling to control a forest fire in Chubut province, in southern Argentina.
A veteran adviser is taking over as top US climate diplomat
2 Feb 2024
John Podesta, a Democratic political strategist and energy expert, will succeed John Kerry at a crucial time for President Biden’s climate agenda.
For COP29 to succeed, rich nations must get their parliaments to agree more finance now
2 Feb 2024
Rich nations always say they need their parliament's approval for climate finance at Cops – now is the time to start.
Climate change behind Africa cholera surge, top health officials say
2 Feb 2024
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent’s chief health advisory body, has tied the worst outbreak of cholera in three years to climate change.
With the world stumbling past 1.5 degrees of warming, scientists warn climate shocks could trigger unrest and authoritarian backlash
1 Feb 2024
Most of the public seems unaware that global temperatures will soon push past the target to which the U.N. hoped to limit warming, but researchers see social and psychological crises brewing.
China's wind, solar capacity forecast to overtake coal in 2024
1 Feb 2024
The China Electricity Council in a yearly report said grid-connected wind and solar would make up around 40% of installed power generation capacity by the end of 2024, compared with coal's expected 37%.
Saudi Arabia ditches plan to raise oil production
1 Feb 2024
World’s biggest exporter says it will no longer seek to increase output to 13mn barrels a day.
In carbon terms, grass-feed beef is not the greenest choice
1 Feb 2024
When researchers factored in land use, they found pasture-finished beef was significantly more carbon-intensive than the grain-finished alternative.
How many birds do wind farms kill?
1 Feb 2024
Wind farms kill far less than other hazards, but there are still ways that we can reduce them.
China installed more solar panels last year than the US has in total
31 Jan 2024
China is the world leader in renewable energy, including 40 percent of the planet’s entire solar capacity, reported Rystad Energy. The United States comes in second place with 12 percent.
A giant fund for climate disasters will soon open. Who should be paid first?
31 Jan 2024
More than three billion people stand to benefit from a historic climate loss-and-damage fund. But spending it involves agonising choices about who has suffered most.
New York’s first all-electric skyscraper doesn’t use a drop of fossil fuel
31 Jan 2024
The architects behind this 44-story tower explain how they designed it to run on electricity alone.
Scientists think the way humans have evolved may be preventing us from solving climate change
31 Jan 2024
While studying human evolution to find solutions for the growing climate crisis, researchers found a mix of encouraging and depressing results.
As a Swiss glacier melts, a trove of invaluable climate data is being lost
31 Jan 2024
By analysing ice collected from glaciers, scientists can study the past composition of the atmosphere and better understand how humans have altered the climate.
Climate change worsens human trafficking of the poor in Sierra Leone
31 Jan 2024
Sierra Leone’s poorest communities have long been prey to human traffickers. Climate change is making things worse.
East Africa's new love affair with geothermal energy
30 Jan 2024
There has been little interest in geothermal power in East Africa but Kenya's trailblazing energy transformation policy is now inspiring others.
COP29 host Azerbaijan launches green energy unit to sceptical response
30 Jan 2024
Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas firm promises a green push but a lack of climate policies and plans to expand gas production are causing scepticism.
Chicago could be first major Midwestern city to ban gas in new construction
30 Jan 2024
Buildings are Chicago’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, but efforts to decarbonize them are facing union opposition.
Electric vehicles use half the energy of gas-powered vehicles
30 Jan 2024
US residents are collectively burning about 8.9 million barrels of gasoline a day, or a little over one gallon each for every person in the country.
Migratory birds are struggling to adapt to climate change
30 Jan 2024
Alarming new research has uncovered the profound effects of climate change on migratory birds.
The race to build climate-resilient coral reefs
30 Jan 2024
Novel restoration methods can speed up the recovery of threatened corals – but for a lasting impact, they need to be backed by action to stop ocean warming.
Clean energy was top driver of China’s economic growth in 2023
29 Jan 2024
Clean energy contributed a record US$1.6tn to China’s economy in 2023, accounting for all of the growth in investment and a larger share of economic growth than any other sector.
Climate change driving South America dengue spike
29 Jan 2024
South America is seeing a surge in cases of the mosquito-borne disease dengue during the southern hemisphere summer, prompting Brazil to roll out a novel vaccine campaign.
World's largest cruise ship sets sail amid climate concerns
29 Jan 2024
The world's largest cruise ship has set sail from Miami, Florida, on its maiden voyage, but there are concerns about the vessel's methane emissions.
Collaboration key to curbing plastic pollution
29 Jan 2024
OPINION: Investing in industry–academic partnerships is the most effective path to solving the plastic pollution crisis and mitigating harm to the environment and to humans.
How nature can fight climate change - and how it can't
29 Jan 2024
With research showing that nature is already "mopping up" about half of human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions every year, natural climate solutions are moving into the mainstream.
Could 'apocalyptic optimism' be the antidote for 'climate fatalism'?
