Topics tagged with 'Emissions trading'
Harmonising Tasman emissions schemes could mean massive losses
24 Mar 2009
Harmonising the Australian and New Zealand emissions trading schemes could cause massive losses for forestry firms here and bring fuels into the scheme six months early.
Super funds in dark over costs of climate change
24 Mar 2009
Australian super funds want to review their investments in light of climate change, but are in the dark when it comes to evaluation methods.
Carbon trading 'undermined by boom and bust’
24 Mar 2009
A shake-up in the way the "boom and bust" carbon markets are working in Europe is being urged ahead of tomorrow's auction of new emission certificates by the UK government.
EXCLUSIVE: Forestry credits sale marks world first
20 Mar 2009
New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme has had its first trade.
Australia move could cut agriculture from ETS
20 Mar 2009
Aligning New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme more closely with that of Australia could mean an indefinite delay to bringing agriculture into the scheme, opening this country to charges of unfair subsidies, Greenpeace says.
Infratil happily waits for Tasman emissions schemes
20 Mar 2009
Hesitation on both sides of the Tasman over implementing the emissions trading regimes, along with the falling price of crude oil, is a problem for what many view as the most imaginative investment by Infratil.
ETS select committee starts hearing views
20 Mar 2009
The select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme has started hearing submissions.
Business Roundtable releases climate change submission
20 Mar 2009
The Business Roundtable has released the submission which it presented yesterday to the emissions trading scheme review committee of Parliament.
Farmers want agriculture, food out of ETS
17 Mar 2009
Federated Farmers wants agriculture and food production removed from the emissions trading scheme.
World gets interested in our forestry NZUs
17 Mar 2009
International interest is growing in New Zealand forestry units.
Greens call for forest industry to diversify
17 Mar 2009
Forestry and Biosecurity Minister David Carter addresses the International Biosecurity Conference in Rotorua this morning amidst calls for New Zealand to diversify its forest plantation species to make it less vulnerable to catastrophic forest losses caused by biosecurity breaches.
Opposition ups ETS pressure on Rudd government
17 Mar 2009
The Australian Government yesterday faced mounting pressure to make radical changes to its carbon trading plans to get the scheme passed by parliament.
Select committee has a chance to get it right
13 Mar 2009
The emissions trading scheme review is a good process which could give New Zealand a chance to “get it right”, says a leading climate change adviser.
Chauvel: Forget Australia and get on with our ETS
13 Mar 2009
Calls for alignment with Australia are really calls for New Zealand to delay the implementation of its emissions trading scheme, says Labour’s climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel.
Opposition terriers get teeth into Rudd’s ETS
13 Mar 2009
The Australian Government’s massive draft emissions trading legislation could be torn apart before it is put to the Parliamentary vote, throwing into doubt Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2010 timetable for the introduction of emissions trading.
What the Australian ETS proposes …
13 Mar 2009
After months of criticism and heated debated from all corners, the draft legislation for Australia’s Emissions Trading Scheme has been released.
Angry EU farmers oppose livestock-gas tax
13 Mar 2009
Proposals to tax the flatulence of cows and other livestock have been denounced by farming groups in the Irish Republic and Denmark.
Foresters: We've had enough of uncertainty
10 Mar 2009
The forestry industry says the Government should ignore calls to abandon the emissions trading scheme in favour of alternatives such as Business NZ’s proposed low-level all-gases tax or levy on every unit of emissions.
Good week for the Roundtable
10 Mar 2009
COMMENT: The Business Roundtable will be pleased with the influence it is achieving through Nick Smith’s office.
Senate to examine Rudd's emissions scheme
10 Mar 2009
A Senate inquiry into the Australian government's proposed emissions trading scheme will go ahead, after the Greens and the Opposition agreed on its terms of reference.
Carbon trade wrong, says former BP chief
10 Mar 2009
Lord Browne, the former chief executive of BP and one of the earliest proponents of carbon trading to tackle climate change, has conceded his enthusiasm was misplaced.
Smith calls for new report on cost of ETS
6 Mar 2009
Two teams of economists with different opinions about the cost of the emissions trading scheme have been told to come up with a joint report for the ETS review.
Include biochar in ETS, urges top scientist
6 Mar 2009
World-renowned Australian scientist Professor Tim Flannery says that biochar technology – acknowledged as possibly our greatest chance of reducing atmospheric carbon – should be included in New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme.
