Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
French court rejects NGOs' bid to compel TotalEnergies to curb emissions
10 Jul 2023
A French court declined to consider a case brought by a coalition of environmental groups and local authorities which was seeking to compel TotalEnergies to curb its greenhouse gas emissions.
Human adaptation to heat can’t keep up with human-caused climate change
7 Jul 2023
The last time the Earth was hotter than it is today was at least 125,000 years ago, long before anything that resembled human civilization appeared.
New methane source: groundwater springs of Norway
7 Jul 2023
Climate change has exposed a new source of methane in the Arctic: groundwater springs.
It’s time to prepare for the worst on climate change
7 Jul 2023
We cannot predict how extensive climate change will turn out to be over the coming decades, nor can we predict its economic and social impact.
Why are so many climate records breaking all at once?
7 Jul 2023
In the past few weeks, climate records have shattered across the globe.
Tracking ships' icy paths amidst climate change
7 Jul 2023
There has been much buzz about the warming planet's melting Arctic region opening shipping routes and lengthening travel seasons in ocean passageways that ice once blocked.
Preserving peatlands - slowing climate change with bogs
7 Jul 2023
Peatlands are very often the setting for chilling folklore. But they serve an important function - for the climate and biodiversity.
Controversial COP28 host UAE unveils $54bn push to triple renewables
6 Jul 2023
COP28 host the United Arab Emirates said it will aim to triple its renewables base by 2030 backed by $54bn of investments.
Two-thirds of fertilizer is lost to run-off. This invention could recycle it.
6 Jul 2023
Researchers fine tune smart farming with an ingenious gel that senses nitrate waste from fertilizer runoff and transforms it into ammonia—to produce healthier crops.
Does a new ‘global pact’ accelerate climate finance for developing countries?
6 Jul 2023
Climate hazards are escalating, nations are mired in debt and the costs of food and energy have soared around the world.
The cascading effects of bringing back sea otters
6 Jul 2023
In Oregon and California, efforts to repopulate these furry engineers could revive struggling ocean ecosystems.
To save the planet, should we really be moving slower?
6 Jul 2023
John Maynard Keynes once observed that dating from “say, to two thousand years before Christ—down to the beginning of the 18th century, there was no very great change in the standard of life of the average man living in the civilised centres of the earth.”
Climate change causes a communication breakdown in the animal world
6 Jul 2023
Some ant species are struggling to follow trails, as warming temperatures cause a certain pheromone they use to communicate to decay.
Climate change keeps making wildfires and smoke worse - scientists call it the 'new abnormal'
5 Jul 2023
As smoky as the northern hemisphere summer has been so far, scientists say it will likely be worse in future years because of climate change.
Future generations will view climate inaction as we view child labour
5 Jul 2023
Future generations will look at current older generations in the same way older generations now view those who sent children up chimneys, according to the head of The Wildlife Trusts.
Monday world's hottest day since records began
5 Jul 2023
The world's average temperature reached a new high on Monday 3 July, topping 17 degrees Celsius for the first time.
Seaweed may not be the climate solution we hoped for
5 Jul 2023
To sink just 1 gigaton of carbon emissions a year, recent simulations suggest massive seaweed farms would have to cover 1 million square kilometers of the ocean's most productive areas.
Threat of EU carbon tax prompts dubious “green aluminium” claims in Mozambique
5 Jul 2023
Mozambique’s biggest industry claims its aluminium is green, which would help it avoid European taxes – but those claims have been questioned.
Improving soil could keep world within 1.5C heating target, research suggests
5 Jul 2023
Marginal improvements to agricultural soils around the world would store enough carbon to keep the world within 1.5C of global heating, new research suggests.
Climate law will slash emissions—maybe halving them by 2035
4 Jul 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act could drive down U.S. emissions by as much as 48 percent by 2035, according to a new analysis in the journal Science.
Asparagopsis seaweed: scientists call for stricter oversight in livestock sector
4 Jul 2023
Safety concerns have been raised about the native seaweed asparagopsis, which is now being commercialised to help farmers reduce methane emissions in sheep and cattle.
White House: study blocking sun’s rays to slow global warming
4 Jul 2023
The White House offered measured support for the idea of studying how to block sunlight from hitting Earth’s surface as a way to limit global warming, in a congressionally mandated report.
Climate change spells 'terrifying' future: UN rights chief
4 Jul 2023
Climate change threatens to deliver a "truly terrifying" dystopian future of hunger and suffering, the United Nations' human rights chief warned.
Kenya: President Ruto lifts logging ban
4 Jul 2023
Despites concerns from environmental organisations, Kenyan president William Ruto announced he will lift a logging ban which has been in place since 2018.
Aus sides with China, Russia in bid to sink Pacific nations’ climate plan
4 Jul 2023
Australia has been criticised for siding with China and Russia to oppose a popular plan from a group of Pacific Island nations to tackle carbon emissions from the shipping industry.
