Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Brazillian ambassdor snaps back on rain forest-for-fuel claims
3 Jun 2008
The Brazilian Ambassador to New Zealand Manoel Gomes-Pereira, tired of his country being used as a piñata in the rainforests debate, has taken the unusual step for a diplomat of making a spirited public defence of Brazil’s biofuels strategy.
Aussie truck drivers: include fuel in ETS
3 Jun 2008
Australian truck drivers back the inclusion of fuel in their Government's emissions trading scheme and consider cuts to the fuel excise to be bad policy.
ETS impact modelling problems in Australia
3 Jun 2008
Economists in Australia are struggling to measure the impact on the economy of a proposed 90% emissions cut by 2050.
Red Stag co-generation plant puts $1m a year on bottomline
3 Jun 2008
Red Stag Timber of Rotorua, operator of the Waipa Sawmill, has emerged as the poster child of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s campaign to use renewable energy from wood fuel.
US study: US$35 per ton carbon price will cut emissions 10%
3 Jun 2008
A new analysis by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business shows possible positive short-term effects of establishing a mandatory price for CO2 emissions inthe United States.
When it comes to buying climate friendly vehicles 11% will part with the cash
3 Jun 2008
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Although many new-vehicle buyers may want to purchase an environmentally friendly vehicle, only 11 percent are “very willing” to pay more to do so.
US wineries go for 100% solar power, lightweight bottles
3 Jun 2008
Elbin Blatz, a winery in California’s Napa Valley region, has installed a first-of-its-kind solar power array and the latest example of how Northern California’s wine industry is using solar power.
Americans cut car use by equivalent of 11 billion miles a year
3 Jun 2008
Americans drove their cars 4.3% fewer miles in March 2008 than they did a year earlier, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
US drivers shudder at $4 per gallon
3 Jun 2008
It appears the specter of US$4/gallon (about $1 per litre NZ) keeps the key out of the ignition in the Unired States.
Public investment in major clear coal plant project at risk
3 Jun 2008
The public fnding plug is about to be pulled on a U$1. billion cler claol energy project in the Unired States.
Transport sector advised to help shape next world emissions deal
3 Jun 2008
Leipzig.-Speaking at the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer called on key stakeholders in the transport sector to help shape the UN climate change deal that will be clinched in Copenhagen at the end of 2009.
FORUM: Dog and Lemon man says electric car owners exposed to power shortage issues
3 Jun 2008
Clive Matthew-Wilson, founder of the Dog and Lemon Guide, responds to a Carbon News story saying he is inventing a long term power shortage in order to justify an argument casting doubt on a future for electric vehicles..
EU experience shows cement industry's ETS worries 'exaggerated'
30 May 2008
Cement firms’ worries about international competitiveness effects and leakage, caused by emissions trading, may be exaggerated, according to a new analysis by carbon market experts.
Electric car sceptic invents long-term power shortage
30 May 2008
The Dog and Lemon Guide man says the viability of electric cars in New Zealand is doubtful because of electricity shortages.
New Zealand's largest gas field completed
30 May 2008
The Pohokura offshore gas field development in Taranaki has been completed.
Why Parker is enthisiastic about marine energy
30 May 2008
Average wave power can exceed 100 kilowatts per metre of wave crest length, on the southwest-facing coasts of New Zealand.
Govt funding for Kaipara harbour tidal energy devices
30 May 2008
A project to generate electricity from the tides in Kaipara Harbour is to receive a grant of $1.85 million from the Marine Energy Deployment Fund.
New Zealand food imports still the greenest option for UK
30 May 2008
By Angela van de Weerdhof. - New Zealand food producers should fare well when the European Union rings in carbon labeling on all imports.
How equity analysts link climate change and company valuation
30 May 2008
Equity analysts divide into three distinct groups based on their climate change perspective, according to a new report from research firm Verdantix.
Letter to the Editor: Wairarapa councils' backdoor windfarm ban irks
30 May 2008
This letter from a Wairarapa lawyer regarding yesterday's Carbon News story revealing a troika of councils trying to ban windfarm development through plan changes.
FORUM: Climate change sceptics call Government scientists "propagandists"
30 May 2008
NIWA scientists have become political propagandists, according to New Zeaand climate change sceptics.
EMA: Urgent power savings required to avert power cuts
30 May 2008
Blackouts in the North Island are very possible, the Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) says, and probable in the South Island if huge power savings are not made immediately.
Meridian fights local body troika's backdoor bid to ban windfarms
29 May 2008
Meridian Energy Ltd has launched an appeal against what it sees as a crimp on renewable energy zoning by the Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa District Councils.
Brtish Gas wants NZ as green test bench
29 May 2008
Further evidence is emerging that Contact Energy is a prime target in the acquisition by British Gas of Australia’s Origin Energy, parent of Contact.
