Topics tagged with 'Carbon News world'
Climate-resistant grapes? Spanish winemakers revive ancient varieties
1 Mar 2023
The ads – tucked in the corners of local newspapers and directed at winemakers – began turning up across Catalonia in the 1980s. “If you know where to find any uncommon grape varieties, please get in touch,” they read.
Less roast pork, more lentils needed to reach Denmark's climate targets - govt adviser
1 Mar 2023
Danes should replace two-thirds of their meat intake with vegetables and other plants as part of efforts to reach the country's ambitious climate targets by the end of the decade, the government's independent adviser said on Tuesday.
The climate emergency at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
28 Feb 2023
It is becoming an increasingly prevalent tactic for human rights advocates to turn to courts as part of their repertoire of efforts to respond to the existential threat that global warming poses.
By adding timber to old buildings, Stockholm is expanding sustainably
28 Feb 2023
A three-storey red brick building has stood in Stockholm’s southern neighborhood of Hammarby Sjöstad since 1928. Once a hosiery factory, the Trikåfabriken building is the oldest remnant of the area’s industrial past.
Reflecting sunlight to cool the Earth must be studied before climate change gets much worse, urges group of 60 scientists
28 Feb 2023
More than sixty scientists from prominent institutions are advocating for rigorous study into reflecting sunlight away from the Earth to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Can a new university breathe life into Britain’s climate education
28 Feb 2023
Even before the United States entered the Second World War, American schools were preparing students for conflict.
Farmers for Climate Action rally in Washington
28 Feb 2023
Farmers and farm organisations from across the country will rally in Washington, D.C., March 6-8 to advocate for a 2023 Farm Bill that addresses and supports climate solutions.
World's forests losing ability to absorb carbon due to climate change
28 Feb 2023
A recent study published in the Nature journal has found that the world's forests are losing their ability to absorb carbon due to the increasingly 'unstable' conditions caused by human activities.
A looming El Niño could give us a preview of life at 1.5C of warming
27 Feb 2023
The last three years were objectively hot, numbering among the warmest since records began in 1880. But the scorch factor of recent years was actually tempered by a climate pattern that slightly cools the globe, “La Niña.”
Paying ourselves to decarbonise
27 Feb 2023
As we transition to a green economy, we must compensate petro-states for their lost income. Otherwise, the world economy will collapse like a house of cards. Author Kim Stanley Robinson makes the case for a carbon coin.
German court rejects farmer's climate suit vs Volkswagen
27 Feb 2023
A German court on Friday rejected a farmer's bid to force automaker Volkswagen to end the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2030.
African climate activists fight online surveillance
27 Feb 2023
When Tanzanian climate activists posed as delivery couriers to get into energy firm TotalEnergies’ Dar es Salaam office and hand over a placard against a new oil pipeline, they were so fearful of reprisals they had a getaway car waiting.
Pacific countries urged to collaborate for climate-resilient future
27 Feb 2023
Fiji President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere has called on Pacific countries to work together and hold each other accountable to agreements made at the 2023 Early Childhood Development Forum.
Japan researchers working to reduce climate impact of cow burps
27 Feb 2023
The project led by Yasuo Kobayashi, a specially appointed professor in the Graduate School of Agriculture at Hokkaido University, aims to reduce cows' methane emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Steel giants are stoking double standards on decarbonisation
24 Feb 2023
India is expected to see significant demand growth in the steel sector going forward. The country needs to double its capacity by the end of this decade to meet National Steel Policy targets and steel producers have aligned their growth strategy with this policy.
Reversing pubic transport declines with institutional pass schemes
24 Feb 2023
As transit agencies grapple with significant ridership losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, many are looking to bring back riders by selling fare passes in bulk to employers, schools, and other large institutions.
Carbon-absorbing underwater meadows planted
24 Feb 2023
Five million seagrass seeds will be planted off Wales' coast to create climate change-fighting underwater meadows.
It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up methane emissions
24 Feb 2023
Oil companies and governments have pledged to slash methane emissions in recent years, but so far have little to show for it. Emissions of this potent greenhouse gas by the fossil fuel industry continued to climb in 2022, the International Energy Agency says.