Minister backs ETS review climate change stand
6 Mar 2009
The emissions trading scheme review is standing by its decision not to hear debate about the validity of climate change science - and has the backing of Climate Change Minister Nick Smith.
ETS delay hampers lake protection moves
6 Mar 2009
Delays in establishing a domestic carbon market are hampering the efforts of a trust set up to protect an iconic New Zealand natural landmark.
Credit freeze forces foresters to stall harvests
6 Mar 2009
A bank freeze on credit - especially on letters of credit - is prompting forestry owners to keep their trees in the ground because they cannot find the cash to export them.
Airlines could have planes seized under emissions rules
6 Mar 2009
Britain’s Environment Agency is to be given powers to seize planes from airlines which break the rules of a new scheme to limit flights' carbon emissions.
Prime Minister further undermining progress on climate change: Labour
6 Mar 2009
The withdrawal by Greenpeace on Wednewday from the ETS Review Select Committee, when it learned of John Key's latest position on climate change science, puts progress in this area at further risk, says Labour spokesperson for Climate Change Charles Chauvel.
Key Business NZ manager now minister's ETS kingpin
3 Mar 2009
Business New Zealand's energy, environment and infrastructure manager has a new job advising the government on climate change and emissions trading.
ETS submissions close, but numbers are secret
3 Mar 2009
Submisisons on the review of the emissions trading scheme have closed - but just how many there are is still under wraps.
'Alive and well' AAUs surviving money crisis
3 Mar 2009
The market for government-level emissions rights under the Kyoto Protocol is alive and well, mostly unfazed by the global economic downturn, according to Reuters.
Business group to push for interim green tax
27 Feb 2009
The prospect of delaying the emissions trading scheme and introducing a green tax as an interim measure is being raised by a major business group.
Confused foresters lament lack of Government direction
27 Feb 2009
New Zealand forest owners will soon be able to claim AAUs for carbon sequestered last year, but a lack of clarity over Government policy means the country unlikely to see a flurry of carbon-market activity.
Business NZ stance may not give Government support it needs on ETS
27 Feb 2009
ANALYSIS: Policies proposed in a draft Business New Zealand submission to the select committee reviewing the ETS, obtained by Carbon News, would aim to “remove the carbon risk for business”.
Roundtable lines up Lomborg for second tour
27 Feb 2009
The New Zealand Business Roundtable appears to be planning a reprise tour of New Zealand by influential climate change academic Bjorn Lomborg.
Carbon price floor not the way to go, say experts
27 Feb 2009
Falling carbon prices should not be supported through artificial price floors or direct government intervention, as this may deter new players and stunt the still-nascent market's growth, carbon market experts believe.
Pressure builds on Rudd to delay emissions scheme
27 Feb 2009
The Rudd government yesterday came under renewed pressure to delay plans for carbon trading when Australia’s leading industry body claimed the global downturn made a 2010 start unrealistic.
Obama's commitment to ETS a signal to NZ
27 Feb 2009
A renewed strong commitment to introduce emissions trading by US President Barrack Obama sends New Zealand a signal to get on with implementing its own ETS scheme and securing the country’s trade and tourism, says the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development.
NZUs market needs more industries, say foresters
24 Feb 2009
The NZUs market will not operate efficiently until other industries enter the emissions trading scheme, a forestry company is telling the Government.
TZ1 signs up another scheme
24 Feb 2009
New Zealand-based environmental markets registry provider TZ1 Registry has been appointed as the global registry for Plan Vivo.
Aussies in dark on emissions effort, survey shows
24 Feb 2009
Most Australians have no idea how Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's emissions trading scheme will work, and do not realise individual efforts will make no difference to stopping climate change.
Federated Farmers: Fitzsimons' departure should lead to ETS rethink
24 Feb 2009
“With the news that Jeanette Fitzsimons is to resign as the Green Party’s Co-Leader, the Green Party now stands at a crossroads,” says Frank Brenmuhl, Federated Farmers climate change spokesperson.
Canadians woo our farmers with cash-for-carbon deal
20 Feb 2009
A company that has already distributed more than $7 million to Canadian farming families through soil carbon credits now wants to do the same for New Zealand farmers.
Carter confirms ETS is the way to go
20 Feb 2009
Agriculture Minister David Carter says an emissions trading scheme remains the Government’s preferred option.
