Topics tagged with 'Emissions trading'
Households cut emissions by 11%, says report
30 Nov 2016
The average New Zealand household’s emissions fell 11 per cent between 2006 and 2012, new research shows.
NZ goes shopping for Paris pact carbon credits
25 Nov 2016
New Zealand has started talking to countries about supplying carbon credits to help to meet its Paris Agreement emissions reduction pledge.
Bennett's new climate think-tank has work deadline
23 Nov 2016
A first report on how New Zealand can adapt to climate change – including environmentally sustainable economic growth - should be with the Government by May.
It's going well, says PM, as we pick up another fossil award
18 Nov 2016
The Prime Minister says the Emissions Trading Scheme is operating “pretty well”.
NZ eyes buying 80% international credits to meet target
17 Nov 2016
New Zealand might buy international carbon credits to meet 80 per cent of its Paris Agreement emissions reduction commitment, a Government paper shows.
MARRAKECH MESSAGE: We've got enough clean credits
16 Nov 2016
New Zealand is likely to use 38.1 million tonnes of its surplus carbon credits to meet its next emissions reduction target and will not need access to international markets, climate change talks in Morocco have heard.
KYOTO QUERY: Is NZ carbon units stand legal?
11 Nov 2016
New Zealand’s legal ability to use carried-over Kyoto carbon units to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target is being questioned.
PLEASE EXPLAIN: NZ under scrutiny in Marrakech
10 Nov 2016
New Zealand's progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions will come under international scrutiny at climate talks in Marrakech on Monday.
Hopes rise for solution to forest-split problem
7 Nov 2016
The door is slightly open for the Government to reconsider the contentious pre-1990/post-1989 forestry split under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
NZ wins praise for work in global carbon markets
4 Nov 2016
New Zealand is showing “true leadership” on the development of global carbon markets, a new report says.
EDITORIAL: Welcome to the real world that's Paris
4 Nov 2016
It's Paris Day – the day the Paris Agreement comes into force.
Govt wants to break new ground for tree planting
1 Nov 2016
The Government says it’s working on new ways to get more native and exotic trees in the ground.
Rural capital gains tax could work, says report
31 Oct 2016
A capital gains tax on rural land and letting farmers sell future carbon credits when they plant trees could help New Zealand to cut agricultural emissions, a new paper says.
$2.5b carbon bill hanging over heads of Treelords iwi
27 Oct 2016
The Maori owners of land under the Southern Hemisphere’s largest plantation forest face a potential carbon liability of nearly $2.5 billion – yet have received credits for just a fraction of the carbon stored in the trees.
MEMO INVESTORS: You can't ignore climate change
25 Oct 2016
Investors can no longer ignore climate change, says a global asset-management company.
Border tax could cut emissions, says NZ economist
21 Oct 2016
The US, China and the European Union should bring in border taxes on carbon emissions contained in imported products not already taxed in their countries of origin, according to a former New Zealand cabinet minister.
Millions worth of free credits sit in private accounts
20 Oct 2016
Non-forestry carbon credits worth more than $350 million – many of them given by taxpayers to large industrial emitters – are sitting in private carbon accounts.
Farm emissions report gets nods of approval
20 Oct 2016
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright’s report on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is being well received.
WATCHDOG WISHLIST: How we can ease farm emissions
19 Oct 2016
Vast increases in native and exotic forests, bringing nitrogen fertiliser and some large farms into the Emissions Trading Scheme, and fast-tracking development of a methane vaccine.
Watchdog's farm emissions report out later today
19 Oct 2016
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright’s long-awaited report on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions will be released today.
Australian businesses keen to join global carbon trade
18 Oct 2016
AUSTRALIA'S conservative government might have ditched the country’s emissions trading scheme, but businesses across the Tasman still want to get involved in international carbon trading, a survey shows.
Minister hints at setting minimum carbon price
12 Oct 2016
New Zealand could impose a minimum price on carbon.
