Topics tagged with 'Coal'
Coal use drove recent emissions increase
1 Aug 2025
Increased use of coal for electricity generation was a large driver for an increase in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in the last quarter.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
30 Jul 2025
Bathurst Resources has been forced to truck coal from its Stockton mine as climate activists occupy coal buckets at the mine for a third day.
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?
EU wants to see China take more ambitious climate action
15 Jul 2025
The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal.
Climate backtracking could impact trade relationships: Labour
9 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | Labour Party Energy spokesperson Megan Woods says the government needs to be upfront about how its energy policies will impact trade relationships, following revelations New Zealand was warned by other governments that backtracking on climate policies jeopardised its membership of an international alliance.
China's approvals of coal power plants grow after 2024 decline
11 Jun 2025
China approved 11.29 gigawatts of new coal power plants in the first three months of 2025, already exceeding the 10.34 GW approved in the first half of 2024.
Fight over coal mine heats up
30 May 2025
Forest & Bird is calling on the government to create a new scientific reserve covering the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast, which would stop a fast-tracked coal mine.
Indonesia backtracks on coal phase-out in new 2034 power supply plan
29 May 2025
Indonesia plans to add 69.5 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity by the end of 2034, much of it from renewable sources, but it still expects to add new coal-fired power plants.
South America sets historic benchmark: Zero new coal plants planned
28 May 2025
South America just achieved a remarkable energy milestone, quietly setting a global benchmark: for the first time in history, the entire continent now has zero new coal-fired power plants planned.
NZ moving too slowly to decarbonise – former commission chair
22 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand's energy transition is too slow and too controlled by vested interests, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Coal India to set up $3 billion worth clean energy projects to boost renewable heft
14 May 2025
The world’s largest government-owned coal producer will set up clean energy projects of around 4.5 gigawatts at a cost of 250 billion rupees (about $3 billion), it said on Thursday, as it aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions from its operations.
COP30 must heed the elephant in the room: fossil fuels
12 May 2025
OPINION: Oil, gas and coal cause three-quarters of global emissions. Why are they nowhere to be seen on the Belém climate summit’s agenda?
New carbon credit scheme targets 60 plants by 2030 for coal phaseout
8 May 2025
The Rockefeller Foundation aims to sign up 60 projects by 2030 to a new carbon finance scheme for phasing out coal-fired power in developing countries, it said on Wednesday, after its rulebook was given the go-ahead.
Green Party plans to bring back industry decarbonisation fund
6 May 2025
The Greens want to bring back the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund and use it to kickstart sustainable forestry for building and fuel.
Cost of emissions from five major Australian resource companies more than $900bn, study finds
6 May 2025
US researchers link BHP, Rio Tinto, Santos, Whitehaven Coal and Woodside Energy to specific climate harms over three decades.
Genesis reports rising coal, declining gas
2 May 2025
Talks about the future of the third Rankine unit at Huntly continue as Genesis reported a third quarter result that showed the rise of coal and the decline of gas.
Police arrest activists over Bathurst coal mine protests
23 Apr 2025
Activists ramped up protests against coal over the past week, with occupations at several Bathurst Resources sites.
Winter’s tale of electricity market woes
17 Apr 2025
A study of last winter’s events in the electricity market has confirmed that the major players suffered from high prices, and there was little or no indication of them gaming the market with their wholesale pricing.
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.
State aid set to energise France’s shift away from coal-fired power
16 Apr 2025
Coal-fired power plants converted to cleaner fuels to qualify for state assistance in meeting peak demand.
Trump signs orders to allow coal-fired power plants to remain open
14 Apr 2025
Donald Trump signed four executive orders on Tuesday aimed at reviving coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel that has long been in decline, and which substantially contributes to planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.
Green's anti-mining bill drawn from ballot
11 Apr 2025
The Green Party's Crown Minerals (Prohibition of Mining) Amendment Bill has been drawn from the ballot and will be debated in Parliament.
Global EV adoption fails to cut CO2
11 Apr 2025
There's little point in buying an electric vehicle if you're charging it with electricity generated by fossil fuels. In fact, when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions, your EV may be doing more harm than good.