China urged to place ‘wellbeing’ above GDP amid climate threat
24 Feb 2023
A team of influential economists has urged China to adopt a new development model based on “wellbeing” rather than gross domestic product (GDP) growth to fulfil its 2060 net-zero emissions goals and head off the mounting threats of climate change.
Tesla: US beats EU in looming subsidy race
24 Feb 2023
Amid growing concerns over a subsidy race between the US and Europe, Tesla has announced it will be backtracking on its investments in Germany due to higher subsidies in the US.
Drought in Horn of Africa worse than in 2011 famine
23 Feb 2023
Drought trends in the Horn of Africa are now worse than they were during the 2011 famine in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
Nigeria's election: Candidates ignore climate change
23 Feb 2023
Nigeria has been badly hit by climate change, resulting in desertification, a shrinking Lake Chad in the north, flooding in the center and coastal erosion in the south. Yet the issue hasn't played a role in campaigning.
Mosquito-borne diseases become climate reality in warming Pacific
23 Feb 2023
Climate change forecasters have warned for years that the warmer and wetter world created by the climate crisis will drive a surge in mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever.
Austrian children take Government to court over climate change
23 Feb 2023
A dozen minors filed a lawsuit with Austria’s top court Tuesday seeking to force the government to ensure their constitutional rights are protected by taking tougher action against climate change.
Preparing for climate disclosure in the largest capital market
23 Feb 2023
For corporate sustainability professionals, questions as to what to expect, when and how to prepare for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed climate disclosure rule are numerous, and understandably top of mind.
Genetically modified trees are taking root to capture carbon
23 Feb 2023
A start-up has created poplar trees that are genetically engineered to grow larger and suck up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than standard trees do. This month, workers planted rows of these poplars in southern Georgia, kicking off the company’s plan to revolutionize forestry.
EU carbon hits record 100 euros as cost of polluting soars
22 Feb 2023
The price of permits on the European Union’s carbon market hit 100 euros (NZ$171) per tonne for the first time on Tuesday, a milestone that reflects the increased costs that factories and power plants must pay when they pollute.
Brazil hit by deadly floods and landslides
22 Feb 2023
Hundreds of rescuers searched on Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed at least 40 people along the coast of Brazil’s southern state of Sao Paulo following a huge weekend downpour.
South Australia: Grid with the most wind and solar has the smallest reliability gap
22 Feb 2023
South Australia is leading Australia – and the world – with the amount of wind and solar within its state grid. And not only is it defying the skeptics that insisted wind and solar can’t power a modern economy, it’s also the grid facing the smallest reliability gaps over the coming decade.
Heat from an Amazon data center is warming Dublin’s buildings
22 Feb 2023
Cities are capturing heat emitted by computer servers and using it to warm everything from government buildings to college dorms.
More than half of Finns ready to adjust standard of living for climate
22 Feb 2023
More than half of Finns are ready to compromise on their standard of living to tackle the climate crisis, reveals a survey conducted for Helsingin Sanomat by Kantar Public.
The climate benefits of a four-day workweek
22 Feb 2023
There's growing interest in the benefits of a four-day workweek for productivity and employee wellbeing, but the picture is more complicated when it comes to climate change.
Taxing farming vital for Denmark's climate target: govt adviser
21 Feb 2023
Denmark should aim to reduce beef and dairy production by levying an emissions tax on farming of 750 Danish crowns (NZ$172) per tonne in order to reach its ambitious climate targets, the government's independent adviser says.
“Clean energy arms race:” NSW Labor promises state-owned body modelled on CEFC
21 Feb 2023
The New South Wales Coalition government and the state Labor opposition have upped the ante on their election campaign promises to accelerate the transition of the country’s biggest and most coal dependent grid to a global leader on wind, solar and storage.
China: What the world’s largest food system means for climate change
21 Feb 2023
In 2019, China’s giant food system produced 1.9bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent – around the same as the total annual emissions of Russia, the world’s fourth largest polluter.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change
21 Feb 2023
The adverse effects of climate change have impacted numerous areas of human health and well-being. In most parts of the world, women are least able to mitigate such changes, so they are an appropriate focus in a recent research paper.
