Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Italy stalling on eve of EU climate change summit
12 Dec 2008
Negotiations have moved forward on a European plan to combat global warming but Italy is not yet prepared to sign on, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says.
NZ could have 100% renewable energy
12 Dec 2008
New Zealand could easily generate all its electricity from renewable sources within 20 years with the right support from government, a leading overseas expert in green energy said yesterday.
ETS review committee announced
9 Dec 2008
The ETS review is shaping as a bun-fight, with Rodney Hide, David Carter and Jeanette Fitzsimons all on the committee that will do the work.
Buck: Forget ETS review, we're nearly out of time
9 Dec 2008
A New Zealander named in Britain as one of the 50 people most able to prevent the continued destruction of the world says that New Zealand doesn’t have the luxury of “forgetting” about climate change while it reviews its legislative direction.
DOC has carbon credits deal for private companies
9 Dec 2008
The Department of Conservation is offering carbon credits to private companies involved in joint-venture forestry-regeneration projects.
Oil price fall poses problem for exploration
9 Dec 2008
The fall this week of Brent Crude to $37 a barrel is a further disincentive to oil exploration at a time when at least one New Zealand producer has been caught without forward price cover.
Like the weather, Poznan climate talks go cool
9 Dec 2008
At the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Bali last year, the sweltering weather was a convenient motif both for global warming and the heat of arguments as negotiators scrambled to produce the Bali roadmap.
Brussels talks will decide EU stance on climate change
9 Dec 2008
French president Nicolas Sarkozy met central and eastern European leaders in Gdansk at the weekend but failed to persuade them to accept crucial elements of the package – notably auctioning permits for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, the Irish Times reported.
Builders can do more to curb carbon, says UN report
9 Dec 2008
Energy use in buildings accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, but the huge potential of the construction sector to combat climate change has not been realised, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Scotland comes up with ‘world leading’ climate bill
9 Dec 2008
A newly published Scottish bill to help to tackle climate change could be a "world leader", environmental groups have claimed.
Australian paper questions role of carbon trading
9 Dec 2008
A discussion paper released in Australia yesterday suggests that carbon trading alone will not be enough to stimulate a significant bioenergy industry in that country.
POZNAN: China, India say Obama is the key
5 Dec 2008
China and India, the developing nations with the highest carbon-dioxide emissions, want US president-elect Barack Obama to demonstrate more commitment in tackling climate change, delegates at United Nations talks in Poland said.
Nader: Why we need a global carbon tax
5 Dec 2008
If President Barack Obama wants to stop the descent toward dangerous global climate change, and avoid the trade anarchy that current approaches to this problem will invite, he should take Al Gore's proposal for a carbon tax and make it global, says veteran American consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
Hawaii signs up for electric car network
5 Dec 2008
Hawaii has become the first US state to confirm it will establish a network of electric car stations to wean the islands off oil.
Aquaflow woos big international players
2 Dec 2008
New Zealand’s biofuel-from-algae pioneer is talking to two major international corporations about investment.
British bulldog snarls Kyoto message Downunder
2 Dec 2008
A strong coded message is being sent from No 10 Downing Street to government heads in New Zealand and Australia: do not deviate from your planned commitments to Kyoto.
Entrepreneurial phase of CDM market over, says report
2 Dec 2008
The recession will put pressure on carbon-reduction projects and governments must make sure that their infrastructure investments are climate-friendly, says a new report released in London overnight.
10,000 turn up for crucial climate talks in Poland
2 Dec 2008
The latest round of United Nations-led negotiations aimed at reaching an ambitious global climate change deal next year began today in Poznan, Poland, drawing more than 10,000 participants from governments, business and industry, environmental groups and research institutions.
UK climate chief cracks down on coal-fired energy
2 Dec 2008
Britain’s chief climate change adviser has come down hard on coal, saying new coal-fired power stations should be built only on the understanding that they would be retro-fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology by the early 2020s.
