Topics tagged with 'Energy'
State landlords must go green
17 Apr 2008
Go Green or flag away your state tenants. The massive over-building of state office accommodation in Wellington is designed to ensure that public servants from 2010 onward will toil only in green buildings.
EU officials investigate competitiveness issues arising from ETS plan
17 Apr 2008
European Union (EU) officials from the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) in the past few days have initiated a program to identify which energy-intensive industries might need protection as a result of the EU's recently proposed tougher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions controls.
Nelson voluntary offset trader launching in Australia, UK
17 Apr 2008
Offset the Rest, a New Zealand organisation that sells voluntary offset carbon credits, plans to launch into the UK and Australia next month.
ANALYSIS: High hopes for the Lieberman-Warner ETS bill in the US
17 Apr 2008
By Emily Farnwort. - The °Climate Group recently held its first North American members meeting with attendance from over 50 leading businesses, states and cities. The conversation was centered on action from the US on climate change. It was a far-ranging and optimistic conversation with a striking focus on the need for leadership and a robust carbon market.
‘Mokihinui doomed by RMA if not by Mallard’
16 Apr 2008
Meridian Energy’s embarrassment over a negative biodiversity report on the state-owned electricity generator’s Mokihinui River hydro scheme means the Government will pull the plug on it, National Party energy spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says.
Labour’s energy strategy in tatters, Brownlee says
16 Apr 2008
The prospect of power cuts this winter in the context of the 10-year ban on new thermal power stations shows the Government’s energy strategy is in tatters, National Party energy spokesperson Gerry Brownlee told Carbon News last night.
Contact signs contracts in $250 million peaking plant project
16 Apr 2008
Two hundred megawatts of highly efficient gas-fired peaking capacity to support increasing levels of renewable electricity generation have come a step closer, with Contact Energy executing contracts to purchase two fast-start gas turbine peaking units.
Government working on eco claim system, Mallard may look at new accord on packaging
16 Apr 2008
Environment Minister Trevor says the government is on a system to verify eco-claims being made on all goods and services.
Commerce Commission issues Maui Pipeline Open Access draft determination
16 Apr 2008
The Commerce Commission has issued a draft determination in relation to an application under section 58 of the Commerce Act by two Todd companies in relation to access to the Maui pipeline.
First weekly GHG calculator shows NSW emissions up
16 Apr 2008
The world’s first weekly greenhouse indicator has revealed that greenhouse emissions from energy in NSW and Victoria have risen for the first quarter in 2008.
Lobby builds to force companies to declare climate change exposure
15 Apr 2008
Spurred on by the example of the continuing reticence of finance houses over sub prime exposure, a group of institutional investors - including London’ s F&C Management which has holdings in New Zealand - is lobbying the US Securities and Exchange Commission to insist that companies disclose their exposure to climate change.
MP: Parachutes coming out on bio fuel imports
15 Apr 2008
Special correspondent.- Members of Parliament on all sides of the fence are seeing the political fishhooks in the government’s desire to import biofuels.
Personal carbon counter coming by year's end
15 Apr 2008
A personal carbon counter developed by a consortium under EU sponsorship will be marketed in New Zealand before the end of this year.
CO2 emission mapping of continental US
15 Apr 2008
A new map service is offering more than 100 times the detail of previous inventories of carbon dioxide being emitted in the continental United States.
Auckland’s first five-star environmentally sustainable building
15 Apr 2008
Auckland City Council's City Development Committee has approved the construction of a ventilated weather screen façade on the BNZ building at 80 Queen Street.
EXCLUSIVE: 'Surprise' MAF report shows some farms will profit from ETS
14 Apr 2008
Already well-off dairy farmers could get a 30 per cent profit boost from the ETS, according to an apparently prematurely released Government report.
Thermal ban ‘will kill oil exploration’ – Todd
14 Apr 2008
Oil exploration off the Taranaki coast will be killed by the Government’s proposed 10-year ban on new thermal power stations, the chief executive of Todd Energy, Richard Tweedie, told Carbon News.
National scents votes in $700m R and D "pork barrel"
14 Apr 2008
Opposition leader John Key is surprised the amount of traction he is getting from his outright condemnation of the government’s $700 million research announced for agriculture.
