Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Tesla’s carbon footprint is bigger than it let on
27 Apr 2023
Tesla released its 2022 Impact Report this week, and it gives the clearest picture yet of the electric car company’s carbon footprint. Tesla disclosed numbers on its supply chain emissions for the first time, which makes its overall carbon footprint much bigger than it has reported in the past.
Replacing methane with hydrogen to heat homes is a bad idea – here’s why
27 Apr 2023
Ran Boydell - The Conversation | Hydrogen is an energy-rich gas, which releases no carbon emissions when burned. It can be used in most equipment where fossil fuels such as natural gas (methane) or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) are currently used. In your home, that might mean a gas boiler, heater, cooker or all three.
Wind farms and birds are learning to coexist
27 Apr 2023
The Fryslan wind farm in the Netherlands is a sprawling array of 109-meter turbines situated in the deep blue waters of Lake Ijssel, north of Amsterdam.
Europe’s biggest petrochemical plant in 30 years a ‘carbon bomb’, court to hear
26 Apr 2023
Environment groups challenge the decision to approve a £3.5bn Ineos facility in Antwerp, saying it will make the climate crisis worse.
EU, Norway to bolster clean energy ties, with focus on carbon and hydrogen
26 Apr 2023
The EU and Norway have established a Green Alliance to strengthen their joint climate action, environmental protection efforts and cooperation on clean energy.
Biden’s newest big climate rule will rest on rarely used technology
26 Apr 2023
The Biden administration will plunge into political and legal fights as soon as this week by proposing stringent requirements on utilities to reduce carbon emissions.
Border tax on carbon dioxide offers huge opportunity to fight climate change, say researchers
26 Apr 2023
A tax on CO2 emissions from products entering the EU offers unprecedented opportunities in the fight against global warming.
Blackout-beset South Africa may delay closing coal stations
26 Apr 2023
President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa may delay the timetable for shutting down many of its highly polluting coal-fired power stations as the nation deals with crippling daily electricity blackouts.
A Canadian businessman spent $1 million to offset his carbon footprint
26 Apr 2023
A globetrotting millionaire has calculated his carbon footprint — and then paid $1 million to offset it.
Study finds that media's climate crisis coverage sparks fear and favours avoidance
24 Apr 2023
A study has revealed that the media's coverage of climate research is, to a large extent, carried out in a way that doesn't provoke action.
Report highlights climate change danger to children's education in Pacific
24 Apr 2023
Like many mothers, Janet Iaticknu gets up in the morning and helps her children get ready for school.
Why the debt ceiling debate is also a climate fight
24 Apr 2023
Congress is once again fighting over the nation’s debt ceiling, the legal limit on how much the United States can borrow.
Panamanian tribe to be relocated from coastal island due to climate change: "There's no other option"
24 Apr 2023
For hundreds of years, the ocean has protected the Guna Yala culture on Cardi Sugdub, or Crab Island, located off the coast of Panama.
Record breaking heatwaves cause 15,000 deaths in Europe
24 Apr 2023
Record-breaking heatwaves over the last few years, affecting the Europen continent and parts of China during the summer, have caused nearly 15,700 deaths, an analysis published by the United Nations Agency for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology, and Geophysics, claimed.
Earth Day — climate, protest and policy in 2023
24 Apr 2023
As activists mark Earth Day this Saturday, it feels like the climate coverage in the first months of 2023 has been dominated by extreme weather events including droughts, fires and floods, and by images of angry protesters demanding action. But some initiatives offer a glimmer of hope and possible ways to tackle climate emergencies.
World’s first carbon import tax gets green light
21 Apr 2023
The European Parliament has approved the world’s first “carbon tax” for imported goods, imposing tariffs based on the amount of emissions generated in their production.
Shell admits 1.5C climate goal means immediate end to fossil fuel growth
21 Apr 2023
Growth in oil and gas production ends immediately in Shell’s latest pathway for staying below 1.5C, new Carbon Brief analysis reveals.
Caribbean island's quest to become the world's first climate-resilient nation
21 Apr 2023
The Caribbean island of Dominica is one of the world's most at-risk places from climate change. Can it fulfil plans to become the world's first climate-resilient nation?
