Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
When the EU and US score climate points off China, Africa suffers: comment
22 Sep 2022
Africa’s contribution to climate change is historically negligible. Around 15% of the world’s population lives on the continent but contribute less than 3.8% of greenhouse emissions responsible for global warming.
How colonialism spawned and continues to exacerbate the climate crisis
22 Sep 2022
We currently live in an epoch that geologists call the Holocene, which began soon after the last major ice age ended around 11,700 years ago. But for over two decades, some scientists have argued that the label is far too antiquated. In 2000, the term “Anthropocene” — ‘anthropo’ for human and ‘cene’ for new — gained prominence. It highlights how human activities dominate the Earth’s land, atmosphere, and oceans, significantly impacting its climate and natural ecosystems.
UN General Assembly: 5 burning climate issues for world leaders gathering in New York
21 Sep 2022
This week more than 150 world leaders are expected to come together in New York to address the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
International "collaboration gap" threatens to undermine climate progress and delay net zero by decades
21 Sep 2022
A new IEA report sets out urgent priorities to rapidly make more clean technologies the most affordable options in key sectors
Victoria urged to shoot for net-zero by 2034, after 2020 emissions target “smashed”
21 Sep 2022
Victoria is being challenged to shoot for net-zero emissions more than 16 years ahead of schedule – an easy target according to modelling based on new data showing the government has beaten its 2020 target by nearly 10 per cent.
Squaring off between carbon taxes and renewable energy incentives
21 Sep 2022
Some European renewable energy producers are concerned that the EU may lose green energy investments to the United States in the wake of recently enacted U.S. legislation.
Mangroves keep carbon in the soil for 5,000 years
21 Sep 2022
On top of all the other dazzling biology, mangrove forests are massive carbon sinks. According to new research on a Mexican mangrove forest, they can keep carbon out of the atmosphere for millennia.
We owe Pakistan climate reparations
21 Sep 2022
It is almost impossible to comprehend the scale of the crisis Pakistan is facing. A third of the country has been flooded, 1400 people killed, one million homes destroyed, and fifty million people—almost the entire population of England—have been displaced from their homes as a result of this ecological crisis.
Climate change threatens up to 100% of trees in Australian cities, and most urban species worldwide
21 Sep 2022
A study published today in Nature Climate Change found climate change will put 90-100% of the trees and shrubs planted in Australian capital cities at risk by 2050.
The climate litigation trend is gathering global momentum
20 Sep 2022
The legal pressure on governments around the world to deliver more ambitious climate policies is continuing to intensify, according to a major new analysis from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
California's dairy farm methane capture scheme may have "unintended consequences"
20 Sep 2022
Scientists and environmentalists say more data is needed on ammonia emissions resulting from California's dairy farm methane capture scheme.
First public global database of fossil fuels launched as UN holds climate talks
20 Sep 2022
A first-of-its-kind database for tracking the world’s fossil fuel production, reserves and emissions was launched on Monday to coincide with climate talks taking place at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
New tech aims to track carbon in every tree, boost carbon market integrity
20 Sep 2022
Climate scientists and data engineers have developed a new digital platform billed as the first-ever global tool for accurately calculating the carbon stored in every tree on the planet.
World’s biggest carbon capture plant set for Wyoming
20 Sep 2022
The US state of Wyoming is set to welcome the world’s largest direct air capture plant for the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
SUVs and utes are overpowering electric cars in Australia’s vehicle emissions results
20 Sep 2022
Australia's surging appetite for large SUVs and diesel utes is countering any improvement in emissions from the growing number of electric cars on roads.
The climate-driven health crisis
19 Sep 2022
The world is facing a climate change-fueled health crisis — from increased emergency department visits due to heatstroke, exacerbated asthma and even heart attacks to injuries and illness linked to severe storms.
China lost its Yangtze River dolphin. Climate change is coming for other species next
19 Sep 2022
They called it the "Goddess of the Yangtze" -- a creature so rare that it was believed to bring fortune and protection to local fishermen and all those lucky enough to spot it.
From coffee to codfish: The foods that will get more expensive with climate change
19 Sep 2022
A report released by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES) in May described climate change as an "endemic and widespread" risk to food supplies. This is also exacerbated by rising living costs and the conflict in Ukraine.