Germany cuts gas emissions to below Kyoto marks
2 Dec 2008
Germany has cut its greenhouse gas emissions to below levels required under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the government in Berlin has announced on the eve of a crucial climate conference in Poland.
FORUM: Billions in benefits to flow from curing our million sick homes
2 Dec 2008
New Zealand Business Council for Sustainabile Development chief executive Peter Neilson draws on research to back his argument that sick homes are costing us money.
Entries open for energy awards
2 Dec 2008
Entries for this year's the EECA Awards 2009 are now open.
Anxious EMA wants to meet ministers on ETS review
28 Nov 2008
The Employers and Manufacturers' Association is seeking urgent meetings with government ministers to express concern that a review of the emissions trading scheme might include questioning whether human-induced climate change is real.
Act's climate change questions damaging, says professor
28 Nov 2008
Questioning the science of human-induced climate change will damage New Zealand’s ability to promote agricultural interests at the Copenhagen talks and beyond, says a leading scientist.
Govt mum on position for Poznan
28 Nov 2008
Government ministers and officials are tight-lipped the position New Zealand will take at next week’s Poznan talks preparing for next year’s Copenhagen conference on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
Trolley lines could power cars, says Wellington mayor
28 Nov 2008
Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast wants to bury the city's trolley bus overhead powerlines in order to create a dual conduit – one for the buses, the other for the recharging of electric cars.
POZNAN 2: We need a shared vision, says UN chief
28 Nov 2008
The need for a shared vision in long-term world collaboration on climate change will be stressed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the climate change talks in Poznan next week.
Shell signs for Australia’s carbon capture institute
28 Nov 2008
Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s biggest oil company, will become a founding member of Australia’s $A100 million carbon capture and storage institute aimed at speeding low-emissions power output.
‘Green Pope’ switches Vatican on to solar energy
28 Nov 2008
Eco-friendly Pope Benedict will be warmed by solar heating in the Vatican hall where he holds his weekly general audience with the faithful.
FORUM: May our representatives not make us a laughing stock in Poznan
28 Nov 2008
Greenpeace executive director Bunny McDiarmid explains why it matters what happens at the Poznan climate talks next week:
FORUM: How the world will look in 2025
28 Nov 2008
A report by the Atlantic Council, an American non-partisan think tank The international system - as constructed following the Second World War - will be almost unrecognizable by 2025 owing to the rise of emerging powers, a globalising economy, an historic transfer of relative wealth and economic power from West to East, and the growing influence of nonstate actors.
UK moves send a strong signal to NZ exporters to cut carbon
28 Nov 2008
The UK Government's move to reform air passenger duty from two to four distance bands, increasing the cost of flying to New Zealand, is just the start of actions New Zealanders will see from throughout the world in a bid to lower emissions.
Wellington City voters back direct water charges, Hutt in two minds and Porirua opposed
28 Nov 2008
Wellington City residents solidly support paying directly for the water they use and discharge.
Don't panic, emissions expert tells NZUs sellers
25 Nov 2008
There are still opportunities for foresters looking to sell NZUs, says Kensington Swan partner Bryan Gundersen.
Oil companies hail move to look at carbon tax
25 Nov 2008
Oil and gas companies are applauding National's moves to revisit carbon tax and to overhaul the Resource Management Act, and say they are confident of a better working relationship with the new government than with the old one.
FORUM: more wind means more power
25 Nov 2008
Wind Energy Association chief executive Fraser Clark finds positive news in a report on the relationship between wind and water.
British climate change bill shows how it can be done
25 Nov 2008
New Zealand lawmakers might be unable to agree on how to tackle climate change, but an extraordinary show of cross-party unity by their British counterparts is about to make that country the first in the world to have legally binding emissions reductions targets.
Energy-saving scheme targets old industrial motors
25 Nov 2008
An Electricity Commission scheme to replace old motors with energy-efficient ones in a bid to save 20GWh of electricity is about to be expanded to industrial users.