California researchers attempt ocean climate solution
21 Apr 2023
Atop a 100-foot barge tied up at the Port of Los Angeles, engineers have built a kind of floating laboratory to answer a simple question: Is there a way to cleanse seawater of carbon dioxide and then return it to the ocean so it can suck more of the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere to slow global warming?
World's climate plans make for a worrying read
21 Apr 2023
According to the climate plans submitted to the UN by 50 countries, 12 gigatons of CO2 per year will continue to be emitted by 2050 -- and need to be removed from the atmosphere.
Austria's 'Climate Shakira' has come up with a novel way to try and escape deportation
21 Apr 2023
"It is sometimes quite painful. Especially when you have glued your hand already on several occasions as I did then the skin irritation gets greater each time."
The 'ninjas' fighting climate change denial on Twitter
20 Apr 2023
Secretive internet vigilantes have made it their mission to fight climate change denial on Twitter. But, as a vicious information war rages online, do they risk becoming the very trolls they claim to be targeting?
TikTok to remove climate change denial videos and direct users to 'authoritative information'
20 Apr 2023
TikTok is to start removing videos that deny the existence of climate change.
The global jet set feels the heat over climate change
20 Apr 2023
There was once a time when the global jet set aroused the admiration and envy of ordinary people when they boarded private jets for a pleasure trip to the latest in-vogue destination. These days, however, amid climate change, public attitudes have turned negative.
Australia introduces vehicle pollution rules to boost EV uptake
20 Apr 2023
Australia said on Wednesday it would introduce new standards targeting vehicle emissions to boost the uptake of electric cars, as it looks to catch up with other developed economies.
Facing brutal climate math, US bets billions on direct air capture
19 Apr 2023
The world is failing to cut carbon emissions fast enough to avoid disastrous climate change, a dawning truth that is giving life to a technology that for years has been marginal – pulling carbon dioxide from the air.
Climate pledges of world's top carbon emitters
19 Apr 2023
Despite their 2015 pledge to limit global warming by slashing carbon emissions, big countries' commitments so far still fall short of meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement, monitors say.
EU Parliament adopts 'holy trinity' of climate laws
19 Apr 2023
The European Parliament has approved three climate laws that form the heart of EU efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
Germany reaches 2022 CO2 targets, but not thanks to climate measures
19 Apr 2023
Germany met its emissions reduction targets for 2022, according to preliminary data from the country’s Climate Expert Council (Expertenrat fur Klimafragen).
Revisiting the Green Climate Fund in the Pacific
19 Apr 2023
Global climate funds have faced much criticism for failing to deliver fast and flexibly enough to match the urgency of the climate crisis, especially for the world’s most climate vulnerable countries.
'No one was prepared’: Vanuatu feels cost of climate crisis
19 Apr 2023
On the waterfront in Port Vila, Mark Philips runs an adventure tours business.
G7 vows more effort on renewables but sets no coal phaseout deadline
18 Apr 2023
The Group of Seven richest countries set higher 2030 targets for generating renewable energy, amid an energy crisis provoked by Russia's war on Ukraine, but they set no deadline to phase out coal-fired power plants.
Australian super funds sink $25 billion into coal, oil and gas
18 Apr 2023
Australia’s 15 largest super funds have invested a total of more than $25 billion into new and expanding coal, oil and gas projects, according to an analysis from The Australian Conservation Foundation.
Climate council warns Germany against 'pushing off' responsibility to Europe
18 Apr 2023
Germany must increase efforts to reduce emissions even as the European Union introduces stricter climate legislation, said Brigitte Knopf, deputy chairwoman of the country’s Council of Experts on Climate Change.
Restaurant menu labels could help fight climate change: new research
18 Apr 2023
If people had more information about the carbon footprint generated by the food they eat, would they make different decisions when ordering in restaurants?
Slow start on World Bank reform angers climate-hit countries
18 Apr 2023
The World Bank meetings were supposed to be a first step in a new era of affordable loans for developing nations hard hit by climate change like Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s Barbados, one of many Caribbean islands battered by worsening hurricanes.
