Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Climate action could cure Australia's cost of living crisis, starting with 100 pct renewables
14 Sep 2022
Investment in climate change initiatives could be a solution to Australia’s cost of living pressures, with a new report subverting a decade’s worth of arguments that action on emissions would hurt back pockets.
Energy crisis: the UK is still heading for widespread fuel poverty – despite the government’s price cap
14 Sep 2022
In October 2021, an estimated 4 million households in the UK were in fuel poverty. But the largest increase in gas and electricity prices ever in April 2022 has pushed a further 2.7 million UK households into fuel poverty, bringing the total number to 6.7 million.
Low carbon homes could boost economy by $150 billion, slash emissions by 30 million tonnes
13 Sep 2022
Changes to the construction sector could give the economy a $150 billion boost, as well as slashing 30 million tonnes of CO2-e by 2050, a new study has found.
Floating solar farms are a game changer
13 Sep 2022
The sun’s power is virtually infinite — opportunities to collect and make use of it are not. As demand for renewable energy increases, so does the need for places to generate it.
Government promises favourable consent regime for renewable energy
12 Sep 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | Energy minister Megan Woods says a new regulatory framework for the development of offshore wind should be in place by 2024 and a discussion document was being put together on strengthening national direction for renewable electricity generation and transmission.
Global drought saps hydropower, complicating clean-energy push
12 Sep 2022
Dry conditions in the U.S, Europe and China have raised questions about how hydropower fits into changing energy mix.
Best by the rest...
9 Sep 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: A proposed 400 megawatt solar power station near Taupō will be pitched for resource consent later this month; experts urge changes in forestry and farming; and wallabies are quickly becoming an invasive species.
How waves could power a clean energy future
9 Sep 2022
Waves off the coast of the U.S. could generate 2.64 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity per year — that’s about 64% of last year’s total utility-scale electricity generation in America.
Switching the world to renewable energy would cost $62 trillion, but the payback would take six years
8 Sep 2022
Researchers at Stanford University have published a new study which says that claims 145 of the world’s nations could switch to 100% renewable energy in a few years using renewable energy technologies available today.
China droughts highlight energy challenge as climate heats up
8 Sep 2022
Hotter weather is expected to push China's enormous energy consumption even higher in the coming years.
Why defusing 'carbon bombs' offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change
6 Sep 2022
A carbon bomb is a fossil fuel extraction project, such as a coal mine, that can cause over a metric gigaton of CO₂ emissions during its lifetime. That's a billion tons—more than twice the UK's annual emissions from a single project.
Europe is bracing for a brutal, cold winter
6 Sep 2022
European governments are scrambling to avert a full-scale energy crisis after Russia’s last-minute decision to halt gas deliveries through the key Nord Stream pipeline indefinitely.
How Indian EV startups are mobilising mass adoption
6 Sep 2022
The Indian automobile industry is the fifth largest in the world, with a goal of becoming the third largest by 2030.
Wholesale electricity prices too high to support electrification
5 Sep 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | The current price of wholesale electricity is too expensive to support the electrification of heavy industry, says the chair of the Major Electricity Users Group John Harbord.
World’s largest wind farm begins full operation off the coast of Yorkshire
5 Sep 2022
The world’s largest completed wind farm, the 1.3GW Hornsea 2 project off the coast of Yorkshire, is now in full operation, according to its developer, the Danish energy giant Ørsted.
Municipalities can overcome Europe’s fossil-fuel addiction
5 Sep 2022
Europe’s fossil-fuel addiction is painfully clear amid the global energy crisis and the unfolding horrors in Ukraine.
Indonesia’s push to reach net zero emissions can help power a new phase in its economic development
5 Sep 2022
Indonesia has a target to meet net zero emissions by 2060, and is reaching a new phase of economic development to do so.
Central Otago grower world’s first to go fossil fuel free
2 Sep 2022
By Liz Kivi | A Central Otago cherry grower believes they are the first in the world to operate a commercial food orchard without burning any fossil fuels.