Forest and Bird supports request to call in Mokihinui consent
14 Apr 2008
Forest & Bird supports the request by West Coast councils for the Environment Minister to “call in” Meridian’s resource consent application to build a hydro dam on the Mokihinui River.
Major new Indian NCDEX exchange enjoys enthusiastic first day trading
14 Apr 2008
More than 200,000 CERs, worth INR 200 mln, were traded on the new NCDEX exchange (Friday NZ time).
No need for NZ to drag feet on biofuels
14 Apr 2008
New Zealand shouldn’t delay bringing in biofuel sales obligations and miss out on cutting greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels says a major potential investor.
Downloadable eco advice aims at 63% who want to help
14 Apr 2008
A new eco advice booklet is available off the internet from today to help the 91 per cent of New Zealanders who have said they want to know more about how they can protect the environment, says Environment Minister Trevor Mallard.
EXCLUSIVE: $18b windfall for NZ government from ETS
11 Apr 2008
CARBON NEWS INQUIRY - The New Zealand Government’s coffers will be boosted by $18b in windfall revenues from sales of carbon credits between 2013 and 2024, according to privileged information obtained by Carbon News.
ETS will hit steel mill profits by $60m a year - $1 billion investment deferred
11 Apr 2008
MPs have been told a $1 billion decision to invest in New Zealand’s Glenbrook steel mill depends on the shape of the final emissions trading legislation, and the new regime might also lead to the mill’s closure.
EXCLUSIVE: Cook Strait tidal test turbine gains resource consent
11 Apr 2008
A New Zealand marine energy industry has come a step closer with the granting yesterday of resource consent for a tidal flow turbine in Cook Strait.
New price control and investment law for utilities
11 Apr 2008
Infrastructure businesses like electricity lines companies and airports will gain improved incentives to innovate and invest while giving consumers protection from excessive prices and poor quality, under a Bill amending the Commerce Act introduced to Parliament yesterday.
Carbon neutrality? What about 400% electricity use cut instead?
11 Apr 2008
Wayne Norrie, chief executive of data centre outsourcing company Revera, says he’s totally frustrated by a less-than-holistic picture about carbon neutrality.
Auckland University aims for floating turbine breakthrough
11 Apr 2008
A University of Auckland engineering doctoral student has received a $75,000 thee-year government scholarship to study the feasibility of floating wind turbines.
Nelson firm cited among world top 30 offset service providers
11 Apr 2008
New Zealand company Offset the Rest is the only company in Asia Pacific to be named as one of the top 30 carbon offset providers in the world.
No European-like second phase windfall profits for NZ generators
10 Apr 2008
European electricity generators are in line for massive windfall profits of around $140 billion over the next four years, but their vastly more environment-friendly New Zealand counterparts can expect no such largesse.
Local authorities to get message on renewables
10 Apr 2008
The Government is to crack the whip over territorial authorities to ensure they get behind Labour’s goal of having 90% of the country’s power generation capacity from renewable sources by 2025.
Kiwi-based Windflow Technology does $12m plus turbine deal with Te Rere Hau
10 Apr 2008
Windflow Technology has received confirmation of an order for a further 16 Windflow 500 turbines.
US expert: No technical barrier to 20% wind power goal in NZ
10 Apr 2008
There are no fundamental technical barriers to the integration of 20% wind energy into the electrical system in New Zealand, according to a visiting US wind energy expert.
US concerned over EU airline emissions charge plan, starts probe into airline pollution
10 Apr 2008
The United States is expressing “serious concern” over EU proposals to impose emissions charges on airlines.
Contact No1 in electricity hedge market services
10 Apr 2008
New research has confirmed that Contact is rated number one in the delivery of electricity hedge market services.
BP warned of political troubles in West Papua LNG project
10 Apr 2008
Human rights groups have warned UK-based supermajor BP that the $6 billion Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in West Papua, risks becoming embroiled in the province's volatile politics.
Dubai and Eco Securities developing major CDM emission reduction projects
10 Apr 2008
Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and Nakheel, Dubai's premier development company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly identify and develop emissions reduction projects across the whole of Nakheel's operations.