Rationing: A fairer way to fight climate change?
21 Feb 2023
World War II-style rationing could be an effective way to reduce carbon emissions, according to new research from the University of Leeds.
Why the world needs a deal to protect its oceans
21 Feb 2023
Delegates from up to 193 UN member states will start talks in New York on Monday to try to wrap up negotiations on a long-awaited treaty to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing, pollution and other threats.
Sea level rise could drive 1 in 10 people from their homes, with dangerous implications for international peace, UN Secretary General warns
20 Feb 2023
António Guterres says rising seas are a serious threat requiring a coordinated global response at the highest levels. With 900 million people at risk, sea level rise could drive “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale.”
Nearly 30 dangerous feedback loops could permanently shift the Earth’s climate: scientists
20 Feb 2023
Dangerous climate feedback loops are increasing global warming and risk causing a permanent shift away from the Earth’s current climate, according to a new study.
Australia will rely on carbon credits & offsets to meet climate goals
20 Feb 2023
Climate advocates were overjoyed when voters in Australia threw the despicable Scott Morrison and his gang of fossil fuel sycophants overboard last year.
Climate change is redrawing the coffee growing map
20 Feb 2023
Harvesting coffee is a delicate process that occurs just once per year in the plant’s 20 year lifetime, and only after reaching around four years old.
Will this new carbon capture technology help solve the climate crisis?
20 Feb 2023
Researchers in the United States say they have developed a new system for capturing carbon dioxide that is the least expensive ever created. The process requires less energy and water than any technology produced before it.
Revised carbon bill advances in Washington; timber group leery
20 Feb 2023
The US House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Friday endorsed allowing the state to sell carbon offsets, but not at the expense of logging or farming on public lands.
Australian carbon market confusion as offsets take another hit
17 Feb 2023
The Australian Climate Council has called for the federal government to push to pause on new coal and gas projects as debate intensifies over Labor’s proposed safeguard mechanism reforms and as the credibility of carbon offset schemes is once again cast into doubt.
Why are BP, Shell, and Exxon suddenly backing off their climate promises?
17 Feb 2023
It wasn’t long ago that oil giants were trying to outdo one another with promises to cut carbon emissions and take on climate change. In 2020, the price for a barrel of oil briefly plunged below zero, and the world’s largest oil and gas companies portrayed themselves as getting serious about renewables.
Why African EV startups are struggling
17 Feb 2023
In 2021, Nigerian mobility startup Metro Africa Xpress (MAX) became Africa’s most-funded startup in the electric vehicle (EV) space when it raised $31 million in a series B round to expand into Ghana and Egypt.
Do people yet to be born have climate change rights?
17 Feb 2023
There are some who believe we should be taking future generations more into account in how we act on climate today.
World Bank chief to step down early after climate controversy
17 Feb 2023
World Bank president David Malpass will step down from his post in June, nearly a year before his term is due to expire.
World Bank links carbon credits to $50M bond for water purifiers
17 Feb 2023
After the success of its Rhino bond, the World Bank revamped it with a $50 million Emission Reduction-Linked Bond that will channel up-front financing to low-carbon development projects generating carbon credits like the water purification project in Vietnam.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 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.
Media round-up
Fri 20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
Wed 18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
Flawed decision-making around taxing electricity to fund LNG import terminal
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: The Government's decision to back an LNG import terminal exemplifies an egregious failure in public policy and energy sector governance.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 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 market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
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.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
Thu 19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
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.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
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.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
Wed 18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Seabed miners quit South Taranaki fast-track bid
Fri 20 Feb 2026
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Would-be seabed miners have abandoned their fast-track bid to mine in South Taranaki waters, saying they can’t change the minds of the panel that rejected their application.
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.
Partnership to advance Pacific science and environmental leadership
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Media release | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in Pacific-led science, research and capacity-building, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ocean stewardship.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
IEA Declaration strengthens international co-operation on critical minerals
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Media release – NZ Government | New Zealand has joined international leaders at the 2026 International Energy Agency Ministerial meeting in committing to strengthen global co-operation on critical minerals to strengthen long‑term energy security.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
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.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
Wed 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.
Climate ambassador moves on
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
Mon 16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
