Topics tagged with 'Emissions trading'
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.
Why we should aim for a million electric vehicles
22 Aug 2016
Replacing a million fossil fuel-driven cars with electric vehicles would cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 per cent in the crucial 2021-2030 period, officials say.
NZ urged to grab a slice of burgeoning $35 billion market for nature credits
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand could unlock strong domestic and international demand for high-integrity nature-based credits, if government, investors and restoration groups work together to scale supply, a new report says.
Rod Carr is ‘over’ climate change defeatism
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | If there’s one thing former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr is “over”, it’s people saying there’s nothing they can personally do to address climate change.
Auckland Airport switches on giant heat pump system to cut gas use
6 Mar 2026
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
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.
Carbon markets risk penalising Indigenous stewardship, researchers warn
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.
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.
Kenya’s latest carbon credit crackdown reveals questionable practices
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Some players use sophisticated tactics to inflate the value of credits that may not represent genuine, permanent emissions reductions.
Countries agree to record release of emergency oil reserves as prices surge
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Dozens of countries have agreed to release a record amount of oil from their emergency reserves to try to tackle supply shortages and soaring prices.
Bidders no-show at carbon auction – again
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.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
25 Feb 2026
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
Tue 10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
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.
Renewables surge cuts power emissions, but oil dominates fossil fuel use
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s fossil fuel emissions fell in 2025 as strong renewable electricity generation reduced the need for gas-fired power, but oil consumption is rising and now accounts for a record share of fossil emissions.
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.
Climate Commission called to Waitangi inquiry over alleged breaches
Tue 10 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Climate Change Commission is being called to front up to the Waitangi Tribunal and give evidence over alleged legal breaches of its obligations to Māori.
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.
From forest to flatpack, IKEA faces timber traceability test
Wed 11 Mar 2026
As the EU’s Deforestation Regulation nears implementation this year, furniture giant IKEA may need stronger traceability systems to prove its timber isn’t linked to post-2020 deforestation.
Greenpeace slams Govt climate policies amid rising petrol prices
Thu 12 Mar 2026
As petrol prices climb to $3 a litre, Greenpeace is blaming Government decisions for leaving Kiwis harder hit by the oil price spike.
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
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).
Russia gets export boost from Iran war as price of oil to India surges
Tue 10 Mar 2026
The war in Iran has fuelled a significant bump in demand for Russian oil and gas, the Kremlin said on Friday, boosting exports which have been battered by sanctions linked to Russia's war in Ukraine.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
Mon 9 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
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.
Japan eyes New Zealand as green hydrogen export hub
Thu 12 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A new partnership between major Japanese companies aims to explore exporting green hydrogen from New Zealand – but the economics of producing the energy-hungry fuel remain the biggest hurdle.
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.
Expert Panel invites EDS to comment on Bendigo goldmine
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society has been invited to provide comment on the Bendigo-Ophir gold mine by the expert Panel tasked with deciding the fast-track project.
If the government is set on an LNG terminal, gas users, not electricity users, should pay
Wed 11 Mar 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: It's increasingly clear that the government's narrative of LNG as ‘dry year electricity insurance’ really doesn't stack up.
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
6 Mar 2026
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
6 Mar 2026
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?
Todd gets nod to drill first super-critical geothermal well
Thu 12 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Todd Energy is to make its sole oil drilling rig available to drill the first exploration well under the government’s $60 million super-critical geothermal resource exploration programme under a ‘preferred supplier’ agreement announced yesterday.
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?
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.
How falling battery costs are igniting race for round-the-clock solar power
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By combining the solar array with a massive amount of battery capacity, the aim is to store enough power generated during daylight hours so that a minimum of 1 GW of electricity – enough to power between 500,000 and one million homes – is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Native plant shows promise for tackling `forever chemicals’
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s taonga plants, harakeke, shows promise as a treatment for removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water.
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.
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.
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.
NZ EV owners sticking with electric – survey
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Nearly all New Zealand EV owners say they would buy another electric vehicle, according to new research from Consumer NZ.
Summit aims to revive stalled UN talks on phasing out fossil fuels
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Colombia and the Netherlands have set out three priorities for a conference on phasing out fossil fuels they will co-host in Colombia in April.
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.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
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.
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
6 Mar 2026
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.