Emissions down but reductions have slowed
10 Apr 2025
While New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped 11% in the past five years, reductions have slowed down, with only a 1% drop from 2023 to 2024.
Africa must shun Trump’s push to resurrect coal
9 Apr 2025
Clean energy can be Africa’s greatest success story, which is why its leaders must not fall for the pro-coal lobbying of the Trump administration.
ETS stockpile up nearly 7 million
8 Apr 2025
The stockpile of privately held Emissions Trading Scheme pollution permits increased 6.7 million to 157.1 million units in the three months to March 31, according to figures released by the Environmental Protection Authority yesterday.
Avoiding a repeat of winter 2025
8 Apr 2025
An analysis predicts that there is a strong probability the electricity sector will get through this winter without any generation shortfalls and avoid the wholesale price excesses of last year - if all goes to plan and diesel is not required for extended periods.
Finland's last active coal-fired power and heat plant shuts down
7 Apr 2025
Finland's last coal-fired power and heat plant in active production will shut down permanently on Tuesday, enabling Helsinki energy group Helen to cut its emissions and put an end to rising energy costs for its customers, its chief executive said.
Meridian set to build its first solar farm as Genesis stockpiles coal
2 Apr 2025
Meridian Energy is set to start construction on its 130MW Ruakākā Solar Farm south of Whangārei in August 2025, with the project receiving a final investment decision and construction approval from the Meridian Board.
Is NZ heading towards another energy crunch?
28 Mar 2025
The major gentailers all put forward positive cases at last week’s Downstream conference that they had done all they could to avert a potential energy shortage this winter.
If NZ wants to decarbonise energy, we need to know which renewables deliver the best payback
21 Mar 2025
By Alan Brent and Isabella Pimentel Pincelli | A national energy strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand was meant to be ready at the end of last year. As it stands, we're still waiting for a cohesive, all-encompassing plan to meet the country's energy demand today and in the future.
Trump vows to immediately ramp up US production of 'beautiful, clean coal'
20 Mar 2025
President Trump this week continued to make his environmental priorities clear by vowing to open up hundreds of coal power plants in the United States in an effort to advance competition against China.
Carbon markets risk penalising Indigenous stewardship, researchers warn
Thu 5 Mar 2026
Carbon markets designed to reward environmental restoration may be unintentionally disadvantaging Indigenous communities who have long protected intact ecosystems, according to new research.
Grasslands and wetlands are being gobbled up by agriculture, mostly livestock
Wed 4 Mar 2026
A new study takes a first-of-its kind look at how farming converts non-forested areas and major carbon sinks into cropland and pasture.
Auckland Airport switches on giant heat pump system to cut gas use
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While Auckland Airport’s switch from gas to heat pumps is welcome, the emissions savings are dwarfed by ongoing aircraft emissions, which are set to rise, according to a sustainable transport expert.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
Tue 3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Half of nations meet UN deadline for nature-loss reporting
Wed 4 Mar 2026
Half of nations have met a UN deadline to report on how they are tackling nature loss within their borders, Carbon Brief analysis shows. This includes 11 of the 17 “megadiverse nations”, countries that account for 70% of Earth’s biodiversity.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
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.
Unusual scarcity drives early 2026 NZU rally
Thu 5 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The New Zealand carbon price has recovered since its late 2025 collapse, although the rally is driven by scarcity rather than confidence in market settings.
China sets cautious climate target as carbon deadline looms
Today 11:30am
China, the world’s top polluter, set a cautious new climate target for the rest of the decade, frustrating hopes for tighter policy that would accelerate the nation’s work to curb emissions.
Bidders no-show at carbon auction – again
Tue 3 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | As predicted, today’s carbon auction yet again failed to attract any bidders, with NZUs currently trading hands on the secondary market at a 35% discount on this year’s auction floor price.
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
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.
Italy calls for suspension of EU carbon market
Mon 2 Mar 2026
The Italian Minister said the Emissions Trading System (ETS) has a "perverse effect" and is condemning European companies from being competitive with other countries, urging other member states to back the suspension.