Dunajtschik: The shy man behind the nation's newest, biggest green building
10 Apr 2008
Publicity-shy Mark Dunajtschik, an Austrian by birth, is now often considered the only individual in New Zealand who can cause a major new building to happen on the strength of a handshake
PWC expert: Exporters to feel bite of any EU shipping emissions move
9 Apr 2008
The likely inclusion of shipping in the European Union (EU) emissions trading scheme (ETS) looks set to hit New Zealand exporters in the pocket – and international airline passengers could be next to shell out for their carbon footprint.
No government plans for carbon import tariff – yet
9 Apr 2008
The Government has given an equivocal “No” to the possibility of imposing tariffs on imports from countries that don’t put a price on their greenhouse gas emissions.
Smith: Biofuels joins climate change debacles
9 Apr 2008
Biofuels is set to join the list of climate change policy debacles, with the Minister admitting sustainability standards will not be in place by 1 July, says National’s Climate Change spokesman, Nick Smith.
Dell announces 100% green power for 10,000-staff HQ
9 Apr 2008
One of The °Climate Group’s newest members, Dell, has announced that its headquarters campus in Round Rock, Texas - home to more than 10,000 Dell employees - will be powered with 100 per cent green power.
Fuel economy star ratings go on cars for sale
8 Apr 2008
Fuel economy star rating labels go on show on all new and most late model used cars from yesterday.
Windfarmers: More wind means security and reasonable price
8 Apr 2008
New Zealand must maximise use if its world class wind resource if it wants a secure and reasonabely priced electricity supply in future.
Holcim wants access to "hot-air" AAUs
7 Apr 2008
Big-emitting private companies, no less than the Government, should be allowed to source hot-air Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) from eastern Europe to meet their emissions trading scheme (ETS) liabilities, according to the energy and climate change group manager for cement manufacturer Holcim, Michael Rynne.
All but ACT voters back 10 year ban on new thermal generation
7 Apr 2008
New polling due out this morning shows 58% of New Zealanders back the Government’s proposed ban on building new baseload thermal power plants during the next 10 years.
Minister: There's a place for nuclear
7 Apr 2008
The UK’s Trade Minister says he knows New Zealand is a nuclear free society – “and I don’t want to interfere in your affairs” – but Britain sees a balanced approach to future energy sources, including nuclear, as the right solution.
UK Trade Minister: tariffs threat could gain momentum if market doesn’t work
7 Apr 2008
Britain’s Trade and Investment Minister, Lord Digby Jones, has told business executives in Auckland that if the market has not got carbon priced right by 2012, the calls to impose border taxes on goods from countries not paying for emissions could gain momentum.
Cement lobby launches major campaign to replace bitumen on roads
7 Apr 2008
Cement interests are launching a concerted campaign to have the nations roads laid in concrete instead of bitumen.
Study confirms 50% CO2 reduction from use of home-grown biodiesel
7 Apr 2008
High-quality biodiesel from oilseed rape, grown and produced in the South Island by Biodiesel New Zealand, is sustainable, emitting around 50% less carbon dioxide over its life cycle than mineral diesel.
‘The effects are already here’: Northland communities face the realities of a changed climate
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Te Taitokerau Northland is facing more intense storms, rising temperatures and shifting seasons – pressures that are reshaping communities, ecosystems, infrastructure and livelihoods across the region, according to a new case study from the Climate Change Commission.
Media round-up
Fri 5 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Labour’s chronic evasiveness as the Government reneges on climate change; newly released documents reveal the country's new methane target is associated with 'perilous' 2.7C of warming; and New Zealand's 'pitiful' decision on emissions targets comes with costs.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
NSW government, energy company under fire after native bird habitat cleared for renewables project
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A New South Wales government-backed renewable energy project has been accused of environmental vandalism after dozens of threatened birds were found in native trees it had cleared.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Govt ‘scaremongering’ over co-operation – former climate ambassador
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former top climate diplomat, Kay Harrison, says the Government’s recent comments ruling out buying climate mitigation offshore amount to scaremongering, and the country is missing a chance to give our businesses a boost.
Rare win for renewable energy: Trump administration funds geothermal network expansion
Fri 5 Dec 2025
A first-in-the-nation heating and cooling network in Massachusetts is set to double in size.
