Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Questions over SOE-funding of ETS reports
1 Jul 2008
Three State-owned enterprises are in the political spotlight for funding reports being used on either side of the lobby campaign on the Government’s emissions trading scheme.
OPINION: CTU economist Peter Conway on the ETS
1 Jul 2008
Some business lobby groups are in full scale attack mode on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill since the National Party withdrew its support for the Bill.
New chief for ETS' administration ministry
1 Jul 2008
The lead ministry in managing the proposed emissions trading system has a new chief executive.
Australia embarks on greenhouse gas reporting system
1 Jul 2008
Australian businesses emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases from today will be required to monitor and measure the emissions ahead of reporting them to the government by October 2009.
UN chief uses Kyoto to call for new climate change agreement by end of 2009
1 Jul 2008
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that the world must galvanise its will and reach a new agreement on measures to fight climate change by the end of 2009.
Stern claims cost of curbing climate change has doubled
1 Jul 2008
Lord Stern has warned that the cost of avoiding dangerous levels of global warming has doubled since he published his influential report on the economics of climate change in late 2006.
India’s climate change policy unlikely to deliver much
1 Jul 2008
The much-awaited climate change policy, set to be announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today may fall short of expectations.
Australia’s west votes $6m to fight greenhouse gases
1 Jul 2008
The Western Australia State Government will inject $6 million to develop more innovative energy technologies to help to reduce greenhouse gas emission.
National: Power users may face extra bill of $165 million
1 Jul 2008
Labour is being forced to consider a plan that will load an extra bill of $165 million onto power bills, even before the Emissions Trading Scheme kicks in, says National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee.
Send ETS back to select committee, says Roy
1 Jul 2008
ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader Heather Roy today put her support behind those businesses and individuals pressuring the Government to put the brakes on the Emissions Trading Scheme - a major piece of legislation with wide-ranging effects that should not be rammed through before the election.
Lake Hawea level cause for real worry - Brownlie
1 Jul 2008
The state of Lake Hawea reported in weekend media shows the country is still facing a serious hydro-power shortage this winter, says National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee.
Fonterra hits 15-per-cent energy reduction target
1 Jul 2008
Fonterra has achieved its second major energy efficiency milestone in five years, cutting the amount of energy used to manufacture its products by 15 percent since the 2002/03 season, it says.
Contact Energy drops Environment Court appeal against Meridian wind farm
27 Jun 2008
Contact Energy has dropped its Environment Court appeal against Meridian’s Project Hayes wind farm, saying that the issues that prompted its appeal have already been well canvassed during the Trustpower Mahinerangi consent hearings.
US dairy industry commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
27 Jun 2008
United States dairy leaders yesterday announced an industry-wide commitment and action plan to reduce fluid milk's carbon footprint while increasing business value from farm to consumer.
Tokyo bourse carbon-permit trade hinges on Japan plan
27 Jun 2008
The introduction of carbon permits trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange will hinge on a government plan for compulsory emission curbs, Atsushi Saito, the president of the world's second-largest bourse, said yesterday.
Organic cow manure set to power Welsh village
27 Jun 2008
A village in Wales could soon be powered by cow's manure with the commencement of work at a local farm.
Freight rail seen as way to reduce greenhouse gases
27 Jun 2008
The United States would save billions of gallons of fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by millions of tonnes if freight was shifted from highways to rail, a Senate panel has been told.
ETS bonus: $12b and 10,000 jobs, says report by big business
24 Jun 2008
Passing the emissions trading scheme into law will generate $12.3 billion in investment and nearly 10,000 jobs in the next 10 years, but delaying it could cost 20,000 jobs – mainly in tourism and agriculture, says a report out this afternoon.
New investment, new jobs, new wages, new income
24 Jun 2008
The NZBCSB report into the economic ramifications of passing the ETS before the election says that it will:
Who did the work and who paid?
24 Jun 2008
Two of our major State-owned electricity generators paid for the Business Council for the just-released Sustainable Development report on the ETS.
NZ biodiesel market big enough for everyone, says Solid Energy
24 Jun 2008
Biodiesel produced from a variety of sources has every opportunity to find a market in New Zealand, says Andy Matheson, Solid Energy’s general manager for renewable energy.
