Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Government uncertainty over ETS must end, say Greens
9 Apr 2009
Business leaders and the public favour prompt Emissions Trading Scheme action to doing nothing by a margin of 2:1, according to a survey by the Business Council for Sustainable Development, says the Green Party.
Labour: We're ready to start work on joint ETS
7 Apr 2009
Work on a joint National/Labour emissions trading scheme could start as early as this week, says Labour climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel.
Commissioners knock back wind farms
7 Apr 2009
Contact Energy says it might appeal over the rejection of its plans for a 65-turbine wind farm southeast of Dannevirke.
'Polar bear' ministry cuts expected today
7 Apr 2009
The Green Party expects the Government's 'polar bear hunt' to close in for the kill at the Ministry for the Environment today, culling initiatives that have saved the taxpayer money.
Europe, US vow to cooperate in fighting climate change
7 Apr 2009
The European Union and the United States pledged at the Bonn summit to cooperate more in fighting climate change.
Happiness is not a Hummer
7 Apr 2009
Royal Dutch Shell chief Jeroen van der Veer remembers his happy student days driving a famously fuel-miserly Citroen 2CV and believes today’s drivers should fight climate change by using more efficient vehicles.
Aussies snap up solar hot water rebate
7 Apr 2009
Sales of solar hot water systems have soared since the Australian Government boosted its solar hot water rebate to $1600 in February.
Reining in energy use in Christchurch
7 Apr 2009
Christchurch City's energy use is around 11 per cent of its $15 billion GDP, 29 per cent of its $5.5 billion total household income and increases at a rate of two percent per annum, the city council says.
Dunne: With Labour, we'll reach ETS agreement
3 Apr 2009
The chairman of the emissions trading scheme review committee is predicting that Labour and National will reach agreement over a scheme which will have some degree of harmonisation with Australia.
US cap-and-trade bill may pose problems for NZ large emitters
3 Apr 2009
The latest cap-and-trade bill introduced in Congress offers the United States’ large emitters less transitional assistance than their New Zealand counterparts.
Blame transport, not animals, says energy expert
3 Apr 2009
World Bank and World Watch Institute renewables expert Dr Eric Martinot says that inefficient transport, not animals, is New Zealand’s major emissions problem.
Togetherness key to our bioenergy success
3 Apr 2009
Unity is a key point of difference for New Zealand’s bioenergy industry
Carbon emissions trading core of US clean energy bill
3 Apr 2009
Congressional Democrats this week released clean energy legislation that establishes a market-based cap-and-trade programme for reducing global warming pollution from electric utilities, oil companies, and factories that together are responsible for 85 per cent of US greenhouse gas emissions.
Europe’s carbon trading scheme is working … just
3 Apr 2009
Europe’s controversial trading system to cut carbon emissions is showing faint signs of working, according to analysis of preliminary figures released by the European Commission.
Underground water can store CO2, study shows
3 Apr 2009
Water deep below ground has safely trapped carbon dioxide for millions of years and may one day help to absorb emissions of the greenhouse gas to slow climate change, researchers believe.
Ministerial review of electricity market
3 Apr 2009
The Energy and Resources Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says a Ministerial review of the electricity sector will start work immediately.
No hurry on methane emissions, says Groser
31 Mar 2009
Trade and Associate Climate Change Minister Tim Groser says that with no technology available to counter agricultural methane emissions, New Zealand will not push the case just for a 'first' on emissions trading.
Meridian tests Kaipara potential for wind power
31 Mar 2009
Meridian Energy is assessing the wind generation potential of a site at Pouto in the Kaipara Harbour.
Wellington eyes hydro plant at Wainuiomata
31 Mar 2009
The Greater Wellington Regional Council is evaluating a scheme to install a hydro-generator plant at its Wainuiomata water treatment plant.
UN climate plan talks of new world order
31 Mar 2009
A United Nations document on climate change that will be distributed to a major environmental meeting next week envisions a huge reordering of the world economy.
We’re glad to be back, US tells Bonn summit
31 Mar 2009
The United States won sustained applause at the opening of the Bonn summit when President Barack Obama's envoy pledged to "make up for lost time" in reaching a global agreement on climate change.
Obama invites big emitters to Washington forum
31 Mar 2009
The United States will host a meeting of major economies late next month to lay the diplomatic foundation for an international agreement on climate change and energy later in the year, the White House said.
Energy leader backs cross-party action on ETS
27 Mar 2009
The prospect of cross-party support for an emissions trading scheme is being welcomed by energy infrastructure company Vector.
Solid Energy wants action on southern lignite
27 Mar 2009
Solid Energy is keeping close tabs on legislators seeking an excuse to leave Southland’s rich lignite resources untapped.
