Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Business urged to steal a march on new green business ideas
5 Jun 2008
New Zealanders with good ideas for green businesses will find plenty of investors ready to back them now but risk missing the boat if they don’t move soon, says the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Technically hilarious, but Arnie delivers the big bucks benefits message on climate change
5 Jun 2008
California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, told New Zealand business leaders yesterday his state was enjoying a new gold rush of billions of dollars being powered into climate change technology investments.
Ferrier meets Taylor on the question on taxpayers subsidising high earning farmers
5 Jun 2008
Fonterra CEO Andrew Ferrier and Environmental Defence Society chair Gary Taylor came togather yesterday for a blunt question and answer on taxpayers subsidising dairy farmer emissions.
PM: Significant risks to export industries without ETS and sustainability
5 Jun 2008
Prime Minister Helen Clark says she sees climate change as one of the biggest environmental and political challenges of our time and singificant risks to export industries if the country doesn't act to become more sustainable.
Widely varying figures on new jobs created by renewables
5 Jun 2008
Research on the number of "green jobs" being created by renewables sector growth are varying widely.
BT pledges 80% emissions cut
5 Jun 2008
BT has announced plans to cut its carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2020
Lieberman: We've got a fight ahead of us on US ETS bill
5 Jun 2008
The senator behind the bill to introduce emissions trading in the US admits it is going to be a fight to get the 60 votes to shield it from the filibuster threat.
Heavy users worry over power prices
5 Jun 2008
the Major Electricity Users’ Group (MEUG) says electricity spot prices over May were the highest ever recorded.
Farmers get free advice on shifting to certified organic production
5 Jun 2008
From today - World Environment Day - farmers and growers interested in making the shift to organic production will be able to connect with Organics Aotearoa New Zealand's Organic Advisory Programme by calling 0800 FUTURE.
Sixteen NZ firms join Climate Neutral Network
5 Jun 2008
New Zealand businesses are set to strengthen the kiwi presence and leadership on the United Nations' Climate Neutral Network - with 16 joining so far and others poised to sign up, Environment Minister Trevor Mallard said at a Wellington meeting of the international network yesterday.
June 26: Sustainability theme for Wellington Small Business Expo
5 Jun 2008
The Minister for Climate Change Hon David Parker will open the Sustainability Morning of the largest event held for business in New Zealand – the Small Business Expo in Wellington – at 9.30am on 26 June.
Crest Energy upbeat at close of Kaipara tidal energy consent hearings
4 Jun 2008
Crest Energy is upbeat in the wake of week-long planning hearings for their tidal energy project in the Kaipara Harbour.
Neptune’s non-notified consent a victory for innovation over caution
4 Jun 2008
Greater Wellington resource consent processing officer Raymond Chang has told Carbon News that the council’s decision not to notify Neptune Power’s resource consent application for their tidal energy project in Cook Strait was made so as not to “sink the boat” financially before the project had going.
Climate Change Governator due in town
4 Jun 2008
Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was due in town today – by video link.
Genesis loses Jackson to Gippsland utility corporation
4 Jun 2008
Genesis CEO Murray Jackson is leaving.
Australian Minister talks on ETS and fuel prices
4 Jun 2008
Australia's Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, has talked with The Sunday agenda programme on fuel prices and the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Transpower looks at possible new central North Island grid links for renewables
4 Jun 2008
Transpower has released its documentation for consultation on two investigation projects to facilitate the connection of renewable generation to the National Grid.
Make the power conservation call now, Minister
4 Jun 2008
National Party Energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee says the only reason David Parker is holding off calling for electricity conservation is that he’s hoping he won’t have to deal with another energy crisis in election year.
Overwhelming support for wind energy
4 Jun 2008
New research shows that New Zealanders overwhelming favour renewable energy for electricity generation.
ECCA figures on Kiwis and renewables
4 Jun 2008
75% of New Zealanders support marine energy as a future electricity generation option, according to research released by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
Pike River tunnel reaches Hawera fault
4 Jun 2008
Pike River Coal Limited (Pike River) says the tunnel being driven to access the premium quality hard coking coal deposit has now reached the Hawera fault zone.
Forum assures committee: parliamentary process is parliamentary process
3 Jun 2008
The Government-appointed multi-sector Leadership Forum on Climate Change is not working as an alternative to the select committee process – and has told the select committee considering the emissions trading scheme so.
Farm level obligation possible in ETS bill
3 Jun 2008
The ETS bill is likely to be framed so individual farms can become the point of obligation to account for emissions.
Key reveals thoughts on "bastardised" ETS scheme to student blogger
3 Jun 2008
National leader John Key has referred to different credit phase out timelines for different sectors as “a bit of a bastardised way to develop an emissions trading scheme”.
Electric vehicles no panacea, says Meridian
3 Jun 2008
Meridian says its electric vehicle trial will give New Zealanders “a first and early glimpse of the technology,” but warns that it is a mistake to view electric vehicles as a solution to all our carbon emission woes.
Today's the day of the big debate on crucial United States ETS bill
3 Jun 2008
The major Liebermann-Warner cap and trade bill is due to be debated in the US Senate today NZ time.
NZ solar efforts look small compared with EU's strong sector growth
3 Jun 2008
CARBON NEWS SPECIAL FEATURE. - While little appears to be happening in New Zealand, the use of solar energy, one of the most accessible and affordable sources of renewable energy available is growing steadily in Europe.
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.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Media round-up
Fri 20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
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.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
Wed 18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
California, Connecticut preparing 'attack' against Trump's repeal of basis of US climate regulation
Fri 20 Feb 2026
California and Connecticut are working together on a multi-state "plan of attack" against President Donald Trump's repeal of the foundation of federal climate regulation of vehicles, the states' attorneys general told Reuters on Tuesday.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
Flawed decision-making around taxing electricity to fund LNG import terminal
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: The Government's decision to back an LNG import terminal exemplifies an egregious failure in public policy and energy sector governance.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
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.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
Thu 19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
Wed 18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Seabed miners quit South Taranaki fast-track bid
Fri 20 Feb 2026
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Would-be seabed miners have abandoned their fast-track bid to mine in South Taranaki waters, saying they can’t change the minds of the panel that rejected their application.
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.
Partnership to advance Pacific science and environmental leadership
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Media release | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in Pacific-led science, research and capacity-building, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ocean stewardship.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
IEA Declaration strengthens international co-operation on critical minerals
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Media release – NZ Government | New Zealand has joined international leaders at the 2026 International Energy Agency Ministerial meeting in committing to strengthen global co-operation on critical minerals to strengthen long‑term energy security.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Climate ambassador moves on
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
Mon 16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
