Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Australia leads way in sea-bed carbon storage
31 Mar 2008
Australia, a new convert to climate change environmentalism, hopes to lead the world in establishing a regulated carbon capture and storage regime, with the sea-bed being the key storage site.
International biofuels and electric vehicles experts speaking at Wellington
31 Mar 2008
Six international speakers will join local experts to discuss the future of biofuels and electric vehicles in New Zealand at a conference in Wellington on Wednesday (April 2).
Wind farmers tilt at gas power for pushing up prices
31 Mar 2008
To say the 90% renewable energy target will be directly responsible for increased electricity prices ignores current electricity price trends, say Fraser Clark, CEO of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association.
Solar water heating grant to double under National
31 Mar 2008
A future National Government would introduce a $1,000 per household solar water heating grant and simplify the complex building consent rules for solar water heating in order to double the number of systems, says National's Climate Change spokesman, Nick Smith.
Forum explores low-carbon futures for local government
31 Mar 2008
“Innovative and forward-thinking councils committed to working on climate change will come together to discuss low-carbon futures for local government at the Communities for Climate Protection®- New Zealand 2008 Forum,” said Diana Shand, National Programme Manager for ICLEI’s Communities for Climate Protection - New Zealand (CCP-NZ) Programme.
Wraps off sequestration prototype
28 Mar 2008
The wraps are at last about to come off state-owned collier Solid Energy’s much-vaunted investment in carbon dioxide underground sequestration research.
Posnett defends bio-fuels' New Zealand role
28 Mar 2008
“A piece of legislation” is all that’s required to give bio-fuels a sustainable role in the New Zealand transport fuel mix, according to Dickon Posnett, the chairman of the newly-formed New Zealand Bio-fuels Manufacturers’ Association (BMA).
Thermal ban to send power bills soaring
28 Mar 2008
Power shortages, and energy bills soaring 50%, will be the outcome of the Government’s 10-year ban on new fossil fuel electricity generation plants, the Petroleum Exporting and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ) said yesterday.
Thermal ban "will cost consumers $750m"
28 Mar 2008
The government’s moratorium on new thermal power generation will add $750m a year to power bills, the executive director of the Major Electricity Users Group, Ralph Mathes, said yesterday.
Minister of Energy rejects gas lobby claims
28 Mar 2008
Energy Minister David Parker says the oil and gas industry claim that renewable electricity will be more expensive than the gas fired electricity future the gas industry prefers is wrong.
Right-Wing Council's Agenda is to Deny Climate Change
28 Mar 2008
City Vision-Labour Councillors are dismayed but unsurprised that Auckland's right-wing Citizens and Ratepayers (C&R) Council has done a U-turn on climate change by systematically removing progressive actions and programmes initiated by the last Council from Dick Hubbard's Mayoral Taskforce on Sustainability.
Unreliable renewable generation contributes to high spot prices
28 Mar 2008
“The flaws in the policy to ban new thermal power stations are being graphically illustrated by current high electricity spot prices,” said Ralph Matthes, Executive Director of the Major Electricity Users’ Group (MEUG).
Solid Energy records further improvement in environmental performance
28 Mar 2008
Solid Energy has published its 2007 Environmental Report reporting that for the second year in a row, the company has met its overall policy objective of having a net positive effect on the New Zealand environment. The overall improvement for the year to 30 June 2007 was 6.6% [1].
Cuba: Energy Program Saves One Million Tons of Oil in One Year
28 Mar 2008
Ciego de Avila, Cuba, March 25 (acn) -- Cuba saved nearly one million tons of oil in the period between 2006 and 2007, which translated into 400 million dollars, as a result of the ongoing nationwide energy program, known here as Energy Revolution.
CARBON NEWS SERIES: Avoiding the major quality gap in emission certification
27 Mar 2008
Carbon News has revealed some companies run the risk of paying well for emissions measurement and certification – and falling short of developing world standards. They could also get stung in ETS emission audits.