Blue Mountain finds the BOOT fits
27 Mar 2009
Blue Mountain Lumber is proving that energy investment can be made in isolation from long-term considerations of risk surrounding the original use.
Obama might delay signing up to Copenhagen deal
27 Mar 2009
US President Barack Obama might be forced to delay signing up to a new international agreement on climate change in Copenhagen at the end of the year because of the scale of opposition in the Congress, the Guardian reported yesterday.
Energy leader calls for carbon tax solution
24 Mar 2009
New Zealand’s largest domestically owned and operated energy company is calling for the government to postpone the emissions trading scheme and reconsider a carbon tax.
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.
Biofuels and e-car experts in capital talks
24 Mar 2009
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee will open EECA’s fifth biofuels and electric vehicles conference in Wellington this morning, kicking off a programme strong on international perspectives.
Coal turned to gold for British millionaire
24 Mar 2009
British millionaire Sir Robert Ogden’s ocean going yacht La Masquerade, which has been cruising New Zealand waters in recent weeks, is testimony to the great fortunes that can be made from coal.
Obama invests $2b in plug-in hybrids
24 Mar 2009
To produce the next generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run, President Barack Obama has announced $2.4 billion in economic stimulus funding.
Honda tackles Prius in US after wowing Japan
24 Mar 2009
The road will get a little more crowded for the Toyota Prius today when Honda offers American consumers what it bills as “the world’s first affordable hybrid.”
Use e-car power, says new US energy chief
24 Mar 2009
US President Barack Obama has named Jon Wellinghoff, a lawyer who believes that electric-car owners could someday get paid to provide backup battery power to the electricity grid, as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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.
Brownlee facts spur power station protesters
20 Mar 2009
Energy statistics for the last quarter of 2008 are being used to add weight to the calls for Genesis Energy to abandon its proposed power station in Kaukapakapa.
Wood-pellet industry resents officials’ disinterest
20 Mar 2009
The wood burner industry is annoyed that it continues to receive less-than-enthusiastic support from government sustainable agencies, including EECA.
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.
Backlash as Shell cuts renewables business
20 Mar 2009
Royal Dutch Shell has provoked a furious backlash from campaigners by announcing plans to scale back its renewable energy business and focus purely on oil, gas and biofuels.
China rejects US carbon-based import tariff idea
20 Mar 2009
China's top climate change official has rejected as protectionist a United States idea to put tariffs on some imports from countries that do not place a price on carbon, chiding the Americans to do more to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
World Bank appeals for water investment
20 Mar 2009
The global economic crisis threatens to shrink investment in water infrastructure, an already underfunded sector vital to growth and public health, the World Bank says.
World leaders to be given green new deal facts
20 Mar 2009
Investing 1 per cent of global GDP, or around $750 billion, into five key sectors could be the key to a Global Green New Deal.
Meridian and NZ Antarctic Institute sign MOU
20 Mar 2009
Antarctica New Zealand and Meridian Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding setting out how the two organisations will work together to achieve their mutual aims of long-term environmental viability in Antarctica.
Five leading New Zealand minds for Eco-Minds
20 Mar 2009
Five leading university students have been selected to represent New Zealand at the prestigious Asia-Pacific regional Eco-Minds sustainable development forum, being hosted by The University of Auckland on May 25 – 29 in Auckland and Rotorua.
Labour calls for Government investment in jobs and warm homes for Dunedin
20 Mar 2009
Dunedin South Labour MP Clare Curran has called for the National Government to urgently invest in a comprehensive programme to create hundreds of jobs and make Dunedin’s 40,000 cold houses warm and dry.
Solid Energy says it continues improvement in environmental performance
20 Mar 2009
A 3.2 per cent reduction in its environmental impact and substantial progress in improving the quality of the water at Stockton opencast mine in Buller are the main achievements highlighted in Solid Energy’s 2008 environmental report, released yesterday.
World gets interested in our forestry NZUs
17 Mar 2009
International interest is growing in New Zealand forestry units.
Capital acts to reduce carbon footprint
17 Mar 2009
Greater Wellington's Regional Sustainability Committee has implemented what it describes as a new regional greenhouse gas emissions inventory - a plan to reduce the region's overall carbon footprint.
Escape to New Zealand, Americans told
17 Mar 2009
The Washington Post has cited New Zealand as the destination of choice for those seeking to escape what it describes as the “fear of looming environmental disaster.”
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.
Govt unveils National Adaptation Framework
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts has revealed the first actions under New Zealand’s National Adaptation Framework, which sets out the Government's approach to the rising risks from natural hazards such as floods and storms.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
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.
NZ not 'holding the line' on wilding pine management – experts
Wed 15 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is no longer “holding the line” against invasive threats, with the country’s scale, remoteness and rugged terrain making control costly and complex, one expert has said ahead of this week's Wilding Pines Conference.
