Topics tagged with 'Energy'
The truth about climate change making you rich
4 Dec 2009
By Jeff Siegel - Last week, Ed Begley Jr was invited to discuss global warming on Fox News with Stuart Varney.
Meridian to appeal Project Hayes decision
4 Dec 2009
Meridian Energy will appeal the Environment Court’s refusal of resource consent for the Project Hayes wind farm, saying it will block nationally-important infrastructure projects if left to stand.
Be warned: ETS is here and businesses must comply
27 Nov 2009
Chief financial officers and boards must come to terms with the emissions trading scheme now or risk exposing their businesses to significant risk, a senior adviser is warning.
Chinese premier, too, taking cuts promise to Denmark
27 Nov 2009
China says it will trim its "carbon intensity" 40 to 45 per cent by the year 2020 as compared to 2005 levels.
US and India pledge common action on climate change
27 Nov 2009
The United States and India have pledged common action to fight climate change and to build a new global clean energy economy.
California takes step to limit emissions
27 Nov 2009
California has taken a major step toward creating a broad-based trading system to limit emissions of pollutants blamed for harmful climate change.
Cleantech bigger money-maker than the internet
27 Nov 2009
By Nick Hodge - The billionaire venture capitalist John Doerr says cleantech is the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.
Wood wins at environmental awards
27 Nov 2009
The contribution of the wood processing industry to the Nelson-Tasman region’s sustainability was recognised recently at the Tasman Nelson Environment Awards, with an engineered wood partnership scooping two category awards.
Maori Party: Deal to benefit all
23 Nov 2009
New Zealand's role in global warming and its financial commitments are set to be lowered as a result of the afforestation provision the Maori Party has negotiated with the Government.
Australia, US woo NZ biofuel pioneer
20 Nov 2009
A New Zealand pioneer in making bio-oil from algae is considering quitting the country.
IN THE HOUSE: Maori Party ETS deal
20 Nov 2009
Parliament yesterday discussed the potential impacts of the emissions trading scheme on Maori.
Posh house wins most-sustainable award
20 Nov 2009
A sophisticated inner-city Christchurch home has been named this year’s best sustainable home valued at more than $1 million.
Forum: Taking agriculture forward with the Emissions Trading Scheme
20 Nov 2009
Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith speaks to the Federated Farmers National Council Meeting in Wellington yesterday.
‘Human’ CO2 emissions continue to rise
20 Nov 2009
Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities rose 2 per cent in 2008 to an all-time high of 1.3 tonnes of carbon per capita per year, according to a paper published yesterday.
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.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
Fri 12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt overhaul leaves the door open for coal mining on conservation land
Fri 12 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s sweeping reclassification of thousands of hectares of publicly-owned conservation land has met with sharp criticism, with environmental groups saying the decision leaves vulnerable ecosystems exposed to mining and development.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
Second fire tears through Tongariro National Park
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fire crews have returned to Tongariro National Park this morning as a fast-moving fire that started yesterday threatens unburnt vegetation and nearby communities, just a month after a major blaze scorched 3000 hectares in the same area.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Minister not concerned about potential economic impacts of ruling out offshore mitigation
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts isn’t worried that ruling out using offshore mitigation is effectively reneging from the Paris Agreement with potential to damage New Zealand’s economy and access to export markets.
What are the causes of recent record-high global temperatures?
Fri 12 Dec 2025
The past three years have been exceptionally warm globally.
Is Govt rushing through changes to climate framework to avoid litigation?
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says the Government’s motivation for proposed changes to the country’s climate framework law are unclear: “The only reason I can think of is one grounded in potential litigation risk.”
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
Fri 12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
Wed 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.
Australia has new laws to protect nature. Do they signal an end to native forest logging?
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Reforms to Australia’s nature laws have passed federal parliament. A longstanding exemption that meant federal environment laws did not apply to native logging has finally been removed from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
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.”
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
Ticking time-bomb in Govt’s failure of leadership on climate – Carr
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The coalition Government’s failure to slash emissions is like pulling the pin on a grenade, handing it to a kid, and saying “hold on tight, she’ll be right”, says former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Shell facing first UK legal claim over climate impacts of fossil fuels
Fri 12 Dec 2025
Victims of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a legal claim against oil and gas company Shell in the UK courts, seeking compensation for what they say is the company's role in making the storm more severe.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Media round-up
Fri 12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
Govt rushes to pass climate law changes under urgency
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legislation to amend the Climate Change Response Act was introduced to Parliament on Monday, and the government intends to rush the changes through under urgency in the next two weeks, avoiding the usual public consultation.
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.
High risk of economic losses from Cook Islands nodule extraction and sales – new study
Fri 12 Dec 2025
Media release: Greenpeace | The economic potential of seabed polymetallic nodules in the Cook Islands has been overstated, according to a new independent study commissioned by Greenpeace International.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
2 Dec 2025
NSW police have arrested 141 people who attempted to block the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour during Rising Tide protests, which began on Thursday.
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.
Neighbours fume over plans to axe trees for solar farm
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | Whakatāne District Council has thrown its support behind residents of a country lane distressed about Genesis Energy’s plans to axe their trees.
NZ and US studying "huge unknown" in Antarctic climate science
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Scientists are measuring a huge unknown in climate science: how much heat Antarctica emits into space.
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.
More than $2m up for grabs for low-emissions farming innovation
Wed 10 Dec 2025
The Ag Emissions Centre and AgriZeroNZ yesterday opened their 2026 innovation investment round.
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.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
Tue 9 Dec 2025
Pressure from EU countries, lawmakers and the automotive industry is likely pushing the European Commission to delay the revision of the bloc's ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Australian market operator slashes wind farm predictions amid falling costs for solar and batteries
Thu 11 Dec 2025
The body that runs Australia's biggest power market has scaled back its plans for high-voltage power lines and wind farms to meet the country's green energy targets.
