Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Remote island runs on wind power, even when all is still
15 May 2008
A small Norwegian island testing a way to store wind-generated energy for calm days may have found the answer to the problem of wind-less days.
Greens leader slams Rudd’s budget boost for climate change
15 May 2008
The Rudd government's first budget, which earmarked $2.3 billion for climate change action, has not impressed Australian Greens.
OPINION: Wind Farms: Powering Future or Destroying Past?
15 May 2008
By the Save Central Group.- The region of Otago is in a state of significant upheaval over the giant turbines of Meridian’s Project Hayes and TrustPower’s Mahinerangi Wind Farm.
Simon Marsters appointed to Solid Energy board
15 May 2008
Simon Marsters, an Auckland-based chemical engineer and former General Manager of Imerys Tableware Division Asia, has been appointed to the board of Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd by the Minister for State-Owned Enterprises.
Australia signs $2.3b cheque for climate change action
14 May 2008
Australia is to spend $2.3 billion on a climate-change strategy, including $68 million for a domestic emissions trading scheme and $21.8m on the establishment of a Department of Climate Change.
Government campaign urges industry to burn wood
14 May 2008
The Government is mounting a strong campaign urging industry to use wood instead of coal or oil.
McCain outlines plan to confront climate change
14 May 2008
Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting Senator John McCain says America needs a market-based cap and trade system to curb greenhouse gas emissions, mobilise innovative technologies, and strengthen the economy.
OPINION: It’s time to take another look at our water
14 May 2008
The Green Party has capped any discussion of fresh water exports within the Labour-led coalition, and the National Party views the topic as a kind of Son of Nuclear issue, to be kept well clear of.
Spain dishes out $90m to help poor African countries
14 May 2008
Spain plans to help five poor African countries fight hunger and climate change under a $US90 million scheme to help the continent whose people flood to Spain in their tens of thousands each year.
Rio Tinto joins 'capital strike' game, says union leader
13 May 2008
Rio Tinto’s threat to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is the latest move in a “capital strike” campaign by heavy greenhouse-gas emitters to get their own way over the emissions trading scheme, says EPMU national secretary Andrew Little.
Smelter submission actually supports ETS, makes special pleadings
13 May 2008
ANALYSIS. - The operator of New Zealand’s only aluminium smelter supports New Zealand’s desire to introduce an emissions trading scheme.
Little point in NZ carbon trading currency, says business group
13 May 2008
A second major business group is suggesting that New Zealand should be using international carbon instruments instead of creating its own currency.
Parker: Clean green energy important to Rio Tinto
13 May 2008
The Labour-led government has already moved to address concerns over the Emissions Trading Scheme legislation raised by Rio Tinto at select committee, Climate Change Minister David Parker said.
Aussie Budget tipped to deliver massive boost in climate change spending
13 May 2008
Australian Treaurer Wayne Swan will unveil a $2.3 billion climate-change programme in today's budget, the biggest investment of its kind.
Caterpillar hopes even the heaviest machinery can have a lighter footprint
13 May 2008
As the global price of raw materials continues to boom, few companies are reaping the benefit as much as Caterpillar Inc, the manufacturer of heavy earthmoving equipment whose name is synonymous with the open pit mines that feed global growth and the airports and highways carved from the earth that drive it.
NZ emitters urged to hedge rising carbon price and falling NZ dollar
12 May 2008
The carbon market firmed right across the board on Friday as rocketing oil prices impacted on the entire energy complex.
Most Kiwis believe big emitters running the climate change show
12 May 2008
Most New Zealanders think that big greenhouse-gas emitters are calling the shots on the country’s climate change policy, and a Labour-Green coalition is seen as the best combination to manage change, according to a new poll.
Experts warn Aussie ETS will cost motorists 10c a litre
12 May 2008
An emissions trading scheme in Australia is likely to increase petrol prices by about 10 cents a litre, energy experts predict.
Britain puts personal carbon trading scheme on ice
12 May 2008
The British government has backed away from a carbon-trading scheme for all citizens.