Top business speakers appearing at carbon market workshop
27 Mar 2008
Experienced carbon market taders will feature at a Ministry for the Environment and Emissions Trading Group Carbon Markets Workshop in Wellington on April 4.
NSW weighs flogging the family silver
27 Mar 2008
A furore over whether New South Wales (NSW) should privatise its mostly coal-fired electricity generation capacity has erupted in the wake of Kevin Rudd’s federal Labor government announcing it will introduce an emissions trading scheme (ETS) in 2010.
Greenpeace turns spotlight on farmers
27 Mar 2008
Greenpeace is demanding New Zealand farmers be brought into the pending New Zealand emissions trading scheme earlier than the scheduled 2013.
Now it's spot the cars with stars
27 Mar 2008
Car buyers wanting to save money on their fuel bills will find it easier to choose a vehicle that goes further on a full tank, as a result of new fuel efficiency labels.
NZ emissions trading regulations - what's in store
27 Mar 2008
Officials are working on a range of regulations to implement New Zealand's emissions trading system.
Environmental protests knock millions off Solid Energy's bottom line
26 Mar 2008
In a prescient remark, given Greenpeace’s blockage of the bulk coal carrier Hellenic Sea in Lyttelton a few hours later, Solid Energy chairman John Palmer has warned that customer uncertainty over the ETS is “raising the risk profile for the long-term security of Solid Energy’s domestic coal supply business.”
Government needs to define clean coal future
26 Mar 2008
The Greenpeace action at Lyttelton last night will put further pressure on the Government to define the role of coal within the ETS and the wider battle against climate change. By far New Zealand’s biggest known energy resource is the 11 billion tonnes of low-grade lignite coal scattered through a dozen easily-accessible fields in Otago and Southland.
Lockwood Launches EcoSmart Home
26 Mar 2008
New Zealand building company Lockwood has launched a new range of EcoSmart homes, saying it wants to address increasing concerns about climate change and the impact building and construction has on the environment.
Transpower announces half-year result - operating surplus down $23.6m
26 Mar 2008
Transpower, the owner and operator of the national electricity grid, made good progress on planning and implementing necessary investment in the grid during the six months ending 31 December 2007.
Meridian half-year profit $94 million - $175 million special dividend
26 Mar 2008
Meridian has reported a half-year after-tax result of $93.7 million for the six months ended 31 December 2007, compared with a restated profit of $116.6 million for the same period a year earlier.
Greenpeace occupies coal ship; calls for real action on climate change
26 Mar 2008
Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior has blocked a shipment of export coal from leaving the Port of Lyttelton.
US Air Force goes supersonic on synthetic fuel
26 Mar 2008
While New Zealand waits for Air New Zealand to announce its bio fuel flight trials, a B-1B Lancer from the 9th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force base recently became the first Air Force aircraft to fly at supersonic speed using an alternate fuel, the Air Force News Agency reports.
New network launches to accelerate climate change investments
26 Mar 2008
Yesterday saw the official launch of a global network mobilizing and accelerating investments to tackle climate change at http://www.climatecapital.net (http://www.climatecapital.net/).
Half year loss but Solid Energy forecasts profitability for full year
26 Mar 2008
Energy producer, Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd, has produced a net loss after tax of $2.7 million for the half year ended 31 December 2007.
Millions pour into ag emission reduction research projects
25 Mar 2008
Research into the mitigation of agricultural emissions is the biggest beneficiary of the first $5m allocated by the Government under its Plan of Action for Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change.
Cut company tax to 25%, Aussies plead
25 Mar 2008
A 5% cut in the company tax rate is being demanded by lobbyist Australian Industry Group (AIG) to cushion business from the financial impact of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) that Kevin Rudd’s Australian Labor Government intends implementing in 2010.
Biggest US emissions rise in nine years
25 Mar 2008
The biggest hike in nine years in United States greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation occurred in 2007, a new analysis from the independent Environmental Integrity Project suggests.
