Topics tagged with 'Energy'
GREENS 2: 6000 state houses, planting waterways
15 May 2009
The Green Party’s Green Stimulus Package involves building 6000 new state houses, fencing off and planting rural waterways, initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of homes, schools and businesses, waste reduction schemes, and improved public transport.
GREENS 3: Business leaders welcome package
15 May 2009
The Green Party’s Green Stimulus Package is being welcomed by business and union leaders.
Analysis: Solid Energy reveals its hand
15 May 2009
Solid Energy’s decision to close its Terrace underground mine at Reefton by mid-year points up the way in which the State-owned enterprise intends to focus on the low-hanging fruit of the coal extraction business while diversifying into non-fossil energy generation.
Business leaders pool plans for green economic success
15 May 2009
An economic recovery fuelled by sustainable business will be the focus when some of New Zealand’s most successful and progressive thinkers and business leaders meet in Auckland on May 26.
Australia votes $4.3b for energy-efficient homes
15 May 2009
More than three million Australian households are set to benefit from the largest energy efficiency rollout Australia has seen.
US climate bill targets 15% renewables by 2020
15 May 2009
House of Representatives Democrats crafting legislation to fight climate change will seek to get 15 per cent of United States energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Car makers could get billions from carbon pact
15 May 2009
United States House of Representatives Democrats say the carbon pact agreement they have reached could provide the struggling auto industry with billions of dollars in funding for advanced green vehicles as part of a proposed plan to limit carbon emissions.
Renewables growth transforms global energy picture
15 May 2009
In 2008, for the first time, more renewable energy than conventional power capacity was added in both the European Union and United States, showing a "fundamental transition" of the world's energy markets towards renewable energy, finds a report released yesterday.
Organic fruit growing gets carbon clearance
15 May 2009
Organic fruit growing operations are environmentally sustainable and could trade carbon credits in the future, a Massey University researcher has found.
Forum voices opposition to ETS
15 May 2009
The Sustainable Energy Forum is being seen as a surprise opponent of the emissions trading scheme.
Straterra welcomes tax exemption for oil and gas exploration
15 May 2009
Straterra, the industry group representing New Zealand’s natural resources industries, has welcomed Government plans to extend tax exemption for offshore oil and gas exploration.
Solid Energy in talks with Downer EDI Mining over Stockton
15 May 2009
Solid Energy has selected Downer EDI Mining to negotiate an alliance arrangement to jointly manage and operate Stockton Opencast Mine in Buller from the beginning of October this year.
Coal’s idea for tiny tax and trees given solid debunking
12 May 2009
Business leaders have debunked Solid Energy’s proposal for a small new carbon tax.
Auckland-Wellington for $4.40 in the Green Machine
12 May 2009
The public has to overcome “range anxiety” and convert interest in electric vehicles into owning and using the technology, says electric vehicle enthusiast Pat Boyle.
Sentimental baby-boomers drive up insurance
12 May 2009
Baby-boomers’ desire to live by the beach despite the threatened impact of climate change is pushing up insurance premiums.
Australian carbon market does a disappearing act
12 May 2009
The delay in the Australian Government's proposed emissions trading scheme had an immediate, but virtually unreported, effect on financial markets, says the Australian.
Ethanol test for Obama backing science over politics
12 May 2009
President Barack Obama's commitment to take on climate change and put science over politics is about to be tested as his administration faces a politically sensitive question about the widespread use of ethanol: Does it help or hurt the fight against global warming?
US climate bill unlikely to pass this year, say experts
12 May 2009
United States climate change legislation is unlikely to pass this year due to concerns about the recession and contention over the implementation of the programme, according to energy and carbon market experts.
Japanese ask world: What should we do?
12 May 2009
The nonprofit group Japan for Sustainability is asking people around the world for their comments about the country's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Ford to transform SUV plant for electric Focus
12 May 2009
Ford will invest $US550 million to transform its Michigan SUV assembly plant to build a new battery-electric version of its Focus car for the North American market.
New direction for Electricity Commission
12 May 2009
Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee has released a revised policy direction for the Electricity Commission.
Chauvel: We'll help National fix the mess
12 May 2009
National needs to fix the mess that it has made of climate change policy and Labour is willing to help, Labour Climate Change spokesperson Charles Chauvel says.
Solid Energy pushes new 'tax and plant' emissions strategy
8 May 2009
State coal producer Solid Energy is pushing an alternative policy to the emissions trading scheme which will see the Government raise new taxes and regulations.
No takers for first NZUs offered on Trade Me
8 May 2009
The first auction of NZUs to be listed on the internet auction site Trade Me has closed without a sale.
Aussie officials to visit amid calls to end NZ policy 'chaos'
8 May 2009
Australian officials will brief New Zealand MPs about their new emissions trading plans next week.