Researchers say sealing old oil wells with bio-oil from crop waste is a dual carbon-removal solution
19 Sep 2025
A new analysis shows that oil made from corn husks, wood chips, and other waste could plug greenhouse gas-belching abandoned oil wells while sequestering carbon for about $152 per ton.
Broker predicts all this year’s carbon auctions will fail
10 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Marex New Zealand is forecasting that the government will sell no ‘pollution permits’ at the NZU auctions this year, with a significant gap continuing between secondary market prices and this year’s $68 auction floor price.
UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather.
Will govt’s light touch approach lead to higher carbon prices?
3 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Carbon market watchers are hoping the government’s plan for the electricity sector will eventually lead to higher carbon prices, with the secondary market still trading sideways for the longest time in its history.
Electricity to remain in ETS
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
19 Sep 2025
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Difficult trade-offs ahead for climate adaptation
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While climate impacts are already here, bringing the urgent need to accelerate effective adaptation now, the Government's newly minted adaptation framework still leaves important questions unanswered about who will pay.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
World falling far behind deforestation goals with farms and fires driving loss, report says
Wed 15 Oct 2025
The report said the world permanently lost 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest, an area about the size of England, in 2024 alone.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
Climate investment is only growth opportunity of 21st century, says leading economist
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Investment in climate action is the economic growth story of the 21st century, while growth fuelled by fossil fuels is futile because the damage it causes ends in self-destruction, the economist Nicholas Stern has said.
Where’s Watts? Climate Minister no-show at climate conference
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Opposition parties have slammed the Climate Change Minister’s failure to front up to a major international conference in Christchurch, saying it shows that climate adaptation is a low priority for the National Party.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Study warns climate leadership falling short in NZ
1 Oct 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Research suggests New Zealand’s climate leadership is falling short, with current adaptation efforts focused on property and cost-cutting rather than protecting communities.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
Deep sea mining threatens sharks, rays and ghost sharks
6 Oct 2025
Mining the world’s deep seas for metals will likely threaten many species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (ghost sharks), according to researchers.
Govt promises ‘earlier action’ in response to Commission’s warning climate targets at risk
Fri 17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government says it will “explore opportunities for earlier action” ahead of the third Emissions Reduction Plan, and has committed to looking at ways to stop the system of free carbon credits for industrial polluters from disincentivising industrial decarbonisation.
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.
‘Weird and sad’ – Tuvalu Climate Minister condemns NZ halving methane target
Wed 15 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Dr Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment, says he’s surprised at New Zealand’s decision to weaken its target for reducing methane emissions – and is planning to take up the issue with his counterpart Climate Minister Simon Watts this week.
NZ’s biggest ever climate meeting kicks off
Tue 14 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The world's largest climate adaptation conference kicked off in Christchurch yesterday, with nearly 2000 attendees expected, making it potentially the biggest international climate meeting Aotearoa New Zealand will ever host.
Bottom trawling a triple threat to marine environments - new report
9 Oct 2025
Media release | Greenpeace is calling for urgent action to restrict bottom trawling after a new government report highlights the compounding effects this destructive fishing method has on climate change, habitat degradation and biodiversity loss.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Councils need funding tools to address climate challenges – LGNZ
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Media release | Local Government New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s new National Adaptation Framework, while cautioning that councils will struggle to meet its new expectations without additional funding tools.
Students repeat request for Victoria University to divest from fossil fuel investments
24 Sep 2025
Media release | A group of students campaigning for climate action at Victoria University of Wellington have dropped a banner protesting against the university’s lack of action on its 2014 commitment to divest from fossil fuels.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Record global renewable energy growth remains short of climate target, report says
Thu 16 Oct 2025
A new report finds that a record amount of global renewable energy capacity was added last year, but that still leaves countries “short of targets towards meeting a UN climate goal to triple capacity by 2030”.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
For Australia to get moving on electric vehicles, we must ban petrol and diesel cars by 2035
Fri 17 Oct 2025
COMMENT: If nothing is done, transport is projected to be Australia’s largest emissions source by 2030.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Farmers face heightened solvency risks as climate changes: research
10 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Increasingly volatile weather patterns, higher insurance costs driven by climate change risk and global financial volatility represent risks to New Zealand farmers’ capacity to service debt and remain solvent, according to new research by Christchurch-based research firm Kōmanawa Solutions.
‘Con,’ ‘scam,’ ‘hoax’: Trump’s UN speech on climate
24 Sep 2025
The president used a large chunk of his hour-long speech to world leaders to condemn climate science and clean energy policies.
Trump administration moves to revoke permit for Massachusetts offshore wind project
24 Sep 2025
The Trump administration has moved to block a Massachusetts offshore wind farm, its latest effort to hobble an industry and technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.