China says Beijing Olympics 'basically' carbon neutral
12 May 2008
The Beijing Olympics will be "basically" carbon neutral thanks to a series of energy saving measures such as the use of solar power and an afforestation programme, a senior Chinese official says.
Big players flood Europe's cap-and-trade-emissions market
12 May 2008
The success of Europe's thriving market in trading carbon emission credits highlights a major area of innovation there -- and a rare instance where making money and helping the planet go hand in hand.
Government disputes $80b 'carbon tax' windfall claim
9 May 2008
The Government is disputing a suggestion by Solid Energy chief Don Elder that it could stand to make $80 billion from New Zealand’s emissions trading scheme.
ANALYSIS: Will Don Elder today spell out his dream for New Zealand?
9 May 2008
What did Don Elder hope to achieve by assuming a carbon price of $200 per tonne and almost nil-emissions reduction – to produce a result showing the Government could make a surplus of up to $80 billion from its emissions trading scheme?
Climate change: Aussies aware but reluctant to act
9 May 2008
AUSTRALIANS see climate change as the nation's biggest problem but appear unwilling to change their lives to reduce their large environmental footprint, an international survey has found.
First zero-carbon city to rise out of the desert
9 May 2008
One of the world's largest oil producers has begun construction on the first zero-carbon city, powered entirely by renewable energy.
Brits clash with Europe over carbon permit revenue
9 May 2008
The British Government is on course for an embarrassing showdown with the European Union, business groups and environmental charities after refusing to guarantee that billions of pounds of revenue it stands to earn from carbon-permit trading will be spent on combating climate change.
Big players put cases to ETS select committee
8 May 2008
The select committee hearing submissions on the emissions trading bill is in for an interesting day today, with energy producers, users and lobbyists lining up to make submissions.
New World Bank Report : Carbon market value doubles to US$64b in a year
8 May 2008
The global carbon market grew to a whopping US$64 billion (€47 billion) in 2007, more than doubling over 2006, according to a new report from the World Bank releaed overnight.
The world is getting warmer … faster
8 May 2008
Climate change is happening faster than predicted and the world could be as much as seven degrees hotter by the end of the century, an Australian CSIRO scientist says.
Worried companies coming clean on carbon
8 May 2008
Thousands of companies supplying some of the world's largest corporations know climate regulations are coming and are agreeing to measure their emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases.
US government awards $61m to coalition studying greenhouse gas storage
8 May 2008
The US Department of Energy has awarded $61.1 million to a Midwest multistate environmental partnership to develop new ways of capturing and storing greenhouse gases.
Capital developer creating ‘first true green building’
8 May 2008
Leading restoration developer Ian Cassells is highlighting New Zealand’s “phony” approach to green building by developing the country’s first office-as-a-village, which will eliminate car emissions by having people live, work and play in the same place.
Government confused over transport – Sustainable Energy Forum
8 May 2008
The Government doesn’t know which way to jump on transport, says Tim Jones, convenor of the Sustainable Energy Forum.
Non-committal Nats happy to play the waiting game
7 May 2008
National says it is carefully avoiding “running the politics” on climate change and won’t finalise its climate-change policy until at least July, when it sees Australia’s proposals.
Indigenous groups blast UN over carbon trading
7 May 2008
The United Nations is facing scathing criticism from the world's indigenous communities for its attempts to promote carbon trading as a tool to address climate change concerns.
Asia's disappearing rainforests ‘an appalling crisis’
7 May 2008
The wanton destruction of Asia's rainforests is “one of the worst crises since we came out of our caves 10,000 years ago,” foresters have been told at an international meeting in Hanoi.
Unions, company worried about ETs-induced job losses at steel mill
6 May 2008
Unions say they are concerned about the potential impact of the emissions trading scheme on the Glenbrook Steel mill, and say that the potential impact on jobs and manufacturing capacity needs to be considered.