Rudd ditches inquiry and sticks with emissions plans
20 Feb 2009
Mounting criticism of Australia’s proposed carbon trading policy forced Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to end the confusion late yesterday by abandoning plans for a new inquiry and declaring the scheme would start as planned in mid-2010.
Clean energy at crossroads as firms cut plans and staff
17 Feb 2009
Green companies are in retreat, with a wave of staff layoffs and production cuts that could have dire consequences for government efforts to fight climate change by quickly bringing low-carbon power projects on stream.
Event: sustainability and the law
17 Feb 2009
Lawyers from more than a dozen countries will meet business executives from New Zealand and beyond at a sustainability conference hosted by Auckland law firm Fortune Manning.
Big emitters win more time to put ETS review case
13 Feb 2009
The closing date for submissions on the emissions trading scheme review has been extended because a group representing some of New Zealand’s largest companies realised it wasn’t going to be heard, Carbon News has learnt.
NZ could take lead on climate-saving biochar, says scientist
13 Feb 2009
New Zealand could be the first country in the world to set up a large-scale biochar plant – considered one of the few technologies that could substantially reduce atmospheric carbon, say British soil science experts.
ETS review beginning of the end, says Turnbull
13 Feb 2009
The Rudd Government’s decision to order a review of its emissions trading scheme is the first step to abandoning the plan, Australian Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says.
New Zealanders losing ambition on climate change: Ipsos
Wed 20 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealanders’ belief that their government has a plan to combat climate change has taken another serious hit in the latest poll of 31 countries by global research firm Ipsos.
Six NZ climate solutions up for 2026 Earthshot prize
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Six New Zealand climate and sustainability initiatives have been nominated for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, with the shortlist showcasing Kiwi-led solutions tackling emissions, plastic waste and ocean restoration.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns
20 Apr 2026
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.
Govt unveils long-awaited voluntary carbon market guidance
Fri 15 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has released long-awaited guidance for New Zealand’s voluntary carbon and nature markets, as questions continue for the sector despite ministers signalling support for its growth.
Biomass sector asks: where did the love go?
Mon 18 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand has sufficient biomass in its plantation forests to replace natural gas for industrial process heat at lower costs than electrification, but is failing to get the attention it deserves, sector leaders say.
Carbon News updates forward curve
13 May 2026
Carbon News has updated its ten-year NZU forward curve, following a recent rise in spot market prices, with NZUs rallying from about $34 in January to nearly $54 in early May.
UN members reinforce nations' climate change obligations
Today 11:30am
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution reinforcing states' obligations to combat climate change, a long-awaited move toned down under pressure from major greenhouse gas emitters.
Drop in ETS forestry registrations
5 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | ETS forestry registrations have dropped off this year, with the new mandatory emissions return period, new land-use rules, and carbon price volatility all meaning participants aren’t rushing to register forestry in the emissions trading scheme.
Hipkins pans LNG plan as ‘massive step backwards’
Tue 19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told a Queenstown audience that a Government he leads would not proceed with a planned LNG import terminal, if elected at November’s election.
Tairāwhiti deserves better than weakened forestry rules
5 May 2026
OPINION: The government's proposed amendments to forestry standards, released yesterday, ignore the hard lessons learned in our region and ignore the voices that have fought hardest to protect it, writes Manu Caddie.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
Mon 18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
New solar farm to boost West Coast energy security
Today 11:30am
Construction has begun on a new 13.5MW solar farm in Reefton, with developer Lightyears saying the project will help strengthen electricity security on the West Coast and support future regional growth.
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.
Are hailstones getting bigger due to climate change?
Today 11:30am
Scientific studies suggest that a warmer climate does not necessarily lead to more frequent hail, but rather to more severe hailstorms with larger hailstones.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
Govt presses ahead with forestry rule changes despite opposition
14 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is pushing ahead with changes to commercial forestry rules despite most submitters opposing the proposals, with critics warning the reforms will weaken councils’ ability to manage erosion and forestry slash risks in vulnerable regions such as Tairāwhiti.
Iran war pushes Portugal to halve fossil fuel use over next 10 years
Wed 20 May 2026
Lisbon fast-tracks plans after the Iran war caused oil and gas costs to soar, Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho tells POLITICO.
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.”
New funding for low methane farming uptake
29 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government will co-fund projects under an Early Adoption Accelerator scheme announced today to accelerate the uptake of low emissions farming technologies emerging from the AgriZero public-private partnership.