29 Jan 2024
OPINION: I call myself an apocalyptic optimist. I believe we can save ourselves from the climate crisis that we have caused; I also believe it will only be possible with a mass mobilization driven by the pain and suffering of climate shocks around the world.
Biden administration reportedly pauses approval of ‘carbon mega bomb’ gas export hub
26 Jan 2024
The Biden administration will reportedly pause a decision on approving what would be one of the world’s largest gas export hubs, amid concern from climate experts that greenlighting the project would create a “carbon mega bomb”.
Carbon startups pin hopes on future regulation to boost their fortunes
26 Jan 2024
Carbon credits startup, Ceezer, is part of the new wave of tech-driven offsetting and/or removal platforms trying to bring transparency and cohesion to a sector that has been rocked by charges of “green-washing”.
The propane industry is trying to dupe you
26 Jan 2024
Documents and recordings obtained by HEATED detail a multi-million dollar plan to spin the fossil fuel as "clean" and "renewable".
New Shell files could aid climate cases, attorneys say
26 Jan 2024
Newly-discovered Shell documents dating back decades could help strengthen lawsuits aiming to hold the oil major to account for climate damages, climate attorneys say.
Pre-pesticides, pro-farmer: the rise of agroecology
26 Jan 2024
One part ancient practices, one part worker justice, a new-old way of farming is adapting agriculture for an uncertain world.
Climate change drives Amazon rainforest's record drought, study finds
26 Jan 2024
Climate change is the main culprit for a record drought in the Amazon rainforest that has drained rivers, killed endangered dolphins and upended life for millions of people in the region, according to a study.
IPCC: Govts split on ‘accelerated’ climate reports for next UN global stocktake
25 Jan 2024
Governments have decided against adopting a new structure for the next IPCC assessment cycle, committing instead to the traditional set of three “working group” reports and just one “special” report.
This counterintuitive technology fights climate change by making more carbon dioxide
25 Jan 2024
Scientists are trying to pull methane from dairy barns and coal mines to make CO2. It’s a surprisingly good idea.
Amazon of the ocean - can coral reefs survive the Anthropocene epoch?
25 Jan 2024
The world’s coral reefs could collapse by the end of this century, jeopardising millions of marine species and humans. “Super reefs” may be our last hope.”
China’s green tech surge could turn global climate politics on its head
25 Jan 2024
Beijing’s industrial policy gives it an interest in forcing others to decarbonise more.
Climate change in South China Sea will impact global weather: experts
25 Jan 2024
The impact of climate change in the South China Sea and its surrounding areas on the local and global weather system could be “profound,” new scientific research has found.
Bangladeshi farmers eye drought-resistant tree as a climate and economic solution
25 Jan 2024
Farmers in Bangladesh are increasingly turning to the fast-growing, drought-resistant moringa tree, which is indigenous to South Asian nations.
Why 2024 will be a crucial year for climate litigation
24 Jan 2024
Advocates predict activists and local governments will look to the courts to bring about accountability for climate damage.
Earth 2.0°C: How to make passing the 1.5°c climate change threshold an opportunity
24 Jan 2024
Addressing the climate crisis will be difficult and demand focused attention and action.
UN makes ‘global appeal’ for $7.9bn to help 140 million migrants
24 Jan 2024
The United Nations migration agency has launched its first “global appeal”, aiming to drum up $7.9bn to help those forced to leave their homes due to everything from conflict to climate change.
Fiscal reforms needed to address global problems like climate change and ageing
24 Jan 2024
The world needs to cut high levels of debt and raise tax revenues to deal with challenges such as climate change and rapid ageing in developed countries, said Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
North Sea oil and gas claims fact-checked
24 Jan 2024
The UK government has been defending a plan that could see new licences granted every year for fossil fuel drilling in the North Sea.
Companies are hiding their climate progress - a new report explains why
24 Jan 2024
In a twist, the greenest companies are talking about their climate efforts the least.
The people have a right to climate data
23 Jan 2024
OPINION: As a climate scientist documenting the multi-trillion-dollar price tag of the climate disasters shocking economies and destroying lives, I field requests from strategic consultants looking for climate data, analysis and computer code.
Junk offset sellers push to enter new UN carbon market
23 Jan 2024
Renewable energy schemes make up four-fifths of Kyoto-era projects hoping to keep selling offsets under Article 6, sparking concerns over the credibility of the new market.
Extreme cold still happens in a warming world – in fact climate instability may be disrupting the polar vortex
23 Jan 2024
Extremely cold Arctic air and severe winter weather swept southward into much of the US in mid-January, breaking daily low temperature records from Montana to Texas.
Iron fertilisation isn’t going to save us
23 Jan 2024
The controversial geoengineering technique can defer, at best, a few years’ worth of emissions. And that’s ignoring the potential side effects.
Bottom trawling is kicking up tons of carbon dioxide
23 Jan 2024
Your shrimp cocktail comes with a side of carbon dioxide, according to scientists who have for the first time quantified greenhouse emissions caused by a destructive fishing technique known as bottom trawling.
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
Thu 9 Apr 2026
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
Thu 9 Apr 2026
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.