Palmerston North sells landfill credits to Toyota
24 Jun 2008
The Palmerston North City Council’s sale of 4500 carbon credits from its Awapuni landfill to Toyota New Zealand follows an earlier and pioneering sale of carbon credits to the Austrian Government two years ago.
Business bosses deliver climate change plan to G8 leaders
24 Jun 2008
Detailed climate change recommendations to the Group of Eight leaders, backed by an influential group of CEOs from many of the world's largest companies, have been delivered to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who will host the G8's annual summit next month in Hokkaido.
Poll shock: Most Britons doubt cause of climate change
24 Jun 2008
Climate change campaigners are shocked by the results of a poll which shows that the majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans.
Electric cars to play big part in UK renewable energy plans
24 Jun 2008
Electric cars could play a major role in the shift to environmentally friendly transport in Britain, the government will reveal this week
Sustainable biofuels likely to reduce fuel prices - Minister
24 Jun 2008
The introduction of a biofuels sales obligation will help New Zealand move away from our dependence on imported oil and is most likely to lessen, not increase, the cost of transport fuel, Energy Minister David Parker says.
Bright sparks dream up light bulb ban
24 Jun 2008
"The Government's big stick plan to ban conventional light bulbs is something that only the bright sparks in Labour would dream up at this time," says National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee, in a statement.
Genesis starts $100 million entry into carbon market
20 Jun 2008
Electricity giant Genesis Energy will need to surrender $100 million in carbon credits to the Government in 2011 - and executives leave for Europe today on a mission to start buying them.
Little hope for RMA amendment as it returns to House
20 Jun 2008
A draft law requiring local authorities to consider the greenhouse-gas emissions of new developments as part of Resource Management Act consents is back before Parliament, but seems unlikely to have the numbers.
Solid energy assessing coal-to-transport fuel scheme
20 Jun 2008
Solid Energy is in the assessment phase of a scheme to convert lignite into premium transport fuels.
Unions: Time for business to be constructive on ETS
20 Jun 2008
The unions say the emissions trading debate now needs to focus on the impact of those on low incomes.
Major new climate change package adopted in Germany
20 Jun 2008
The German government has passed the second part of an ambitious package aiming at cutting the country's CO2 emissions by 40 per cent relative to 1990 levels by 2020.
Licensed to drill - Bush, McCain want to lift offshore oil ban
20 Jun 2008
President George W. Bush has called on Congress to expand domestic oil production to lower record high oil and gas prices by lifting a ban on oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf that has been in place since 1981.
Climate change benefactors are nation's top high-tech exporters
20 Jun 2008
The proprietor of New Zealand’s little-known but most-advanced technology manufacturer is also one of this country’s leading philanthropists in the field of climate change research.
Lights out - Japan acts to cut hours of convenience stores
20 Jun 2008
Japan's 24-hour convenience stores, already struggling with lagging sales and growth, may soon face yet another threat -- moves to limit business hours and close the stores late at night.
Deere commits to further greenhouse gases cuts
20 Jun 2008
Agriculture equipment giant John Deere plans to further reduce its total global greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent per dollar of revenue from 2005 to 2014.
Battery puzzler as plug-in hybrids join the car race
20 Jun 2008
The latest potential alternative to the traditional gasoline engine touted for the auto industry—plug-in hybrids and their lithium-ion batteries—may not change what most people drive anytime soon, says the Chicago Tribune.
Banning ‘old’ light bulbs could leave homeowners in the dark
20 Jun 2008
A Kiwi lighting engineer says the Government’s move to ban old style incandescent light bulbs in favour of new energy efficient lighting could leave Kiwi homes owners in the dark.
Heavy emitters: ETS bill changes not sufficient
18 Jun 2008
The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill has not been changed sufficiently to allay concerns that industry will struggle to stay profitable in New Zealand, according to the Greenhouse Policy Coalition, which represents large industry across a range of sectors.
Lights out for the incandescent bulb
18 Jun 2008
The traditional incandescent light bulb is on its way out, as part of a strategy for more energy efficient lighting announced today by Energy Minister David Parker and Government Spokesperson on Energy Efficiency and Conservation Jeanette Fitzsimons.