EU exit from climate-killing energy treaty looms
18 Apr 2023
Denmark joins a spate of EU nations including Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands who are exiting the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an investment pact weaponised by big emitters to sue governments — most recently for phasing out fossil fuels.
Drastic cut in climate pollution is best path to economic growth: study
17 Apr 2023
Early and stringent action to rapidly and dramatically cut climate pollution is the best path for the global economy, according to a new working paper by American scientists.
Gas can’t compete with wind, solar and storage, even in world’s biggest market
17 Apr 2023
The latest levellised cost of energy assessment has been released by global investment bank Lazard, confirming – as CSIRO and the market operator have done in Australia – that wind and solar, even “firmed” by battery storage, still beat the fossil fuel competition.
Can US automakers meet EPA’s tough new standards?
17 Apr 2023
One big question keeps surfacing after the Biden administration announced plans to raise auto standards so sharply they would likely boost electric vehicle production to 67% of all new passenger vehicle sales in under a decade: Can automakers pull that off?
Biden’s dangerous two-step on climate
17 Apr 2023
If the Biden administration is so gung ho about climate, why did it approve a big-ass oil-drilling project in Alaska a few weeks ago?
The clean energy milestone the world is set to pass in 2023
17 Apr 2023
This year, the world is predicted to pass a critical turning point in renewable energy.
World’s biggest banks poured $673 billion into fossil fuels last year
14 Apr 2023
While the window for avoiding the most catastrophic consequences of climate change narrows, the global banking sector continues to funnel huge sums each year into fossil fuels, finds a new report. Last year alone, the 60 largest banks financed fossil fuels to the tune of $673 billion.
Earth could warm 3 degrees if new coal plants are built: research
14 Apr 2023
Earth is on track to significantly overshoot a critical global climate target, largely because not enough coal-fired power plants are being retired, researchers warned in two new reports. Some nations are even planning new coal projects despite promising two years ago to begin reducing their use of the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel.
What to expect when Australia’s oldest coal plant closes
14 Apr 2023
After more than five decades, the last operating units of the Liddell coal-fired power station will close this month. The station’s owner, AGL, is Australia’s largest carbon polluter. Liddell’s closure will reduce the company’s emissions by 17%.
Climate change causes strong declines in ecosystem services provided by tropical forests: study
14 Apr 2023
Tropical forests provide a variety of ecosystem services that are also of great global relevance, such as climate regulation and the provision of habitat for animals and plants.
Reasons to be hopeful: 7 stories of underdogs and climate heroes to celebrate on Earth Day
14 Apr 2023
Every year more than a billion people mark Earth Day by taking action to protect the planet.
How the world’s favorite conservation model was built on colonial violence
14 Apr 2023
On a 1919 trip to the United States, King Albert I of Belgium visited three of the country’s national parks: Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the newly established Grand Canyon.
Japanese climate group urges more renewable energy and effective carbon pricing
13 Apr 2023
Japanese companies and climate groups called on the government on Wednesday to step up the introduction of renewable energy and quickly adopt carbon pricing to tackle global warming.
Swedish climate minister dismisses far-right’s biofuel threats
13 Apr 2023
Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari dismissed threats of political crisis from the far-right Sweden Democrats, who want the currently undecided government to reduce the number of biofuels that must be blended into petrol and diesel from the current 30% mandate to virtually zero.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
Wed 13 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has been focussed on reducing the Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ and carbon prices should rise soon, according to the Secretary for the Environment.
Forestry sector could take legal action over ETS changes
Today 11:30am
By Liz Kivi | The forestry sector is threatening legal action against the Government over changes to legislation intended to limit whole farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
'Cali Fund’ for nature still empty as emails show industry hesitation
Fri 8 Aug 2025
A major fund for biodiversity remains starved of resources more than five months after its launch – with no money yet put forward by the large companies who could contribute.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Carbon offsets market set for revival as high-quality removal solutions gain traction, says GlobalData
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Media release - GlobalData | The carbon offsets market has experienced a significant slowdown since 2021, primarily due to scandals surrounding project quality and overstated impacts.