Japanese, Australian firms collaborate on world's tallest timber tower
19 Sep 2022
Construction firms from Japan and Australia have started work on a 182-meter-high skyscraper in central Sydney in a collaboration to build what will be the world's tallest hybrid-timber building using an eco-friendly wood product.
As demand for electric cars grows, Chileans face the effects of lithium mining
19 Sep 2022
The South American country of Chile has become a center of lithium mining, which has boomed as demand for electric car batteries has risen. But what are the environmental costs?
Will the food and livestock industry follow fossil fuels over the market cliff?
19 Sep 2022
We are generally pretty relaxed about this. Anyone miss Nokia? Kodak? Blockbuster Video? But when the drivers for change become politicised, or worse – ideological – an intense process unfolds to resist the market process.
Climate ‘points of no return’ may be much closer than we thought
16 Sep 2022
In climatology, a tipping point is defined as a rise in global temperature past which a localized climate system, or "tipping element" — such as the Amazonrainforest or the Greenland ice sheet — starts to irreversibly decline. Once a tipping point has been reached, that tipping element will experience runaway effects that essentially doom it forever, even if global temperatures retreat below the tipping point.
'The price of our fossil fuel addiction'
16 Sep 2022
Climate impacts are heading into “uncharted territories of destruction”, the head of the UN has warned, as a multi-agency report sets out the scale of the crisis.
Pacific Island countries agree to strengthen coordination with China on climate change ahead of COP27
16 Sep 2022
China is willing to work with Pacific Island Countries (PICs) to make COP27 a conference themed on climate change action and will provide more support to PICs in tackling climate change, Chinese representatives said during the China-Pacific Island Countries dialogue and exchange meeting on climate change, which was held in Beijing on Wednesday.
US meeting told climate change is major concern for Pacific leaders
16 Sep 2022
Top leaders from across the Pacific are meeting in Honolulu to discuss key issues of mutual concern. Guam is being represented at the high level gathering by Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio, who says climate change and the potentially devastating impact on island nations is the biggest concern.
India to expand 2.8 million hectares of tree coverage under ‘trees outside forests in india’ initiative
16 Sep 2022
In an effort to support global climate change mitigation and adaptation goals, India and the US jointly launched an initiative to increase tree coverage outside of forest lands in India.
Eat more fish: when switching to seafood helps — and when it doesn’t
16 Sep 2022
Replacing meat with certain types of sustainably sourced seafood could help people to reduce their carbon footprints without compromising on nutrition, finds an analysis of dozens of marine species that are consumed worldwide.
Tropical wetlands emit more methane than previously thought
15 Sep 2022
Since 2007, the world's atmospheric methane concentration has risen at an accelerated rate, but scientists aren't exactly sure why.
Russia’s first climate lawsuit filed over greenhouse emissions
15 Sep 2022
Russia’s first climate lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday by activists who demanded Russia take urgent steps to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet its obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
How to make kelp aquaculture a better - and more economical - carbon sink
15 Sep 2022
Researchers claim to have developed a kelp aquaculture model for the Gulf of Maine that maximises carbon sequestration and cost-effectiveness of this natural carbon sink.
Kenya’s new president promises ambitious climate plan
15 Sep 2022
Kenya's newly elected president William Ruto said that climate change will be key to the government's agenda and made an ambitious pledge to ramp up clean energy and phase out fossil fuels for electricity by 2030.
Vietnam urged to free green activist Nguy Thi Khanh as it bids to join UN rights body
15 Sep 2022
More than 50 Goldman environmental prize laureates from 41 countries have written to the UN human rights council as it considers admitting Vietnam as a new member.
Milestones for carbon capture projects at sea and in Scotland’s gas sector
15 Sep 2022
A major new partnership has been struck in Asia to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) onboard ships, shortly after plans were unveiled for a major CCS trial at a gas-fired power plant in Scotland.
UN warns world is entering ‘uncharted territories of destruction’ from climate crisis
14 Sep 2022
The United Nations is warning that the impacts of global climate change are entering “uncharted territories of destruction” as countries fail to set adequate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Norway buys carbon credits from Indonesia’s rainforest
14 Sep 2022
Indonesia and Norway have agreed to start a new partnership to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation in the Southeast Asian country.