New interest shown in southern oil shale field
25 Nov 2008
A Ministry of Works probe for a cement–extender during the South Island hydro building boom triggered the first concerted drive to exploit the region’s oil shale resources.
Key joins APEC leaders in call to fight climate change
25 Nov 2008
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, whose new government has suspended the country’s emissions trading scheme, is among Asia-Pacific leaders who have collectively called for a comprehensive effort to address climate change through international cooperation.
Top entrepreneurs see climate change as growing strategic concern
25 Nov 2008
Leading entrepreneurs view climate change as a growing strategic concern, according to a survey conducted as part of Ernst & Young's second annual global cleantech insights and trends report.
Governors sign pact to work with Obama – and each other
25 Nov 2008
US state leaders are cheering President-elect Barack Obama's plans to make addressing climate change a national priority - but say they'll continue to move forward on their own.
GLOBE Americas Legislators' Forum on Climate Change
25 Nov 2008
In the midst of the global financial and economic crisis, the Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE), together with the Mexican Congress, is holding a major international forum for lawmakers from the Americas to tackle the twin challenges of global financial and climate crises
Electricity from coal seam gas now on the national grid
25 Nov 2008
New Zealand has a new source of electricity following the connection to the national grid of a 1MW generator driven by coal seam gas from Solid Energy’s pilot field near Huntly in the Waikato.
Hold on to your carbon credits, experts advise
21 Nov 2008
New Zealanders shouldn’t buy or sell carbon credits until the Government’s plans for the emissions trading scheme are clear, says a prominent law firm.
NZ businesses told: Get used to it, carbon rules
21 Nov 2008
New Zealand business will have to account for its carbon – regardless of whether it is through an emissions trading scheme or a carbon tax, says PricewaterhouseCooper partner and sustainability specialist Julia Hoare.
Youthful manager drives Meridian's electric cars project
21 Nov 2008
Youthful and somewhat wary of the limelight, Meridian’s corporate strategy manager K-J Dillon is perhaps an unlikely public face for the company’s electric vehicles programme.
Local company keeps our coal industry clean
21 Nov 2008
The local coal industry earns high marks for efficiency and dust control - and at the heart is a New Zealand-owned engineering firm which designs and manufactures grabs and hoppers.
Report deals blow to wind-and-water power backers
21 Nov 2008
A new report to members of the Major Electricity Users’ Group appears to have dashed the hopes of supporters of the idea of infinitely available sustainable energy through wind and water.
NZOG shows way in Canterbury Basin oil search
21 Nov 2008
NZOG’s lead in the Canterbury Basin permit makes it a pathfinder in the drive by New Zealand companies to hold their exploration and production destiny in their own hands.
More Aucklanders than ever taking climate action
Today 11:00am
Media release: Auckland Council | Aucklanders are embracing climate action in record numbers, with more people getting involved each year and the momentum is building.
Trans-Tasman ministers push climate cooperation amid NZ retreat from climate commitments
Today 11:00am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Last week's 2+2 Climate and Finance Ministers’ Dialogue in Auckland urged deeper trans-Tasman climate cooperation, despite New Zealand’s recent moves to weaken climate policies.
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.
NSW government, energy company under fire after native bird habitat cleared for renewables project
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A New South Wales government-backed renewable energy project has been accused of environmental vandalism after dozens of threatened birds were found in native trees it had cleared.
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.
Carbon market conduct pioneer passes on the baton
Today 11:00am
Media release | The International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance (ICROA), a pioneer in early voluntary carbon market conduct, has announced that it will wind down operations by late 2026.
What Victoria auditor-general's report actually says about so-called 'transition chaos'
Today 11:00am
Mainstream media loves a electricity blackout scare, but in the wake of this week’s report from the Victorian auditor-general on the state of the state’s transition to renewables, the headline hysteria hit new heights.