New petrol price impact research under way
29 May 2008
New Government research is under way on the impact of higher petrol prices on vehicle use
Recipients of millions in marine energy grants announced today
29 May 2008
Who gets the first Government grants to encourage marine energy development will be announced today.
Contact cranks part of New Plymouth plant back to life
29 May 2008
Contact Energy has announced that it will recommission part of its New Plymouth power station in response to anticipated winter electricity supply worries.
True cost of personal carbon card plan revealed
29 May 2008
New reports in the UK say an MPs’ idea to issue every citizen there with a personal carbon card will cost up to NZ$6 billion to set up, and the same amount to run each year.
Comms company looks to install solar panels on customers' roofs
29 May 2008
Cox Communications has announced initiatives to cut energy costs that include adding solar electricity to its headquarters and communications system and increasing fuel efficiency in its fleet vehicles.
31 projects get $950,000 in smart innovation cash
29 May 2008
Government Spokesperson on Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Jeanette Fitzsimons, has announced that 31 projects with a combined value of $950,000 have been offered funding under the second round of a government fund to encourage smart innovations in solar water heating and heat pump water heating technologies.
Brownlee holds Parker to no power price rise promise
29 May 2008
"Householders can breathe a sigh of relief - Energy Minister David Parker is promising that domestic electricity prices will not rise because of the looming winter power crisis," says National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee.
EXCLUSIVE: Greens push for early ETS entry for agriculture
28 May 2008
The Green Party is looking to force the Government to bring agriculture into the emissions trading scheme early.
Windflow falls victim to noise issue
28 May 2008
Windflow Technology of Christchurch is the pre-eminent alternate energy production engineer in New Zealand. Yet its power generation wind turbines are being rejected on the environmental grounds that they make too much noise.
New US climate change bill will subsidise low-emission energy
28 May 2008
A newer version of the McCain-Lieberman Climate Change Stewardship Bill has been introduced which, when combined with an ETS bill, will incentivise new low-emission energy projects..
EU Parliament committee votes overnight for tougher aviation ETS regime
28 May 2008
The European Parliament's Enevironment Committee early this morning (NZ time) voted for a tougher emissions regime for airlines.
Two news wells for Taranaki's Cheal oil field
28 May 2008
Austral Pacific Energy will drill two new wells (A6 and A7) in its onshore Taranaki Cheal oil field in Stratford, New Zealand.
Electricity bosses given new policy orders
28 May 2008
The Government has issued new policy instructions to the Electricity Commission.
Update on proposed national grid regulations
28 May 2008
Two proposed national environmental standards aimed at improving the management and security of the national grid will be reconsidered and reworked.
Parker's full speech on climate change effects and impacts assessment
28 May 2008
Here is the full speech of CLimate Change Issues Minister David Parker at the launch of new reports into the impacts of climate change.
10 minutes of Glasnost with Gorbachev
28 May 2008
Mikhail Gorbachev was in the European Parliament yesterday for the Energy Globe Awards where he picked up one for lifetime achievement.
Statesmen and stars feature at EU clean energy awards gala
28 May 2008
A mixture of statesmen, actors and singers joined MEPs and a large audience for the annual Energy Globe Awards in the European Parliament
Australians shift on free emissions
27 May 2008
The New Zealand Government is continuing to rule out free carbon credits to most sectors of the economy, despite a shift in thinking in Australia on the issue.
Technical and supply tangles tripping up electric car plans
27 May 2008
Technical and supply issues are standing in the way of a Government target to have hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles in use here in the next seven years.
Public transport won’t cope with major fuel-price driven switch from cars
27 May 2008
If 23% of motorists are true to their word and start making significant cuts in fuel use now petrol has hit $2 per litre, they may not find a seat on public transport.
No early mad rush for Energy Mad's household emission credits
27 May 2008
The first ever online auction of voluntary carbon credits created by demand side energy efficiency projects in New Zealand is off to a slow start.
Solar hot-water payback too slow
27 May 2008
New Zealanders are resisting switching to solar hot-water heating despite government grants because the payback period is too long -up to 15 years for some households.
Kiwis embrace the chop-down-trees environmental message
27 May 2008
New Zealanders think using more wood is good for the environment.
Low-carbon economy – millions of new jobs?
27 May 2008
Ethical Corporation- Europe's leaders say a low-carbon economy will create millions of new jobs.
Deloitte: most will accept higher power bills to battle global warming
27 May 2008
A majority of Americans say they are willing to pay slightly higher electricity bills to help curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, according to a survey released by the consulting firm Deloitte.
MAF: wood supply to jump about 3 million cu m a year
27 May 2008
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has released new wood availability forecasts for the Central North Island that indicate a steady increase in supply for the region over the next 12 years.
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.