Carbon prices slide as market awaits ETS decision
1 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Volatility has returned to the secondary carbon market, with prices sliding again after plateauing in recent weeks, as the market waits for government decisions on Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
Today 11:30am
Last year, China started construction on an estimated 95 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power capacity, enough to power the entire UK twice over.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Hot water heat pumps next big thing – but need a push
Today 11:30am
Media release – Ecobulb Limited | Bold action is needed to accelerate New Zealand’s transition to cleaner, more energy-efficient homes and businesses, says energy efficiency expert Dr Chris Mardon.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Climate crisis risks to Aus economy and environment ‘intense and scary’, unreleased govt report
Today 11:30am
Sources say delayed risk assessment includes modelling of effects of climate crisis in ways that have been little discussed in political debate so far.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Media round-up
Fri 8 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Former minister of forestry Stuart Nash condemns "lock and leave" carbon farming; Fonterra's convenient omission about its switch from coal; and KiwiRail’s bold electrification plans.
Heat pumps could cut household energy bills by $1.5 billion a year
Tue 12 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Heat pumps could save Kiwi households hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as well as freeing up energy for industrial users, according to a new report.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Govt rejects Te Kuha coal mine fast-track bid
Wed 13 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The controversial Te Kuha coal mine on the West Coast has had its application for fast-track approval declined, after failing to meet seven of the application criteria.
July slightly cooler than the past 2 years but extreme weather impacts continue
Tue 12 Aug 2025
The world experienced its third-warmest July on record this year, the European Union agency that tracks global warming said Thursday, with temperatures easing slightly for the month as compared with the record high two years ago.
How the meat industry uses environmental groups to make beef seem climate-friendly
Mon 11 Aug 2025
The meat industry may have enlisted environmental groups to persuade people to “feel better” about eating beef, despite the sector’s ballooning emissions of climate-heating pollution.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
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.
Why insurers worry the world could soon become uninsurable
Mon 11 Aug 2025
Top insurers fear the climate crisis could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
First-of-a-kind US class-action lawsuit would force EPA to reinstate $3bn climate program
7 Aug 2025
Coalition of non-profits, tribes and local governments sued EPA chief for halting climate justice grants.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
A mineral mining boom is not ‘critical’ for the green transition
Wed 13 Aug 2025
New research shows renewable energy goals could largely be met with the amount of minerals produced today – but the military industry wants more.
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.
Oil states accused of using scare tactics in bid to sink green shipping deal
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oil-reliant countries are campaigning to stop the adoption of the IMO’s Net-zero Framework in October.
Labour vows to reinstate oil and gas ban
6 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party is promising to reinstate a ban on new oil and gas exploration permits, but won’t say if they will go even further and commit to revoking permits if elected.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Plastic treaty talks nearing collapse as nations remain deadlocked on production
Today 11:30am
Environmental organisations warn that without urgent compromises the session could fail to produce a treaty capable of tackling the scale of the crisis.
New resource management bill an 'unprecedented power grab' by ministers
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Media release – Environmental Defence Society | The changes proposed in the Amendment Paper represent an "egregious aggregation of power" by Minister Bishop, aimed at disempowering councils who protect the environment.
US to retaliate against IMO members that back net zero emissions plan
Today 11:30am
The U.S. rejected the "Net-Zero Framework" proposal by the International Maritime Organization, which is aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions from the international shipping sector, and threatened measures against countries that support it.
A new report shows how local climate activism leads to ‘remarkable’ gains
7 Aug 2025
Efforts to pass laws and advance clean energy projects can significantly reduce emissions, and at a low cost.
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.
Govt's hazards briefing hypocritical – Greenpeace
Mon 11 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s new briefing document on building resilience to hazards – including climate change – is “deeply ironic” and “deplorable”, according to Greenpeace.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
Wed 13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
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.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
Momentum sagging at UN plastic pollution treaty talks
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Talks on forging a landmark treaty to combat the scourge of plastic pollution were stumbling Saturday, with progress slow and countries wildly at odds on how far the proposed agreement should go.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