NZX looks to regain carbon market ground
8 May 2009
Sources say that the New Zealand Stock Exchange is looking to repossess the alternate exchange ground as well as embarking on a scheme to become an international-grade market maker in carbon .
Australians merge to boost NZ coal gas search
8 May 2009
The private Australian coal seam gas exploration company Chartwell Energy Pty, which is involved in New Zealand exploration, plans a merger with listed Brisbane company Comet Ridge partly in order to boost its activities here.
China looks ready for post-Kyoto climate deal
8 May 2009
China is ready to abandon its resistance to limits on its carbon emissions and wants to reach an international deal to fight global warming, the Guardian newspaper says.
UN must send strong signal, says climate minister
8 May 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon must ensure that a high-level summit slated for September sends a “very clear and strong signal” to negotiators aiming to reach a new climate change deal in Copenhagen this December, a top Danish official said yesterday.
Maldives joins NZ in climate neutral pact
8 May 2009
The Republic of Maldives, one of the countries most affected by climate change, has joined New Zealand and five other countries as a member of the Climate Neutral Network led by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Solid Energy on trail of carbon accounting
5 May 2009
State-owned coal miner Solid Energy says it is well on the way to tracking carbon in its operations, but can’t say yet how the emissions trading scheme will affect the price of coal next year.
Rudd delays emissions trading till 2011
5 May 2009
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday announced that his government would delay by one year the introduction of its emissions trading scheme.
China looking at carbon tax proposals
5 May 2009
Chinese researchers will soon issue preliminary proposals for a carbon tax that may one day become part of the government's efforts to tame growing greenhouse gas emissions.
Giant solar power tower begins generating
5 May 2009
The world's largest solar power tower has started generating near Seville, Spain.
ETS should be suspended, says coalition
5 May 2009
Greenhouse Policy Coalition executive director Catherine Beard, representing the energy-intensive sector on climate change issues, is calling on the select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme to suspend the introduction of the industrial sector into the scheme until such time as the "flawed legislation has been properly reviewed and fixed".
Business leaders: emissions trading policy delays causing major investment blight
5 May 2009
Business leaders told the Parliamentary select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme yesterday that indecision is stalling hundreds of millions in investments in sectors which will both benefit from or fear having a price of carbon.
NZ can lead world in renewable energy, says expert
5 May 2009
An internationally renowned energy expert believes New Zealand could generate all its electricity from renewable sources within 20 years.
Fonterra wants intensity approach to ETS
5 May 2009
Dairy production in New Zealand may be reduced by five per cent, costing the New Zealand economy $650 million annually and allowing other countries to fill the gap in global supply risking further global emissions growth, unless the existing Emissions Trading Scheme is altered, says Fonterra.
ETS certainty vital, says wind energy chief
1 May 2009
Certainty over the emissions trading scheme is vital to encouraging investment in new wind-energy projects, says the Wind Energy Associaton.
Australian powerco in landmark carbon deal
1 May 2009
The owner of a coal power station yesterday began to deal with the major costs it will face under an emissions trading scheme by signing the first firm carbon trading deal between two Australian parties.
US officials express hope for climate talks
1 May 2009
Senior Obama administration officials believe a Washington meeting on climate change this week has improved chances for a new international treaty to tackle global warming.
Minister concerned over Cook Strait cable failure
1 May 2009
Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee is concerned over the failure of the Cook Strait power cable this week.
Minister delays release of ETS risk report
28 Apr 2009
A new report into the economic risks of the emissions trading scheme has not yet been made public amid concerns that it does not adequately cover the potential benefits.
Forest focus wrong, institute tells ETS hearing
28 Apr 2009
New Zealand should focus on the role that forests play in mitigation of climate change - and not just on forestry emissions, says the Institute of Forestry.
ETS will close mills, warn wood processors
28 Apr 2009
The emissions trading scheme will force mill closures and have a catastrophic impact on rural communities, says the Wood Processors' Association.
Democrats drag feet as US opens major climate talks
28 Apr 2009
The Obama administration will try its hand today at finding a consensus among 17 leading economies on climate change as the US State Department sponsors the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Washington.
Britain advances carbon-capture plans
28 Apr 2009
Steps to capture and bury greenhouse gas emissions appear to have taken an important step forward in Britain, where the government wants to make the construction of large new power plants contingent on fitting the technology.
MainPower appeals Mt Cass wind farm decision
28 Apr 2009
MainPower has appealed to the Environment Court over its proposed Mt Cass Wind Farm.
Waikato student off to Asia-Pacific eco forum
28 Apr 2009
Management and science isn’t the most typical mix of subjects for a university degree, but for University of Waikato student Rebecca Williamson it’s opened the way to a place at a top youth forum on sustainable development.