Carbon auction tipped to be a non-event
Tue 2 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Tomorrow’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction is all but certain to fail, with participants blaming the government for destroying confidence as NZUs continue to change hands on the secondary market at a 40% discount on the $68 auction floor.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
Wed 3 Dec 2025
COMMENT: The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts.
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.
Al Gore's case for optimism
Today 11:00am
This year’s United Nations climate summit in Belém, Brazil had everything: A literal flood, a literal fire, a record-breaking 1,600+ fossil fuel lobbyists, and delegates from oil-producing nations working overtime.
Govt ‘scaremongering’ over co-operation – former climate ambassador
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former top climate diplomat, Kay Harrison, says the Government’s recent comments ruling out buying climate mitigation offshore amount to scaremongering, and the country is missing a chance to give our businesses a boost.
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.
Southland's waters warming faster
Today 11:00am
Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | Waters are warming in Murihiku Southland at higher rates than elsewhere, with implications for fisheries and habitats.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
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.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Media round-up
Fri 5 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Labour’s chronic evasiveness as the Government reneges on climate change; newly released documents reveal the country's new methane target is associated with 'perilous' 2.7C of warming; and New Zealand's 'pitiful' decision on emissions targets comes with costs.
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
Fri 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.
Climate comments ‘outrageous’ – former top climate negotiator
Wed 3 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former climate ambassador, Kay Harrison, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ recent statements that the Government had ruled out buying offshore climate mitigation are “outrageous”.
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
Tue 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.
NZ’s rejection of emission targets fuels risk of international law breach
Today 11:00am
By Karen Scott, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury | The New Zealand government’s decision this week to reject all of the Climate Change Commission’s emission target recommendations was just the latest in a string of policy statements that weaken the country’s action on climate.
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
28 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules, confusion reigns as the climate minister appears unaware of his own announcement, and the fierce battle over mining on Denniston Plateau.
Govt's emissions ‘buffer’ an illusion with all NZ's carbon budgets off track
28 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Dr Christina Hood, head of consultancy Compass Climate, says the Government’s claim that New Zealand has a comfortable emissions “buffer” to absorb higher agricultural pollution is misleading, with projections showing emissions budgets are actually set to be missed in real terms.
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.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
Today 11:00am
Storms in the Southern Ocean influence weather patterns across Australia, New Zealand and the globe.
Govt rejects advice on international aviation and shipping emissions
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has rejected all the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations to strengthen emissions targets.
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
Thu 4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Govt to unveil RMA replacement as summer looms
Today 11:00am
The last session of Parliament for the year begins this week, and the Government is expected to introduce the legislation that will replace the Resource Management Act.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
Tue 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.
Rare win for renewable energy: Trump administration funds geothermal network expansion
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A first-in-the-nation heating and cooling network in Massachusetts is set to double in size.
NZ's ‘missed opportunity’ on aviation and shipping emissions
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s refusal to include international aviation and shipping in New Zealand’s 2050 climate target has been met with disappointment from climate experts, who say the decision undermines accountability for a transport-reliant nation, and misses a critical opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s climate leadership.
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.
Pollution from coal plants was dropping. Then came Trump and AI.
1 Dec 2025
Data centres’ hunger for electricity is prompting some states to keep their coal-burning power plants from closing – while DC relaxes air pollution limits.
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.
Spain announces $1.5 billion package to boost electric vehicle market
Fri 5 Dec 2025
Spain's plan includes 400 million euros in direct subsidies in 2026 for consumers to buy EVs.
Treasury to offer first stab at climate liabilities pre-election
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Treasury will make a first attempt at accounting for Crown liabilities arising from New Zealand’s international climate change commitments in next year’s pre-election economic and fiscal update.
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.
‘The effects are already here’: Northland communities face the realities of a changed climate
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Te Taitokerau Northland is facing more intense storms, rising temperatures and shifting seasons – pressures that are reshaping communities, ecosystems, infrastructure and livelihoods across the region, according to a new case study from the Climate Change Commission.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