Britain overhauling planning to meet net zero targets
3 Jul 2023
Britain is planning to overhaul the country's planning system to make it easier to install overhead cables and pylons, to help the government reach its net zero targets.
Latin America leads resistance to global shipping emission tax
3 Jul 2023
At crunch talks in London, Latin American nations led by Brazil have fought against a tax on the emissions of the global shipping sector.
Germany must consider climate risks during LNG buildout – govt advisors
3 Jul 2023
Germany’s quest for liquefied natural gas as a substitute for halted Russian pipeline supplies entails significant risks regarding climate change mitigation, as the country’s demand could lead to new extraction projects and lock-in effects abroad.
Energy security: China doubles down on renewables and coal
3 Jul 2023
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupting fossil fuel supplies and prices, global attention to energy security has heightened.
UK police have new expanded powers to crack down on protests
3 Jul 2023
New and expanded powers for British police took effect on Sunday, including measures targeting activists who stop traffic and major building works with protests.
Finance barriers are hurting Global South’s climate transitions
3 Jul 2023
It is more expensive to borrow money for climate action projects in poor countries than in wealthy countries.
Food-waste rescue saves food and carbon emissions
30 Jun 2023
A Wellington food-waste service has served up 10 million meals worth of kai and saved the equivalent of 90 tonnes of carbon emissions since it opened in 2008.
Climate crisis linked to rising domestic violence in south Asia
30 Jun 2023
As deadly heatwaves sweep through cities in India, China, the US and Europe amid the climate crisis, new research has found that rising temperatures are associated with a substantial rise in domestic violence against women.
Climate change is fueling an insurance crisis. There’s no easy fix.
30 Jun 2023
In California, State Farm and Allstate recently stopped selling new home insurance policies after years of catastrophic wildfires.
Legal protection essential for people displaced by climate change: UN expert
30 Jun 2023
“The effects of climate change are becoming more severe, and the number of people displaced across international borders is rapidly increasing,” said Ian Fry, independent human rights expert on climate change, who took up the new post last year.
Climate change is turning snow to rain and raising risk of floods
30 Jun 2023
Warmer temperatures increase the amount of precipitation that falls as rain instead of snow, leading to more extreme rainfall in snowy places.
China’s solar is now at twice the capacity of its coal power – report
30 Jun 2023
Solar is growing at 33.7% year-on-year and is now at twice the capacity of coal power in China, according to a new report.
"World's largest wooden city" set to be built in Stockholm
30 Jun 2023
A Scandinavian architecture studio is designing Stockholm Wood City, which will become the world's largest mass-timber development and have the "serenity of a forest".
New code of conduct for buying carbon credits launches
29 Jun 2023
The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative has released its Claims Code of Practice for corporate buyers of carbon credits.
UK Climate Change Committee says country no longer a world leader
29 Jun 2023
Government backing for new oil and coal, airport expansion plans and slow progress on heat pumps show that the UK has lost its leadership on climate issues, a government watchdog warns.
Ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected – new research
29 Jun 2023
Across the world, rainforests are becoming savanna or farmland, savanna is drying out and turning into desert, and icy tundra is thawing.
Oil, gas companies urged to pursue relatively cheap fix on emissions
29 Jun 2023
The International Energy Agency says spending $75 billion, or 2% of oil and gas companies’ combined annual earnings, on lowering methane emissions would yield big results.
Big herbivores could help save the tundra from rising heat and shrinking ice—if they can survive themselves
29 Jun 2023
Scientists in Greenland found that tundra vegetation fares better when caribou and muskoxen are around to dine on encroaching, heat-loving shrubs.
Canada wildfires release record 160 million tonnes of carbon
29 Jun 2023
The EU's Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service said wildfires burning through large swathes of eastern and western Canada have released a record 160 million tonnes of carbon.
The planet’s burning. Can the Global South save it?
28 Jun 2023
As the world hurtles towards climate devastation, countries like The Gambia, Costa Rica and Morocco may have a fix — if others help them.
US approves sale of lab-grown meat
28 Jun 2023
Meat has long been a staple of diets, but high demand puts a strain on the environment. However, new lab-grown meat that will change that will be available in the U.S.
79% of plants on earth must be saved to meet UN climate goals
28 Jun 2023
Humanity’s efforts to conserve biodiversity are falling short and will continue to do so without focusing on retaining 79% of the remaining vegetation on the planet, according to a new study.
Deforestation surges despite pledges
28 Jun 2023
An area of tropical forest the size of Switzerland was lost last year as tree losses surged, according to new research.
Climate change puts 90% of world's marine food at risk
28 Jun 2023
More than 90% of the world's marine food supplies are at risk from environmental changes such as rising temperatures and pollution. China, Norway and the US face the biggest threat.
Scientists researching cloud brightening in bid to cool Great Barrier Reef
28 Jun 2023
Queensland scientists who have been altering clouds with tiny particles to try and limit the effects of global warming are presenting their findings for the first time this week.
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.