Genesis buying credits, but quiet on NZUs deal
24 Apr 2009
New Zealand’s largest thermal electricity generator has made forays into the carbon market – but won’t say if it was the purchaser involved in the first sale of New Zealand Units.
Fifty years of observations, no reversal of glacier climate damage
31 Mar 2026
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Fifty years on from the first aerial survey of our Southern Alps glaciers, late snow and variable summer weather delivered a temporary reprieve from rapid ice loss, says Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Climate experts say spring is coming earlier. How will that affect agriculture and ecosystems?
Tue 7 Apr 2026
An earlier spring affects when migratory birds arrive, leaves emerge, and fruit ripens — among plants and animals that determine ecosystem health.
$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.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
Environmental groups launch legal action over Govt's 'tick-box approach' to conservation land
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society are taking the Government to court over decisions about the future of publicly-owned land on Te Tai Poutini/the West Coast.
New alliance wants renewable-led energy – and Govt to press pause on LNG
Thu 9 Apr 2026
A newly formed coalition of business, consumer and energy organisations has unveiled a renewable-led strategy it says will strengthen the country’s energy security, and it’s calling on the Government to pause its plan for an LNG import terminal.
Supply-side pressures and political uncertainty ahead for carbon market
Tue 7 Apr 2026
By Kristen Green | ANALYSIS: With failed auctions, a surge of new forestry registrations, and an election a few months away, the NZ ETS in 2026 will be subject to a mix of supply-side pressures and political uncertainty.
Solar energy, cheap battery storage can meet 90% of India’s power demand at affordable costs: Ember report
Thu 9 Apr 2026
Battery storage is now cheap enough in India that solar power can meet 90% of the country’s power demand at lower lifetime costs than current average purchase rates in most states, a new study has found, a finding that could potentially point to a future buffer against global energy shocks.
Economic contraction will impact carbon market
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | While higher fossil fuel prices strengthen the long-run economics of decarbonisation, the current fuel crisis won’t inspire near-term confidence in the carbon market, according to Lizzie Chambers of Carbon Match.
Genesis fires up pellet study with Nature’s Flame
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Genesis Energy is extending its quest for locally produced torrefied wood pellets to supplement coal and gas to fuel its Huntly power station, announcing it is investigating plant construction with established local solid fuels player Nature’s Flame.
Death toll in Afghanistan flooding increases to 28, authorities say
1 Apr 2026
Afghan authorities said Monday that the death toll from severe weather that has struck swathes of the country over the past four days has increased to 28, with 49 people injured. Dozens of people have died from extreme weather in the country so far this year.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
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.
Severe tropical cyclones Maila And Vaianu threaten communities in Solomon Islands, PNG and Fiji
Wed 8 Apr 2026
Media release: 350.org |Two Category 3 Tropical Cyclones are currently moving through the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, while experts watch a third system potentially developing in the North Pacific.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Renewable build-out runs into grid and firming limits
Wed 8 Apr 2026
New Zealand's electricity market entered 2026 with renewable generation at record levels and a substantial build pipeline finally moving from paper to construction. The harder question is whether the wider system can absorb and firm that capacity fast enough.
A matter of strategy
Tue 7 Apr 2026
COMMENT: Even on the brink of a global commodities crisis, the possibilities for climate action aren't hopelessly foreclosed. Strategy can turn our fortunes around, writes David Hall.
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.”
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New international protections for migratory species, including several found in New Zealand, are a positive step – but global protections won’t halt the decline of migratory species on their own, experts say.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
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.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
EA entrenches 10kW export limit for residential solar
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The Electricity Authority intends to require all electricity networks to offer at least a 10 kilowatt (kW) export capacity for residential rooftop and other small-scale distributed generation.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Free fares call as fuel crisis impacts school attendance
Wed 8 Apr 2026
An open letter is urging the Government to make public transport free for all school children and subsidised for students under 25, as rising fuel costs begin to impact attendance and access to education across the country.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
2 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists | The Prioritisation Report released yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system.
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.
AI’s arrival complicates Big Tech climate goals, and some worry it’s locking in more fossil fuels
2 Apr 2026
Six years ago, Google was confident that by 2030 it would power all operations with electricity generated from clean sources, including wind and solar power, and remove as much pollution as it produced. Today it calls those goals a “moonshot.” Microsoft says it’s still aiming to remove more carbon than it creates by 2030 but now describes the effort as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
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.
Fuel crisis powers surge in EV interest in Asia-Pacific region
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Motorists across the Asia-Pacific region are switching to electric vehicles at a rapid pace, as rising fuel costs due to the Middle East war force consumers and companies to reconsider their reliance on petrol and diesel vehicles.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
1 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Fast-track approved project could deliver NZ’s largest wind farm
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Government |Fast-track approval has been granted for New Zealand’s largest wind farm project.