Kelpie Wilson: The Rising Price of Coal
25 Mar 2008
By Kelpie Wilson, truthout Environment Editor. As the global energy/climate crisis deepens, coal has become the starkest symbol and most telling measure of our predicament.
Huntly sends electricity emissions into nosedive
20 Mar 2008
Genesis Energy’s new e3p combined-cycle gas turbine at Huntly slashed electricity generation emissions 10% in the 2007 December quarter compared to the same period in 2006, even though total thermal generation jumped 17%.
American ETS cost estimates parallel New Zealand’s
20 Mar 2008
New Zealand seems to be pretty much on the button when it comes to forecasting the costs of its emissions trading scheme (ETS), to judge from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guesstimate of the United States model.
"Energy Forests" could meet all future NZ transport and heat needs
20 Mar 2008
Purpose-grown energy forests if planted today could meet all of New Zealand's future transport fuel and heat energy needs, without threatening the country's important agricultural industry, according to a study completed by Crown Research Institute, Scion.
Trillion-dollar carbon market targeted
20 Mar 2008
A company that valued the global carbon market at more than a trillion US dollars has leapt into the business of attracting capital flow to ventures mitigating greenhouse gases (GHG) around the world.
Government Cold On Solar Heating
20 Mar 2008
The low uptake of solar-powered heating systems needs some serious attention from the Government if they want to increase the number of homes using them, says New Zealand First energy spokesperson Peter Brown.
Forest & Bird to Meridian: release Mokihinui report
20 Mar 2008
Meridian Energy should come clean and make public an independent report that is believed to have advised the power company not to go ahead with a hydro scheme on the Mokihinui River, Forest & Bird says in a statement yesterday.
BRANZ Seminars on Sustainable Design - Dunedin May 5 2008
20 Mar 2008
Anyone wanting to understand how their design choices impact on the energy efficiency of a building is encouraged to attend BRANZ’ sustainable design seminars, the first of which starts on 5 May in Dunedin.
Could Clark deliver a personal climate change tax credit?
19 Mar 2008
Could the Clark Government come up with a one-off cash Climate Action Dividend in this year’s Budget, to offset higher costs people will face to pay for its climate change measures?
British firm announces world's largest tidal power development
19 Mar 2008
While the Government here has received two applications for the first tranche of $2 million for wave engery, a British company yesterday announced the world's largest tidal power project.
Queensland drives net solar cost down to under $1500 per household
19 Mar 2008
The announcement follows the inaugural meeting of the Premier’s Council on Climate Change, addressed by one of Australia’s greatest scientific minds, Dr Tim Flannery.
New Zealand Energy Quarterly launched
19 Mar 2008
The first edition of the New Zealand Energy Quarterly was released by the Ministry of Economic Development yesterday.
CARBON NEWS FORUM: BP Chief Executive - Action needed now to smooth transition to low carbon economy
19 Mar 2008
"Across the world we're at an inflection point as far as the future energy mix is concerned. If we act now to develop sustainable regulatory and fiscal structures, we will be able to smooth the transition to a lower carbon economy of the future. If we wait, then that transition could be very difficult indeed" said BP chief executive Tony Hayward at the Third International Renewables Energy Conference.
Key backs ETS – with balance
18 Mar 2008
Opposition Leader John Key says his party supports the proposed New Zealand emissions trading system, describing it as “a good model, market-based, it works”. He also talked of further reforming the planning laws so renewable energy projects could proceed.
Tui gas flaring likely to be costly
18 Mar 2008
The consortium behind the Tui oilfield off the Taranaki coast is bracing itself for the carbon bill from its flaring of up to 500,000m3 a day of unusable gas when the emissions trading bill presently before Parliament is passed.
Continental plans bio fuel test flight
18 Mar 2008
Continental Airlines, Boeing and GE Aviation have announced plans to conduct a biofuels demonstration flight in the first half of 2009 in an effort to identify sustainable fuel solutions for the aviation industry.
