Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Obama and Hu shake hands on climate deal
20 Nov 2009
China and the United States, the largest producers of greenhouse gases, will team up to fight climate change and create clean energy, say their leaders.
Climate officials cling to hope for Copenhagen
20 Nov 2009
Senior climate change negotiators are optimistic about the Copenhagen talks next month after climate, energy and environment ministers gathered for a meeting in the Danish capital this week.
South Korea, Brazil set carbon emissions targets
20 Nov 2009
South Korea and Brazil are the latest countries to announced greenhouse gas reduction targets as the world heads for key climate change talks in Copenhagen.
Police probe Mafia ties in wind energy scams
20 Nov 2009
Italian finance police have arrested two prominent businessmen in the wind energy sector on charges of fraud.
Jaguar sinks teeth into climate change
20 Nov 2009
The world’s fastest computer, the Jaguar XT5, is hot on the trail of climate change.
Steam turbine wins award
20 Nov 2009
GE Oil & Gas’ advanced steam turbine technology has won CSP Today’s Best Applied Research and Development Award for innovation in concentrated solar power.
Arrested activists criticise Fonterra
20 Nov 2009
The four Greenpeace activists arrested this week after closing down a Southland lignite coalmine say they succeeded in drawing attention to Fonterra’s expanding use of coal for milk processing.
ETS debate might still be a week away
16 Nov 2009
Parliament might not debate changes to the emissions trading scheme until next week.
Divided Maori Party likely to toe the line on ETS
13 Nov 2009
The Maori Party is deeply divided over changes to the emissions trading scheme – but is unlikely to split its vote on the issue.
Britain to build 10 nuclear power stations
13 Nov 2009
Britain will build 10 nuclear power stations to supply up to 25 per cent of the country’s energy needs.
Can Obama yet save the day at Copenhagen?
13 Nov 2009
The world's first global treaty to combat climate change, the Kyoto Protocol, was agreed in December 1997 after exhausting, all-night negotiations in Japan that saw arguments, desperate phone calls back to leaders in capital cities and inspired diplomacy.
Carbon price must at least double, warns watchdog
13 Nov 2009
The International Energy Agency has warned that the price of carbon credits will have to more than double from the levels they now trade at in Europe to make high-tech solutions to climate change economically attractive.
$500b annual bill for climate delay, says report
13 Nov 2009
Governments must act now to ward off catastrophic climate change or face additional costs of $500 billion per year of delay, says a report by the International Energy Agency.
Vulnerable nations call on big countries to act
13 Nov 2009
Leaders of 11 nations vulnerable to climate change have called on the developed world to pledge 1.5 percent of their gross national product annually for climate action in the developed world.
Turnbull feels heat over sceptics remark
13 Nov 2009
Australian Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has shrugged off a senior colleague's suggestions that the party is dominated by climate change sceptics.
What happens when the Age of Oil comes to an end
13 Nov 2009
The race for the world's remaining oil reserves could get very nasty.
Big returns to come from lithium battery and car investment
13 Nov 2009
By Jeff Siegel - Green Chip Review.- What's the best way to play the coming lithium boom?
FORUM: Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Maldives on climate change
13 Nov 2009
By Douglas Alexander, British international development secretary, and Mohamed Nasheed, president of the Maldives
North Shore in line for sustainability award
13 Nov 2009
The North Shore City Council is a finalist for three awards in a new scheme which showcases and rewards excellence in sustainable business practice in New Zealand.
Bio-fuel levy the last straw for forest owners
13 Nov 2009
A government decision to make big companies pay for some of their greenhouse gas emissions when using wood pellets and other biofuels is seen as the last straw by many in the forest industry.
ETS politics frustrating, says business chief
6 Nov 2009
Wellington’s obsession with the politics of climate change and carbon trading is turning off the rest of the country, says the EMA (Northern).
It’s official: US goes cool on Copenhagen
6 Nov 2009
The US has given up hope of reaching a global climate change treaty at Copenhagen and is working towards a deal late next year, the Obama administration said yesterday.
Electric cars could deliver $8 billion+ net benefit
6 Nov 2009
The net benefit to New Zealand from comparing no uptake of electric vehicles to the expected market demand is $8.2 billion over a 50 year analysis period.
Senate moves on energy ... without Republicans
6 Nov 2009
Democrats on a key US Senate committee today bypassed a Republican boycott and approved a sweeping plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Campaigners call carbon markets corrupt
6 Nov 2009
The world's carbon trading markets’ growing complexity threatens another "sub-prime" style financial crisis that could again destabilise the global economy, campaigners have warned.
Emissions trading doesn’t work, says scientist
6 Nov 2009
A government scientist has spoken out against Australia’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, saying carbon trading and offset schemes appear ineffective in terms of reducing greenhouse gases.
Gore denies ‘carbon billionaire’ accusation
6 Nov 2009
Green campaigner Al Gore has been accused of making billions of dollars from championing climate change issues.
Ecostore: First, we take Manhatten …
30 Oct 2009
An Auckland businessman who this week takes on Manhatten says that a recession is the perfect time in which to embrace ideas like carbon neutrality.
China-US pact unlikely from Obama visit
30 Oct 2009
President Barack Obama's visit to China next month is not likely to yield a separate accord on countering global warming, says the top US envoy on climate change.
Climate change turmoil poses security risks
30 Oct 2009
An island in the Indian Ocean, vital to the US military, disappears as the sea level rises … rivers critical to India and Pakistan shrink, increasing military tensions in South Asia … drought, famine and disease forces population shifts and political turmoil in the Middle East.
Australia gives e-cars a three-month workout
30 Oct 2009
A road trial of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which could one day end up in every Australian driveway, is under way.