Carbon auction tipped to be a non-event
Tue 2 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Tomorrow’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction is all but certain to fail, with participants blaming the government for destroying confidence as NZUs continue to change hands on the secondary market at a 40% discount on the $68 auction floor.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
Wed 3 Dec 2025
COMMENT: The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
Fri 5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
Climate comments ‘outrageous’ – former top climate negotiator
Wed 3 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former climate ambassador, Kay Harrison, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ recent statements that the Government had ruled out buying offshore climate mitigation are “outrageous”.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Tairāwhiti unveils $359m plan to cut storm damage and stabilise erosion-prone land
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Gisborne District Council has released a 30-year transition plan to protect Tairāwhiti from escalating climate-driven erosion and storm damage, outlining a $359 million proposal for Crown co-investment to stabilise 100,000 hectares of vulnerable land and slash the region’s long-term clean-up costs.
Open letter urges govt to abandon plans to subsidise LNG terminal
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Climate and renewable energy advocates have joined forces calling on the Government to ditch its plan to subsidise an LNG import terminal.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
Westpac rolls out interest-free finance for climate-proofing homes as weather risks rise
Wed 3 Dec 2025
Westpac NZ has unveiled a new interest-free lending package aimed at helping households strengthen their properties against flooding and extreme weather, as climate risks intensify across the country.
Govt’s rejection of CCC’s advice on climate targets undermines independent watchdog’s role, says opposition
21 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s latest dismissal of Climate Change Commission advice shows they have their heads in the sand about the reality of meeting climate targets, according to the Labour Party, while the Greens say Government decisions were an embarrassment on the world stage at COP30 this week.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
Tue 2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Amy Westervelt: It’s time we stopped treating corporations as people
Thu 4 Dec 2025
COMMENT: Treating corporations as people and granting them First Amendment rights has warped US politics and harmed the climate. We need to overturn Citizens United.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Media round-up
28 Nov 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealand’s drilling rules, confusion reigns as the climate minister appears unaware of his own announcement, and the fierce battle over mining on Denniston Plateau.
Govt's emissions ‘buffer’ an illusion with all NZ's carbon budgets off track
28 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Dr Christina Hood, head of consultancy Compass Climate, says the Government’s claim that New Zealand has a comfortable emissions “buffer” to absorb higher agricultural pollution is misleading, with projections showing emissions budgets are actually set to be missed in real terms.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
Mon 1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Govt rejects advice on international aviation and shipping emissions
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has rejected all the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations to strengthen emissions targets.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
Thu 4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
NZ's ‘missed opportunity’ on aviation and shipping emissions
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s refusal to include international aviation and shipping in New Zealand’s 2050 climate target has been met with disappointment from climate experts, who say the decision undermines accountability for a transport-reliant nation, and misses a critical opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s climate leadership.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
Tue 2 Dec 2025
NSW police have arrested 141 people who attempted to block the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour during Rising Tide protests, which began on Thursday.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Market rewards firming over renewables in gentailer split
Wed 3 Dec 2025
A clearer valuation divide is emerging across the gentailer sector, with the market increasingly rewarding companies positioned for flexibility and firming rather than renewable build-out.
NZ and US deepen Antarctic science partnership
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Media release: New Zealand Government | New joint research initiatives focused on climate and ecosystem change expand on the long-standing collaboration between New Zealand and the United States on Antarctic science and logistics, says Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Pollution from coal plants was dropping. Then came Trump and AI.
Mon 1 Dec 2025
Data centres’ hunger for electricity is prompting some states to keep their coal-burning power plants from closing – while DC relaxes air pollution limits.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
Spain announces $1.5 billion package to boost electric vehicle market
Fri 5 Dec 2025
Spain's plan includes 400 million euros in direct subsidies in 2026 for consumers to buy EVs.
Treasury to offer first stab at climate liabilities pre-election
Thu 4 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Treasury will make a first attempt at accounting for Crown liabilities arising from New Zealand’s international climate change commitments in next year’s pre-election economic and fiscal update.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
Amid the ashes
26 Nov 2025
This year the LA wildfire came for my hometown. What happened next is a warning for us all.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