Food exporters need help measuring carbon footprint
6 May 2008
The poster-guys of New Zealand’s carbon-neutral scene, Marlborough’s Grove Mill winery, say that Government support is needed if New Zealand exporters are to be ready to counteract growing Northern Hemisphere perceptions that buying our food is bad for the climate.
UN confident world can reach climate change pact in time
6 May 2008
Without a deal to cap greenhouse gas emissions around 2015, then halve them by 2050, the world will face ever more droughts, heatwaves, floods and rising seas, according to the United Nations.
Water, water everywhere … but it’s running out
6 May 2008
Water one day will be a commodity traded as oil is today and already supply shortages are becoming a problem of global proportion.
Nation’s biggest newspaper comes out for Forum advice on emissions trading scheme
5 May 2008
ANALYSIS: The New Zealand Herald today came out in support for the emissions trading scheme course advocated in advice to the Government last week by the powerful Climate Change Leadership Forum.
US report shows cap-and-trade scheme won't hit economy, boosts pressure to pass bill
5 May 2008
The proposed United States cap-and-trade scheme would result in GDP being just 0.3 per cent lower than business-as-usual projections by 2030, a new study shows.
Aussie big boys scramble for carbon trading exemptions
5 May 2008
MAJOR Australian companies and industry bodies are pushing to be made exempt from the impact of a national carbon emissions trading scheme, claiming they will be hurt by cheap imports or lose out in export markets.
NZ expert sees third way for troubled biofuels
5 May 2008
From economic saviour to planet disaster, biofuels have had a whirlwind public relations ride.
100ft propellors and the new wonders of the world
5 May 2008
Three 100-foot-wide propellers have began turning between the two towers of the recently completed World Trade Centre building in Bahrain.
$200,000 grant backs computer collection scheme
5 May 2008
A community collection scheme for keeping end-of-life home computers out of landfills has been backed by a $200,000 grant from the Government’s Sustainable Management Fund.
Brownlee: $230m paid to Electricity Commission – for what?
5 May 2008
New Zealand taxpayers have paid the Electricity Commission $230 million over the past four years but have next to nothing to show for it, says National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee in a press release.
'Enemies' unite in plea for leadership on climate change
2 May 2008
Two lobbyists usually found on opposite sides came together last night in a call for national leadership, co-operation and unity on climate change for the sake of all New Zealanders.
Crest Energy ready to power up the Kaipara
2 May 2008
Crest Energy plans to construct a marine turbine power generation plant in the Kaipara Harbour. The scheme will encompass around 200 completely submerged marine tidal turbines near the entrance to the harbour.
Tokyo carbon market raises prospect of round-the-clock trading
2 May 2008
The reputation of carbon credits as tradable commodity could take a major leap forward if the Tokyo Stock Exchange presses ahead with plans to create Japan's first greenhouse gas emissions trading market next year.
Local govt bill 'completely misses the point,' passes first reading
Today 11:00am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s bill making changes to the Local Government Act to "refocus" councils on their core functions passed its first reading in Parliament last night, with critics saying it will set back climate resilience.
Expert rejects farmers call to ditch green investment framework
Thu 17 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Scrapping a proposed 'green' finance taxonomy before work on it is even finished would risk New Zealand being left behind in the transition to more sustainable systems, according to an expert.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
Today 11:00am
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
Thu 17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
EU seeks 'fair competition' with China on green energy
Today 11:00am
The European Union is seeking "fair competition" with China and not a race to the bottom in wages and environmental standards, the bloc's vice president for the clean transition told AFP in Beijing on Monday.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
EU wants to see China take more ambitious climate action
Tue 15 Jul 2025
The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
Mon 14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Carbon price grinds higher - where to from now?
30 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to grind slowly higher since this month’s failed auction, with prices at their highest since March, although still languishing well below this year’s auction floor price.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Media round-up
Today 11:00am
In our round-up of the latest climate coverage in local media: with parts of the country still reeling from flooding exacerbated by climate change, debate heats up over who will pay for managed retreat from at-risk areas.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Illegal loggers profit from Brazil’s carbon credit projects
Thu 17 Jul 2025
How a system designed to protect the world’s biggest rainforest is funding businesses with a track record of illegal deforestation.