Australian provider buys CERs from China
30 Oct 2009
Australian company COzero says it has completed the purchase of more than 1.4 million CERs (certified emission reduction units) from three projects in China.
$209 MILLION A YEAR - that's what we'll pay to protect Rio Tinto, says analyst
23 Oct 2009
Protecting Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter from the full impacts of the emissions trading scheme will cost New Zealand $225,000 a year for every job at the smelter, a management consultant says.
Chauvel to energy leaders: ETS changes too generous to last
23 Oct 2009
It’s unfair to business to give large concessions and subsidies that won't last.
Industrial giant Siemens in $418m 'green grab'
23 Oct 2009
By Sam Hopkins, Green Chip Review.- Siemens is moving from country to country and from strength to strength in the renewables sector
Australia readies for key climate debate next week
23 Oct 2009
The Australian Government’s last bid to have a carbon trading scheme in place before the Copenhagen climate talks kicked off yesterday with the reintroduction of carbon reduction legislation into parliament.
Europe: Sign the deal and we’ll cut emissions 95%
23 Oct 2009
Europe tried to reassert its international leadership in the fight against global warming yesterday, offering to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95 per cent by 2050 and by 30 per cent by 2020 if a climate change pact is sealed in Copenhagen in six weeks.
Interim steps … that’s about it from Copenhagen
23 Oct 2009
With the clock running out and deep differences unresolved, it now appears that there is little chance that international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December will produce a comprehensive and binding new treaty on global warming.
China, India forge alternative to UN treaty
23 Oct 2009
China and India’s joint plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions provides the developing world with an alternative to the global climate treaty that wealthier nations want them to sign in Copenhagen this year, analysts said.
Leaders could feel wrath of people-power protest
23 Oct 2009
Experts are predicting that climate change could spark the first worldwide grassroots movement if the world’s leaders fail to settle the issue.
Fishing carbon quota plan splits industry
16 Oct 2009
Government plans to give some $17 million worth of free carbon credits to quota holders, instead of to the owners of fishing boats as originally planned, has divided the fishing industry.
Business blasts rushed changes to ETS
16 Oct 2009
The Government came under fire from business last night for rushing through changes to the emissions trading scheme.
Taxpayers face hefty bill from ETS subsidies, says business council
16 Oct 2009
Subsidies to heavy emitters could cost taxpayers $3.5 billion, the Business Council for Sustainable Development is warning.
Push to exempt Australian farmers from carbon laws
16 Oct 2009
The Australian government will be asked to exempt farmers from carbon trading in order to pass landmark emissions laws through parliament under changes this week being pushed by opposition lawmakers.
Biodiesel looking better than ever, says study
16 Oct 2009
Biodiesel is better than ever at harnessing the power of the sun and turning it into fuel, new research says.
Soros pledges $1bn to search for clean energy
16 Oct 2009
Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has pledged to invest more than $1 billion of his own money in clean energy technology to tackle climate change.
US ‘deeply committed,’ says energy chief
16 Oct 2009
The US is “deeply committed” to solving the problem of climate change, Energy Secretary Steven Chu says.
EVENT: Sustainable housing symposium, November 19-21
16 Oct 2009
Registrations are now open for the Sustainable Habitat Challenge Symposium, in which the experiences and outcomes of an ambitious nationwide competition will be revealed, organisers say.
Sack Nick Smith from climate portfolio, says Dunleavy
16 Oct 2009
A call to Prime Minister to relieve Nick Smith of the climate change issues portfolio has been made by the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition’s secretary, Terry Dunleavy.
Business lobby group gets a night appointment
15 Oct 2009
Business New Zealand will deliver its oral submission on changes to the emissions trading scheme tonight.
Governments must vote in favour of moratorium on deep sea mining
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Media release - Greenpeace | The 30th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has ended with Greenpeace saying governments are continuing to fall short in protecting the deep sea.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
Tue 29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Carbon prices slide as market awaits ETS decision
Fri 1 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Volatility has returned to the secondary carbon market, with prices sliding again after plateauing in recent weeks, as the market waits for government decisions on Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
The US is sitting out the most consequential climate summit in a decade. It may offer a victory to China
Fri 1 Aug 2025
The Trump administration fired the last of the US climate negotiators earlier this month, helping cement America’s withdrawal from international climate diplomacy. It may also have handed a huge victory to China.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
Coal use drove recent emissions increase
Fri 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.
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?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Warmer than usual weather ahead, wetter in north and east, as La Niña signals strengthen
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Media release – Earth Sciences New Zealand | Seasonal Outlook Climate August to October 2025 suggests warm, damp weather, with La Niña’s possible return.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Wilding pines threaten Molesworth Station
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Without increased support, the unchecked spread of wilding pines will continue to creep across Marlborough’s high country – putting iconic landscapes and one of New Zealand’s top five biodiversity hotspots at serious risk, according to an expert.
Bill to restart oil and gas exploration clears final hurdle
Fri 1 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s Crown Minerals Amendment Bill is set to become law after passing its third reading in parliament last night, with critics calling it humiliating for the climate minister and an embarrassment to New Zealand's international reputation.
A modest geothermal strategy
Thu 31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
European Central Bank to consider 'climate factor' when lending to banks
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The European Central Bank will add climate change considerations to its lending operations from late 2026, raising pressure on banks to channel financing towards greener sectors as the euro zone seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
Tue 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.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
Wed 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.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
Thu 31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
Thu 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.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Toxic algae are turning South Australia’s coral reefs into underwater graveyards
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia’s coastline.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
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.
Tilting at windmills? Trump’s claims about turbines fact-checked
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The US president has taken a swipe at wind power as the blades visible from his Turnberry golf course turn.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