Australian firms accept role of carbon prices
12 Oct 2016
Most major Australian companies are factoring carbon prices into their budgets, despite the fact the country no longer has a carbon tax or emissions trading scheme.
Govt knew use of hot-air credits would draw fire
10 Oct 2016
The Government was warned last year that New Zealand could face criticism for using hot-air credits to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, documents show.
Global aviation emissions deal gets wings
7 Oct 2016
A global carbon market for aviation that could see New Zealand offsetting three million tonnes of emissions a year is going ahead.
10 things you should know about climate change
7 Oct 2016
No 9. New Zealanders are in the world’s top 10 emitters of greenhouse gases.
Businesses plead for more ETS information
6 Oct 2016
The Government should be providing more information on the workings of the Emissions Trading Scheme – including carbon price forecasts and trading data, say participants in the scheme.
Airline emissions deal could boost offset bills
3 Oct 2016
A new global market-based measure for aviation emissions could see New Zealand having to offset 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
Rising emissions mean NZ will miss Paris targets
29 Sep 2016
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to double between 1990 and 2030 – and even with a carbon price of $50 a tonne, we could still be short of our Paris Agreement pledge by 143 million tonnes.
Govt learns we can't cut emissions and sell more milk
28 Sep 2016
The Government knows its economic strategy of increasing agricultural exports cannot go on if New Zealand is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a confidential paper shows.
Mali boosts Paris numbers
28 Sep 2016
Mali is the latest country to ratify the Paris Agreement – bringing the total number of countries to have ratified to 61, together responsible for 47.79 per cent of global emissions.
Voluntary actions have role, says carbon certifier
27 Sep 2016
Voluntary carbon credits can help to meet New Zealand’s Paris Agreement target, Parliament has been told.
Are we finally about to get an aviation emissions deal?
27 Sep 2016
Delegates from more than 190 nations today will begin an 11-day meeting in Montreal to determine the final form of a scheme to reduce greenhouse emissions from the aviation industry.
Why NZ doesn't need foreign carbon credits
26 Sep 2016
New Zealand could meet its Paris Agreement pledge without using foreign carbon credits and develop a $6 billion industry at the same time, says the Bioenergy Association.
PARIS PACT: Morganists say NZ must sell units
23 Sep 2016
The Government must cancel all surplus carbon units it’s sitting on in 2020 as part of ratifying the Paris Agreement, says the group that wrote the Climate Cheats report.
Why we might have trouble phasing out HFCs
23 Sep 2016
New Zealand is among more than 100 countries calling for an early phase-out of use of the potent greenhouse gas hydroflourocarbon – which could be a challenge, because this country’s use of it appears to be rising.
No way, Nick, you can't claim credit for the ETS
22 Sep 2016
The Government is doing it again – claiming to have introduced the Emissions Trading Scheme when it actually voted against it.
Ukraine ratifies Paris Agreement
21 Sep 2016
Ukraine – the source of many of the low-value carbon credits that have so embarrassed the New Zealand Government – is the latest country to ratify the Paris Agreement.
Gas emissions (the reported kind) take a dive
16 Sep 2016
New Zealand’s reported greenhouse gas emissions have fallen drastically.
Agriculture emissions continue to grow
16 Sep 2016
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture continue to climb.
Trading scheme welcomes fewer units
16 Sep 2016
Just 4.6 million NZUs came into the Emissions Trading Scheme last year, new Government figures show.
Time to get on the new emissions register
14 Sep 2016
Time is running out to use migration codes to switch to the new Emissions Trading Register.
Taxpayers gift $80m to industrial emitters
13 Sep 2016
Taxpayers have this year given industrial emitters of greenhouse gases free carbon credits worth more than $80 million on today’s market – and soon they’ll be getting twice as many.
RUC exemption could save thousands for truckers
12 Sep 2016
Truck and bus operators could save thousands of dollars a year under road-user charge exemptions now before the Government.