Rule changes could reshape corporate emissions strategies
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand organisations may need to rethink how they manage and report electricity-related emissions as proposed global accounting changes take shape, according to a new report.
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.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
Thu 5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
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.
The 15 foods destroying rainforests, in one simple chart
25 Feb 2026
It’s pretty much impossible to live a life free of environmental harm. But there is one thing you could do immediately that would help the planet a heck of a lot: eat less beef.
A gas shock – not an oil shock – from the Iran war looks more threatening
Wed 4 Mar 2026
Europe and Asia will take an economic hit if the supply of Qatari LNG is halted by the closure of the strait of Hormuz.
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.”
Gaps in adaptation taxonomies hinder climate finance in Asia: report
Thu 5 Mar 2026
Without clearer criteria and metrics in adaptation taxonomies, Asia risks widening its climate financing gap, warns a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Surviving on Trump's dangerous planet
Mon 2 Mar 2026
COMMENT: Yet another war, and yet another argument for an end to oil.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
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.
EDS puts environmental lawmaking under the spotlight
26 Feb 2026
Media Release |The Environmental Defence Society has launched the first in a series of investigative pieces into how environmental laws are being made in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Climate 'dream team' launches foundation targeting 100 million tonnes in emissions cuts
25 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The New Zealand Climate Foundation, which has the ambitious aim of cutting 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, had its official launch on Monday.
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.
Carbon auction set to be another non-event
Mon 2 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | Tomorrow’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction – the first for 2026 – is set to be a non-event, with secondary market prices more than $25 below this year’s $71 auction floor price.
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.
Tiny, lost and constipated: what a baby turtle told Australian scientists about warming seas
Today 11:30am
The arrival of loggerheads in New South Wales shows these ‘sentinels of climate change’ are being forced into unknown territory.
The world’s largest climate finance deal was built to flounder: why funding fails to reach the front‑line
Today 11:30am
Adopted in December 2015, the Paris Agreement commits countries to keeping global temperature rise below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
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?
Should we tax the rich to pay for climate costs? Poll says yes
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New polling has found most New Zealanders support higher taxes on the ultra-rich to help fund public goods such as healthcare, housing and climate action.
Families will pay more without clean car standard
Today 11:30am
Media release | The Green Party says scrapping the Clean Car Standard will mean New Zealanders end up paying more to run their cars.
Media round-up
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?
Brazil and India agree to boost cooperation on rare earths
24 Feb 2026
Brazil and India sealed a deal Saturday on critical minerals and rare earths, enhancing cooperation on crucial resources between two major countries of the global south as they seek to diversify their trading relationships.
PPA template aims to cut transaction costs and accelerate renewable investment
Today 11:30am
Media release – DLA Piper | An energy industry initiative led by BusinessNZ Energy Council, Zeale (formerly EVA Marketplace) and DLA Piper has released New Zealand’s first publicly available, standardised template for corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs), designed to reduce transaction costs and unlock more financing to accelerate renewable energy projects.
High-tech flights tackle climate modelling dilemma
Mon 2 Mar 2026
Media release – University of Canterbury | An ongoing challenge in global climate modelling is being addressed by HALO-South a German-Christchurch collaboration.
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.
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.
Solar-powered truck charging gains ground on South Africa’s freight corridors
Wed 4 Mar 2026
Africa’s freight corridors, long dominated by diesel trucks and constrained by unreliable power grids, are emerging as a new frontier in the global shift toward clean logistics, with solar-powered charging hubs designed specifically for heavy-duty electric trucks.
World leaders invited to see Pacific climate destruction before COP31
Tue 3 Mar 2026
The leaders and climate ministers of governments around the world will be invited to meetings on the Pacific islands of Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu in the months leading up to the COP31 climate summit in November.
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.
Empty emergency reserve forces $6.1m flood repair loan
Mon 2 Mar 2026
By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter | A depleted emergency fund has forced Marlborough to borrow $6.1 million to repair damage from last year's floods.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
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.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
Today 11:30am
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