It’s official – China takes over from the US as the world’s worst polluter
17 Jun 2008
China, New Zealand’s newest and potentially largest international trading partner, has taken over from the United States as the world’s worst carbon dioxide polluter, a new study shows.
Toshiba doubles target in bid to slash carbon dioxide emissions
17 Jun 2008
Toshiba, Japan's largest supplier of reactors, doubled planned cuts to its carbon dioxide emissions over the next 17 years by promoting the use of nuclear energy and lights which consume less energy.
ETS back in Parliament
16 Jun 2008
The emissions trading scheme is back before Parliament, with new proposals to widen the allocation of free credits and to allow lower-emitters into the scheme.
National's full minitory report on ETS bill
16 Jun 2008
National has released its miniority report on the ETS bill.
Business Council: Changes soften way for ETS, reach limit of public acceptance
16 Jun 2008
Recommended changes to the emissions trading bill as reported back will protect New Zealand industry from any unfair offshore competition and probably push assistance to major emitters to the limit of public acceptance
Overall, the market feels well bid
16 Jun 2008
A mixed bag on the energy markets saw carbon weaken slightly ahead of the weekend.
Big-spending business votes to buy green, says country can't risk going slow on climate change
13 Jun 2008
New Zealand can't afford to run the strategic risks involved in delaying climate change management - "simply to placate those who must adjust most, or resist adjustment”, business people in Auckland were told yesterday.
Backroom deal guts agricultural targets: Greens
13 Jun 2008
A backroom deal between the Government and the agriculture sector has gutted the industry's voluntary emissions targets and directly contradicts Government policy, according to Green Party Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons.
Companies reporting sustainability data enjoy higher gross margins
13 Jun 2008
Companies that report sustainability data generally experience higher gross margins and return on sales, higher return on assets, and stronger cash flow and rising shareholder return.
Kiwis cut power use 2%, advertisements and rain now due
13 Jun 2008
The Winter Power Group advised today that television advertisements encouraging consumers to become ‘powersavers’ will begin this Sunday 15 June.
‘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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
Tairāwhiti unveils $359m plan to cut storm damage and stabilise erosion-prone land
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Gisborne District Council has released a 30-year transition plan to protect Tairāwhiti from escalating climate-driven erosion and storm damage, outlining a $359 million proposal for Crown co-investment to stabilise 100,000 hectares of vulnerable land and slash the region’s long-term clean-up costs.
Open letter urges govt to abandon plans to subsidise LNG terminal
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Climate and renewable energy advocates have joined forces calling on the Government to ditch its plan to subsidise an LNG import terminal.
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.”
Westpac rolls out interest-free finance for climate-proofing homes as weather risks rise
Wed 3 Dec 2025
Westpac NZ has unveiled a new interest-free lending package aimed at helping households strengthen their properties against flooding and extreme weather, as climate risks intensify across the country.
Govt’s rejection of CCC’s advice on climate targets undermines independent watchdog’s role, says opposition
21 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s latest dismissal of Climate Change Commission advice shows they have their heads in the sand about the reality of meeting climate targets, according to the Labour Party, while the Greens say Government decisions were an embarrassment on the world stage at COP30 this week.
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.
Amy Westervelt: It’s time we stopped treating corporations as people
Thu 4 Dec 2025
COMMENT: Treating corporations as people and granting them First Amendment rights has warped US politics and harmed the climate. We need to overturn Citizens United.
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.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
Mon 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 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.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
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.
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.
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.
Market rewards firming over renewables in gentailer split
Wed 3 Dec 2025
A clearer valuation divide is emerging across the gentailer sector, with the market increasingly rewarding companies positioned for flexibility and firming rather than renewable build-out.
NZ and US deepen Antarctic science partnership
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Media release: New Zealand Government | New joint research initiatives focused on climate and ecosystem change expand on the long-standing collaboration between New Zealand and the United States on Antarctic science and logistics, says Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti.
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.
Mon 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.
Amid the ashes
26 Nov 2025
This year the LA wildfire came for my hometown. What happened next is a warning for us all.
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.