Dissenting academics write own climate report
7 Sep 2016
The Climate Change Authority’s latest report on Australia’s climate goals has divided its membership – so much so that two authority members have divorce themselves from the report and written their own version.
Ratification good news for carbon markets
5 Sep 2016
Ratification of the Paris Agreement by China and the United States is good news for the development of carbon markets, says the International Emissions Trading Association.
Climate Change Authority gambles on political pragmatism
2 Sep 2016
The Climate Change Authority¡¯s latest report outlining a recommended climate policy ¡°toolkit¡± is a reflection of what is seen by many as politically feasible in Australia now.
Dodgy dealing cost us dearly, says Asia expert
30 Aug 2016
Using dodgy carbon credits has damaged New Zealand’s chances of becoming an Asian carbon trading hub, says an expert on doing business in South-East Asia.
How Paris Agreement could punish the economy
29 Aug 2016
New Zealand will face significant economic damage from the Paris Agreement if carbon stored in forests is not recognised, the Emissions Trading Scheme is not linked internationally, and agricultural emissions incur a carbon price, a new report shows.
New emissions register will make life easier
23 Aug 2016
The emissions register will be closed from noon on Thursday, pending the launch of the new one on Monday.
Emerging biodiversity and carbon markets part of Gisborne plan for land-use change
Mon 6 Oct 2025
Gisborne District Council has endorsed a plan to shift up to 100,000 hectares of the region’s most erosion-prone land into permanent vegetation cover and is calling on the Government to make urgent changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme to aid the transition.
Media round-up
Fri 3 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Leaving the Paris Agreement won’t fix NZ’s farming frustrations, what Pacific Island leaders told the UN General Assembly about climate, and Hawke's Bay Regional Council faces class action legal challenge over flooding.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
Travellers bothered by their flight’s pollution can pay to reduce it elsewhere. Do offsets work?
Thu 2 Oct 2025
So you’re booking your flight, and just when you’re about to check out, the airline asks if you’d like to pay a little something to offset your share of the flight’s pollution. Or, maybe you’re an environmentally minded person, and you’ve heard you can buy these things called carbon offsets.
Solar farm gets fast-track treatment
Mon 6 Oct 2025
Lodestone Energy’s proposed 220 MW solar farm at Haldon Station in the Mackenzie Basin has become the first solar project to be referred to an expert panel under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.
Researchers say sealing old oil wells with bio-oil from crop waste is a dual carbon-removal solution
19 Sep 2025
A new analysis shows that oil made from corn husks, wood chips, and other waste could plug greenhouse gas-belching abandoned oil wells while sequestering carbon for about $152 per ton.
Will govt’s light touch approach lead to higher carbon prices?
Fri 3 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Carbon market watchers are hoping the government’s plan for the electricity sector will eventually lead to higher carbon prices, with the secondary market still trading sideways for the longest time in its history.
EAT-Lancet report: Three key takeaways on climate and diet change
Mon 6 Oct 2025
A global shift towards “healthier” diets could cut non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane, from agriculture by 15% by 2050, according to a new report.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
Wed 1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
Electricity to remain in ETS
Wed 1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
19 Sep 2025
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
NZ quiet on climate target at UN meeting
Thu 2 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand didn't mention its recently minted – but widely criticised – climate target for 2035 at a major multilateral climate meeting in New York last week, at an event which was ostensibly billed as a platform for leaders to present their new targets.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Consultation open on second draft of Sustainable Finance Taxonomy
29 Sep 2025
Public consultation has opened on the second draft of the Aotearoa New Zealand Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
Thu 2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
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.”
$1.5m for climate action
Mon 6 Oct 2025
The Wilding Pine Network, Rewiring Aotearoa, Papawhakaritorito Charitable Trust, 800 Trust and 350 Aotearoa, have received grants from a total pool of more than $1.5m over two years from of Climate Action Aotearoa's Kaupapa of National Significance Climate Action Fund.