NZ Govt’s move to halt climate litigation under international scrutiny
Tue 19 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Local and international NGOs have signed an open letter calling on the Government to reconsider its decision to shield major emitters from legal liability for climate-related harm.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
Fri 15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
29 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, with predicted lower rainfall for some areas and heavier rain for others likely to impact multiple sectors of the economy as well as the carbon market.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
Media round-up
24 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is the real cost of storm-hit infrastructure? Urgency is needed over climate adaptation funding; and a community conservation group has won a legal victory against multinational mining company OceanaGold.
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.
Labour condemns Govt plan to stop climate litigation
Fri 15 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party has slammed the Government’s move to block climate lawsuits against big emitters but won’t say if they would repeal the legislation if elected in November.
GIDI-style help cheaper than LNG: MBIE
11 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Officials advised ministers last July that the lowest-cost way to free up gas for use during dry winters was to assist industrial gas users to switch to electricity.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
30 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is being urged to shift its response to the fuel crisis away from short-term relief and towards measures that reduce demand, with public health experts warning it is missing an opportunity to boost energy security and lower household costs.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
Move to block lawsuits could strengthen climate case against Govt
14 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s plan to block climate lawsuits – while potentially fatal for one groundbreaking climate case – could actually bolster claims in another live climate case underway against the Government.
‘Utterly elated’ – controversial Sams Creek gold mine application declined
Today 11:30am
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Campaigners are elated after the controversial gold mining application for Sams Creek in Golden Bay was declined.
Conservation land open for voluntary carbon market schemes
12 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government is to open up the Crown-owned conservation estate to private investment in voluntary carbon market projects.
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.
Pacific voice on climate at the UN
Wed 20 May 2026
A New Zealand-based researcher has told a United Nations forum that rising sea levels are already reshaping life across the Pacific and climate change is causing irreversible impacts on water supplies, food security and cultural identity.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Opposition slams environment ministry merger
13 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Opposition MPs accused the Government of downgrading climate and environmental protections as legislation to abolish the Ministry for the Environment and merge it into a new mega-ministry passed its second reading in Parliament.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
Fri 15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
ESG funds include petrochemical companies, report finds
5 May 2026
Global banks have invested US$133bn into US petrochemical expansion, even as the industry is linked to climate change.
NZTA rejects covering $145m of Wellington public transport projects
Wed 20 May 2026
By Justin Wong, Local Democracy Reporter | More than $145 million of Wellington public transport projects - including new bus spines along the harbour quays and the redevelopment of ageing Waterloo station - never made it into the Government’s $32.9 billion national land transport plan.
Thousands protest in Germany urging faster shift to renewable energy, amid Iran war
20 Apr 2026
Thousands of people demonstrated across Germany on April 18, urging a faster shift to renewable energy and accusing conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition of putting the brakes on the transition.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
China widens its clean energy lead
Mon 18 May 2026
Chinese companies account for more than half of global investments in clean energy manufacturing since 2019, while new U.S. investments declined last year.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Combined climate extremes may prompt carbon budget rethink
14 May 2026
Media release: Springer Nature | Combined extreme climate events are likely to become more common in the future if carbon emissions continue to rise, a paper in Nature suggests.
Media round-up
Fri 15 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The government's move to change climate law removes a key protection for NZ citizens, farmers should be paid to use methane-busting tools, and it's one step forward, three steps back on environment policy.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Why both trees and technology are important in the race to mitigate carbon emissions
4 May 2026
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
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.
UN members prepare for pivotal vote on landmark ICJ climate justice ruling
Fri 15 May 2026
If the resolution is passed, governments will recognise their legal responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
4 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | NZ First is aiming to launch a national container return scheme, which could recycle over a billion wasted containers each year, reviving a policy shelved by the previous Labour-led Government in 2023.
Commission urges Govt action on climate risks
7 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate change currently poses major risks to our water infrastructure with “significant gaps” in readiness to manage risks and increasing hazards, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Why is Northern Ireland facing a growing threat from wildfires?
7 May 2026
Figures show that spring drought events are happening more often while there has been a sharp rise in "fire weather" - a mix of warmth, dryness, and wind that allows fires to ignite and spread rapidly. Experts warn this combination, along with climate change, is creating a longer and more volatile wildfire season.
Human health appears unaffected by living near wind turbines
Today 11:30am
Media release: PNAS | High-resolution data collected across the United States show negligible evidence of adverse health outcomes tied to wind turbine exposure, a study finds.