Importing LNG is feasible, but is it plausible?
Today 11:00am
Importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a form of energy supply insurance is technically feasible, but an industry-commissioned report raises questions about whether it is financially plausible.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
Farmers slam proposed guidelines for sustainable finance
Wed 16 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | Federated Farmers is calling on the government to scrap its proposed framework for ‘green’ finance, saying it is ideologically driven, unworkable, and risks harming rural communities.
Does Aussie court ruling hold lessons for NZ?
Thu 17 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | A recent Australian court ruling should serve as a warning to New Zealand's decision-makers on how important it is to align climate targets and climate policies with the best available science, according to a climate litigation expert.
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
‘Significant gaps’ in proposed approach to climate adaptation
10 Jul 2025
A new report into climate adaptation doesn’t suggest how development in high-risk areas should be avoided - an issue that needs urgent action with thousands of homes still being built in hazardous areas, according to the Environmental Defence Society.
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.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
Today 11:00am
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Rio Tinto urges Albanese govt to reimpose carbon tax, boost green energy subsidies
Thu 17 Jul 2025
The mining giant has used it’s submission to the Productivity Commission ahead of the Albanese government’s economic roundtable to lobby for the re-imposition of a carbon pricing scheme and bolstered green energy subsidies.
Foresters seek time; end to using ETS as a land use tool
Wed 16 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Production and carbon forestry owners have begged the environment select committee to at least give the sector more time to come up with workable rules for legislation intended to cap forest planting on farmland.
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.
Millions of tons of tiny plastic particles are polluting the ocean, study finds
Tue 15 Jul 2025
At least 27 million tonnes of nanoplastics are estimated to be floating in the North Atlantic Ocean, weighing more than all wild land mammals combined.
'Back-to-basics' approach for councils ignores climate risk
11 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While ACT is standing local government candidates to oppose councils' attempts to manage emissions and ministers are calling for local authorities to 'get back to basics' - or even suggesting scrapping regional councils altogether - one expert says this narrative is putting communities at risk in the face of climate change.
Markets aren't going to save us – Carr
9 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumerism is reaching its ecological and economic limits, and only systemic change - not market tweaks - can steer us away from climate catastrophe, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Microplastics found in sand on dozens of NZ beaches
4 Jun 2025
Scientists have extracted microplastics from the sand of 22 beaches from the Far North to Banks Peninsula.
Feedback sought on national fuel security plan
Wed 16 Jul 2025
Media release - Beehive: The Coalition Government is seeking feedback on a draft Fuel Security Plan that provides a long-term strategy to ensure New Zealanders have reliable access to fuel in times of domestic and global disruption, Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says.
UK: Thousands lobby MPs to demand climate action
10 Jul 2025
More than 5,000 people from across the UK arrived in Westminster on Wednesday to meet their MPs and demand urgent climate action to protect their communities.
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.
Germany's wind power expansion picks up, but targets still missed, says lobby
Today 11:00am
Germany's onshore wind power sector recorded its strongest half-year since 2017, but the expansion still falls short of the legally mandated targets, the BWE wind power lobby said on Tuesday.
Antarctica Scholarships 2025: Ocean detectives
Thu 17 Jul 2025
Media release – Antarctica New Zealand | Antarctica’s Southern Ocean is full of unanswered questions, and this year’s Antarctica New Zealand scholarship recipients are on a mission to help solve them.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
Thu 17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Kiwi ‘smart panel’ startup aiming to reduce energy bills and emissions
4 Jul 2025
NZ start-up Basis this week launched an ‘intelligent’ panel to replace traditional electrical switchboards in homes, which it says can save the average home $1,200 NZD annually on bills and lead to lower emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public
11 Jul 2025
The climate crisis is more urgent than ever, so why is there a disconnect between stated policies and actual practices?
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