UC wins top international award for civics education
Mon 6 Oct 2025
Media release | A University of Canterbury research group has received international recognition at the highest level of political science.
FMA consults on clearer ethical investment claims to curb greenwashing
29 Sep 2025
The Financial Markets Authority – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko – has released updated draft guidance for financial products marketed with ethical or sustainability features.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
Study warns climate leadership falling short in NZ
Wed 1 Oct 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Research suggests New Zealand’s climate leadership is falling short, with current adaptation efforts focused on property and cost-cutting rather than protecting communities.
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.
Can the courtroom save the climate?
Thu 2 Oct 2025
It was in early 2017 when it seemed like nearly every person I knew from home was asking me the same question: Should they be worried about what was about to happen in Washington, D.C.?
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
Deep sea mining threatens sharks, rays and ghost sharks
Mon 6 Oct 2025
Mining the world’s deep seas for metals will likely threaten many species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (ghost sharks), according to researchers.
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.
Warming oceans prompt major overhaul of how scientists monitor El Niño and La Niña
Wed 1 Oct 2025
Global warming is interfering with how Earth Sciences New Zealand monitors one of the world’s biggest climate drivers.
China calls EU hypocritical over criticism of climate goal
Wed 1 Oct 2025
The EU climate chief's criticism of China's new climate pledges shows "double standards and selective blindness," China's foreign ministry said on Friday, accusing the bloc of being slow to act on its own climate targets.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Fast-track changes coming before end of year
Fri 3 Oct 2025
The Government is already preparing to amend its fast-track approvals law, even as the first projects consented under the regime begin construction.
Students repeat request for Victoria University to divest from fossil fuel investments
24 Sep 2025
Media release | A group of students campaigning for climate action at Victoria University of Wellington have dropped a banner protesting against the university’s lack of action on its 2014 commitment to divest from fossil fuels.
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.
Countering the Trump administration’s attack on climate science
Fri 3 Oct 2025
The Trump Administration is attempting to remove the legal basis for U.S. action on greenhouse gas emissions by attacking the climate science that underpins it.
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.
Auckland Transport and Kinetic charging ahead for sustainability
30 Sep 2025
Media release | Auckland Transport (AT) and bus operator Kinetic and have taken another step in their decarbonisation journeys with major upgrades completed at Kinetic’s Glenfield bus depot to support a growing zero emissions fleet.
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.
End of EV tax subsidy sparks worries of collapse in US electric car sales
Mon 6 Oct 2025
Automotive executives are bracing for a freefall in U.S. electric-vehicle sales following the disappearance of a critical $7,500 tax break for buyers.
‘Beyond embarrassing’ – Peters’ Paris remarks draw fire for talking down Pacific climate diplomacy
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Foreign Minister and NZ first leader Winston Peters says he wants to revisit the Paris Agreement with Pacific leaders because some may be unaware of how it’s structured.
Day of action against incinerators
29 Sep 2025
Media release | Zero Waste Aotearoa will call on the Ministry for the Environment to embrace real solutions to waste and climate change, not toxic pollution from incineration as part of an international day of action on Tuesday 30 September.
Environment Minister abusing role to put freshwater at risk – Greens
Fri 3 Oct 2025
Media release – Green Party | Documents obtained under the Official Information Act have revealed the Minister for the Environment is pressuring local councils to allow ‘water take’ consents for a group of farmers that includes her party colleague, in a catchment already showing signs of serious decline.
‘Con,’ ‘scam,’ ‘hoax’: Trump’s UN speech on climate
24 Sep 2025
The president used a large chunk of his hour-long speech to world leaders to condemn climate science and clean energy policies.
Trump administration moves to revoke permit for Massachusetts offshore wind project
24 Sep 2025
The Trump administration has moved to block a Massachusetts offshore wind farm, its latest effort to hobble an industry and technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.
