Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
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.
Ban private jets to address climate crisis, says Thomas Piketty
23 Nov 2023
French economist says class inequality must be at centre of climate response and calls for progressive carbon taxes.
The Galapagos are going green
23 Nov 2023
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to transform the archipelago into a beacon of sustainability.
Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%, report says
22 Nov 2023
‘Polluter elite’ are plundering the planet to point of destruction, says Oxfam after comprehensive study of climate inequality.
Earth is hurtling toward nearly 3°C of warming
22 Nov 2023
The globe is headed for nearly 3°C (5.4°F) of warming compared with preindustrial levels through 2100, new data finds, even if current policies to cut planet-warming emissions are met.
Does the Amazon’s drought mean the forest is at a tipping point?
22 Nov 2023
Scientists say deforestation is compounding the effects of climate change, threatening to turn parts of the forest into savannah.
UK government plans radical shake-up of foreign aid for climate change disasters
22 Nov 2023
The UK government is to spend millions of pounds helping countries prepare for future humanitarian disasters in a radical shake-up of its development policy.
US plans to push for curbs on methane emissions worldwide at key UN meet
22 Nov 2023
Curbing methane is the fastest and cheapest way to keep average temperature rise under 1.5 degrees Celsius, a US state department official said.
COP28 must not repeat the mistakes of the Africa Climate Summit
22 Nov 2023
Lobbyists for big emitters in the Global North must not be allowed to push false solutions on COP28.
Anti-green backlash hovers over COP climate talks
21 Nov 2023
War, a fossil fuel boom and populist revolts are sapping the optimism from the fight against climate change. And then there’s Trump.
Oil and gas companies are digging in. That’s why COP28 must force a phase-down of fossil fuels
21 Nov 2023
COP28 is just a few weeks away, and if we are to have any hope of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees and a positive outcome at the conference, we must see the oil and gas sector start to move the needle.
Warming of 2C would trigger ‘catastrophic’ loss of world’s ice, new report says
21 Nov 2023
Global warming of 2C would see “extensive, long-term and essentially irreversible” losses from the Earth’s ice sheets and glaciers, warns a new report.
Gaza at risk from climate crisis: conflict compounds looming environmental disaster
21 Nov 2023
On November 18 2023, the planet’s temperature went past the 2.0 degree Celsius barrier for the first time. It’s temporary—but it’s a terrible reminder that we’re now in the desperate end game for global warming.
Record-breaking heat set to hit southern hemisphere as summer begins
21 Nov 2023
The northern hemisphere experienced a sweltering summer due to climate and meteorological patters. Scientists say the south will not escape.
To meet climate goals, Gulf countries will have to overhaul everything
21 Nov 2023
When Dubai hosts the COP28 climate conference, the tension between Gulf countries’ net-zero targets and reliance on fossil fuels will be front and center.
What happens when you put a fossil fuel exec in charge of solving climate change?
20 Nov 2023
For a taste of the United Arab Emirates, try the cappuccino at Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace hotel. At around $25, it’s a quality cup of coffee, but the gold flakes that come sprinkled on top are its primary selling point.
Neighbourhoods submerged following flash floods in the Horn of Africa
20 Nov 2023
More than 100 people, including 16 children, have died and over 700,000 been forced out of their homes in the Horn of Africa due to flash flooding.
Plants are likely to absorb more CO₂ in a changing climate than we thought
20 Nov 2023
The world’s vegetation has a remarkable ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and store it as biomass.
Report: Climate change impacts on water are profound and unequal
20 Nov 2023
Climate change is intensifying rainfall and floods, deepening droughts, and shifting weather patterns across the globe, threatening terrestrial freshwater supplies and water quality, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
One solution to fight climate change? Fewer parking spaces.
20 Nov 2023
Less parking could pave the way for denser housing and more accessible public transportation.
Is ocean iron fertilisation back from the dead as a CO₂ removal tool?
20 Nov 2023
Scientists are saying the controversial geoengineering approach to ocean iron fertilisation has the potential to remove “gigatons per year” of carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere.
Global efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C are failing in every way
17 Nov 2023
The world is lagging significantly behind the pace and scale that’s needed to address the climate crisis, according to a new report.
EU greenhouse gas emissions drop 5% in the second quarter
17 Nov 2023
Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by more than 5% in the second quarter of 2023, with the biggest decline recorded in electricity and gas supply.
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.