Does Wal-Mart have a message for Air New Zealand?
18 Mar 2008
Wal-Mart is working to lead an effort by major global retailers to create common social and environmental standards for suppliers, a policy which might interest companies like air New Zealand, currently facing questions over its employment by a sub-contractor of lower-paid Chinese cabin crew.
Eco day attracts 6000
18 Mar 2008
Waitakere's key environmental event of 2008, EcoDay, attracted a record number of visitors to Olympic Park, New Lynn, at the weekend.
As the sea level rises, who will pay? Councils seek answers
Tue 15 Jul 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | North Canterbury's councils are seeking guidance from Government over who pays for protections from sea level rise, flooding and weather events.
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.
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.
Nations agree to tax premium flyers, private jets
2 Jul 2025
A group of countries, including France, Kenya, Spain and Barbados, pledged on June 30 to tax premium-class flying and private jets in a bid to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
Fri 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.
CARBON PRICE: NZUs $57.33
Wed 16 Jul 2025
The Carbon News NZU Index closed at $57.33 yesterday, up 17 cents on the previous day's close.
Indigenous elders lose landmark climate battle against Australian government
Wed 16 Jul 2025
The Australian government has won a landmark climate case against residents of islands under siege from the impacts of climate change.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
Fri 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.
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.
Govt announces $600k package for flood-affected farmers in Nelson Tasman
Wed 16 Jul 2025
The government has announced a $600,000 support package for flood-affected farmers in the Nelson Tasman Region, a move Federated Farmers says is a lifeline.
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.
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.
Climate backtracking could impact trade relationships: Labour
9 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | Labour Party Energy spokesperson Megan Woods says the government needs to be upfront about how its energy policies will impact trade relationships, following revelations New Zealand was warned by other governments that backtracking on climate policies jeopardised its membership of an international alliance.
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.
Debanking bill 'financially dangerous'
Tue 15 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A private member’s bill aiming to stop financial institutions from considering ESG factors has been slammed by leading investment groups, legal experts, and climate finance advocates as misguided, financially dangerous, and legislative overreach.
4000 hectares of forest uprooted by extreme winds in Nelson-Tasman storms
Tue 15 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | Foresters are facing a massive clean-up and tens of millions of dollars worth of damage from recent climate change-fuelled storms at the top of the South Island, with initial reports of 4000 hectares of wind-thrown production forestry.
Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public
Fri 11 Jul 2025
The climate crisis is more urgent than ever, so why is there a disconnect between stated policies and actual practices?
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.
In Latin America, the energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits
8 Jul 2025
A new report shows that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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.
Unlocking economic growth on conservation land
9 Jul 2025
Media release - New Zealand Government | A targeted effort to reduce the backlog of applications for use of conservation land is accelerating economic growth without compromising conservation values, says Conservation Minister Tama Potaka.
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
Fri 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.
US: Why the federal government is making climate data disappear
Wed 16 Jul 2025
Under Trump, climate denial has given way to something even more dangerous: climate erasure.
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.
More choices for how we use, buy and sell electricity – and lower our power bills
Wed 16 Jul 2025
Media release – Electricity Authority | New Zealanders will have more choices for how they use, buy and sell electricity – so they can lower their power bills – because of new market rules confirmed today by the Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko (the Authority).
Researchers unveil new tools to accurately track methane emissions
Mon 14 Jul 2025
Breakthrough methane monitoring tools developed by Earth Sciences New Zealand are set to transform how farmers, landfill operators, and wastewater facilities track and tackle their methane emissions.
Green budget 'ludicrous la-la land' – govt
15 May 2025
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the budget was "clown show economics" and an "absolute circus".
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?
UN Human Rights Council fails to call out fossil fuels after decision cuts mention
Fri 11 Jul 2025
A proposal by the Marshall Islands and Colombia calling for a transition away from fossil fuels at the UN Human Rights Council failed to make it into the council’s declaration on climate change and human rights issued on Tuesday.
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
Fri 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.