Wooden cities ‘could save more than 100bn tonnes of CO2 by 2100’
2 Sep 2022
Housing a growing population in homes made out of wood instead of conventional steel and concrete could avoid more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions until 2100.
Inside the ‘energy villages’ powering Germany’s green transition
1 Sep 2022
Neighbours in the Black Forest region of Germany have come together to create a community power plant, in a quest to achieve energy sovereignty.
Sichuan uses 5000 solar panels to boost power supply
31 Aug 2022
A total of 5,000 solar panels were put into use at an expressway section linking Southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces on Wednesday. The panels are expected to generate 4.22 million kilowatt hours (kW) annually, in an effort to boost power supply and ease the power crunch in the province.
The six reckonings of Europe’s energy crisis: gas, nuclear, war and inflation
30 Aug 2022
With European wholesale natural gas, coal, and electricity as well as CO2 prices near to all-time highs, Europeans are facing a winter of discontent, one which may in fact last for many years.
Lotteries big winner in government's decarbonisation grants
29 Aug 2022
The government has announced another $4.8 million dollars in support for decarbonisation in the public sector with a list of 11 projects saving 9943 tonnes of carbon over a 10-year period at a cost of $483 per tonne.
Offshore wind farm progress
29 Aug 2022
A consortium looking at developing large offshore wind farms in New Zealand has made more steps towards its goal though it says any generation would not be until the 2030s.
This algorithm can make all the world’s wind farms produce more electricity – for free
29 Aug 2022
Virtually all wind turbines, which produce more than 5 percent of the world’s electricity, are controlled as if they were individual, free-standing units. In fact, the vast majority are part of larger wind farm installations involving dozens or even hundreds of turbines, whose wakes can affect each other.
The search for fossil fuels must come to an end: Greens
26 Aug 2022
Media Release - Following a High Court decision yesterday the Green Party is calling on the Government to amend the Crown Minerals Act to end fossil fuel extraction and to require Ministers to consider climate change when making decisions about whether to grant a permit to prospect, explore or mine other Crown minerals.
Australia must cut consumption for successful transition to renewables: expert
26 Aug 2022
Energy Consumption – whether its heating your home, driving, oil refining or liquefying natural gas – is responsible for around 82% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions
The energy required for adaptation calls for stronger mitigation efforts
26 Aug 2022
A new study published today in Nature Communications by researchers from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the European Institute on Economics and the Environment and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine finds that adapting to climate change will require more energy than previously estimated, leading to higher energy investments and costs.
The idea of 100% renewable energy is once again having a moment
26 Aug 2022
In 1975, Danish physicist Bent Sørensen published a paper examining the possibility that his country could run on 100 percent renewable energy. Appearing in the journal Science, it could have been an important moment for beginning to look seriously at transforming the way the world produces energy.
Why lithium power politics are playing out very differently in Chile and Bolivia
26 Aug 2022
The people of Bolivia and Chile imagine a different kind of extraction: one that is controlled by those who live by the resources and one that does not destroy the earth.
A near 100% renewables grid is well within reach for Australia
25 Aug 2022
There have been many simulations of a 100% renewable electricity grid for Australia, including some ground-breaking studies from Beyond Zero Emissions, The University of New South Wales and the ANU
Australia’s biggest listed solar company to be wound up after selling US portfolio
23 Aug 2022
New Energy Solar, the biggest listed solar investor in Australia, is to be wound up after agreeing to sell its remaining portfolio of 14 US solar farms to a company run by US investment bank giant Goldman Sachs.
“This is total, total greenwash”: Santos claims massive Alaska oil project will be carbon neutral
22 Aug 2022
Last week, at the same time as reporting a huge profit windfall, Australian gas giant Santos gave the final investment green light to its $US2.6 billion ($A3.7 billion) Pikka oil venture off the coast of Alaska, citing a need to boost global energy supplies amid the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Renewable generation hits record high, but so do coal imports
19 Aug 2022
Supply share from renewables is at a record 30-year high, according to a new report from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
“More emissions than coal:” Pressure mounts on Australia to rule out forest biomass
18 Aug 2022
Pressure is mounting on the Australian government to rule out the use of native forest biomass for renewable energy generation – particularly as a replacement for coal in ageing coal generators – with one green group arguing that it “fails even the most basic common sense test.”