Climate action could cure Australia's cost of living crisis, starting with 100 pct renewables
14 Sep 2022
Investment in climate change initiatives could be a solution to Australia’s cost of living pressures, with a new report subverting a decade’s worth of arguments that action on emissions would hurt back pockets.
500-plus institutional investors urge governments to step-up climate ambition
14 Sep 2022
Investor groups from around the world have released a statement signed by 532 institutional investors with US$39 trillion in assets under management (AUM), advocating for governments to enact ambitious policies that would leverage the private capital required to effectively address the climate crisis.
What happened when crypto companies entered the carbon market?
14 Sep 2022
In 2021, crypto companies were riding high. Last November, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, jumped to a record high of around $69,000 as investors piled into a bull run.
Energy crisis: the UK is still heading for widespread fuel poverty – despite the government’s price cap
14 Sep 2022
In October 2021, an estimated 4 million households in the UK were in fuel poverty. But the largest increase in gas and electricity prices ever in April 2022 has pushed a further 2.7 million UK households into fuel poverty, bringing the total number to 6.7 million.
50 million trapped in modern slavery due to pandemic, war, climate crisis, report finds
13 Sep 2022
From the pandemic to the climate crisis, disasters of the past five years have upended daily life, and a new report shows that in many countries the ensuing economic uncertainty has pushed millions into modern slavery.
How far has the talk walked? Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use
13 Sep 2022
When leaders from 141 countries signed the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use, a critical step had been made in recognizing forests as critical in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. However, what will it take to achieve these commitments?
Floating solar farms are a game changer
13 Sep 2022
The sun’s power is virtually infinite — opportunities to collect and make use of it are not. As demand for renewable energy increases, so does the need for places to generate it.
What will King Charles's reign mean for climate action?
13 Sep 2022
As Britain's King Charles III begins his reign after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, environmental campaigners will be watching closely to see if he continues to advocate for climate action and is able to help drive change as monarch.
How climate change is tweaking the taste of wine
13 Sep 2022
Warming, wildfires and unpredictable weather threaten to disrupt the delicate processes that underlie treasured wines, putting the fine distinctions between grapes at risk.
Global drought saps hydropower, complicating clean-energy push
12 Sep 2022
Dry conditions in the U.S, Europe and China have raised questions about how hydropower fits into changing energy mix.
African nations demand climate change financing ahead of COP27
12 Sep 2022
The African continent emits only some 3% of global CO2 emissions, yet is among the most exposed to climate change.
New UN global carbon market must involve civil society to serve the climate and local communities
12 Sep 2022
The new body tasked with designing and supervising the global carbon market under the Paris Agreement must put in place environmental safeguards and protect the interests of local and indigenous communities.
Global pact sought to preserve 80% of Amazon forest
12 Sep 2022
Scientists warn that the Amazon is close to a tipping point
Forests make a comeback as African governments look to grow their carbon market
12 Sep 2022
In villages dotted across the African continent, locals living in once-heavily forested regions are starting to find their land in high demand.
Be an environmental jihadist to protect the planet
12 Sep 2022
Muslim eco-activists and scientists released an Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change at a symposium in Istanbul, Turkey, shortly before the Paris climate summit. Seven years on journalist Rohiman Haroon calls on Muslims to take up the cause of climate change.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Gas pressure intensifies
Tue 12 Aug 2025
The pressure from reduced gas supply is pushing industries that rely on cheap gas out of the market in favour of those who can afford to pay more.
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.
Extreme rainfall from future cyclones could rise by up to 35% in NZ
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Rainfall from tropical cyclones will significantly increase under global warming, according to the latest modelling.
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.
NZ signs up to UK initiative to boost renewable energy in the Pacific
Fri 8 Aug 2025
New Zealand has joined the United Kingdom's TIDES initiative, which aims to support renewable energy developments in the Pacific Islands.
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.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
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.
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.
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.
US: Experts will review science on fossil fuel harm
Tue 12 Aug 2025
With the Trump administration raising doubts about climate science, the country’s premier science advisory group will fast-track a consensus document with an eye to weighing in on the administration’s planned repeal of a 2009 determination that greenhouse gas emissions harm human health and the environment.
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.
'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.