Bill to limit mining welcomed by conservationists; slammed by industry
17 Aug 2022
The mining lobby says a proposed bill to ban new mines on conservation land and stop new coal mining permits completely from 2025 is an “unnecessary stranglehold” on coal mining.
NZ German hydrogen programme announced
17 Aug 2022
New Zealand and Germany have joined forces to set up a green hydrogen programme.
Wellington Regional Council committee recommends spending close to $600k on lowering carbon emissions
17 Aug 2022
Greater Wellington’s Climate Committee has recommended that the regional council fund two projects aimed at lowering the regional council’s carbon footprint.
Influential oil company climate scenarios don’t meet Paris Agreement goals: new analysis shows
17 Aug 2022
Several major oil companies, including BP and Shell, periodically publish scenarios forecasting the future of the energy sector. In recent years, they have added visions for how climate change might be addressed, including scenarios that they claim are consistent with the international Paris climate agreement.
US investment giant BlackRock in $1 billion big battery play in Australia
17 Aug 2022
US investment giant BlackRock is planning to invest at least $1 billion in big battery projects in Australia after agreeing to buy out Melbourne-based Akaysha Energy and its portfolio of at least nine projects in the country’s main grid.
Norway's climate choice: old oil, gas fields switch to green power or close early
16 Aug 2022
Norway will have to phase out some of its old oil and gas fields prematurely to achieve its 2030 climate goals, unless it can use carbon-free power on more offshore platforms to cut their emissions, the country's Climate Minister Espen Barth Eide said.
Warning that labour shortages could harm Australia’s green energy transition
12 Aug 2022
Australia’s Clean Energy Council has warned that the country runs the risk of throttling the success of its clean energy transition unless the current and growing labour shortages and skills gaps across the clean energy industry are filled.
'The Sacrifice Zone': Myanmar bears cost of green energy
11 Aug 2022
The birds no longer sing, and the herbs no longer grow. The fish no longer swim in rivers that have turned a murky brown. The animals do not roam, and the cows are sometimes found dead.
Gravity storage start-up says it has “multi gigawatt hour” plans for Australian zinc refiner
11 Aug 2022
Gravity storage start-up Energy Vault says it has begun site planning for what it now describes as a “multi-gigawatt hour” project for long and short term storage to support the green energy plans for Australian zinc refiner Sun Metals.
Canada’s carbon tax is hurting working people: opinion
11 Aug 2022
In 1912, the fact that excess carbon released into the atmosphere could warm up the earth was first made public knowledge. Here we are, one hundred ten years later, still wondering what to do about the problem.
EECA calls for submissions on EV charging
10 Aug 2022
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is calling for public submissions on a green paper about improving the performance of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to cope with increasing demand on the grid.
5 ways the Inflation Reduction Act will fight climate change
10 Aug 2022
More clean energy, less dirty energy, new punishments for methane leaks and billions of dollars for communities most in need of climate-related help — those are the provisions that have environmentalists celebrating what they see as a monumental step for U.S. climate action.
Green hydrogen has a leakage problem that may cancel out some of its climate gains
9 Aug 2022
Hydrogen has emerged as the great white (or green) hope of the clean energy transition due to its potential use in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries like shipping, steel production, and even transport.
Chinese companies seek global carbon market for green hydrogen
9 Aug 2022
Three Chinese organisations are leading the charge to create an international carbon market for green hydrogen.
Why does Canada keep propping up Big Oil amid climate crisis?
8 Aug 2022
Legislators on Capitol Hill will soon vote on the biggest climate crisis bill in U.S. history. It's sparked a lively debate in its northern neighour where Canadians are questioning whether the time has come to tackle big oil.
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.
