Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Shaw talking tough on carbon budgets
12 Nov 2020
The Climate Change Commission could be given the ability to manage carbon prices if its carbon budget recommendations are not followed by politicians, the climate minister says.
Meridian looking good to carbon-averse Blackrock
12 Nov 2020
Blackrock has increased its stake in Meridian as part of its carbon-divestment strategy.
New fund helps businesses ditch coal and gas
12 Nov 2020
Businesses wanting to stop using coal and gas for heat can tap into a new $70 million fund.
Collins appoints new climate spokesperson
12 Nov 2020
Kaikoura MP Stuart Smith is National’s new climate spokesperson, replacing Coromandel MP Scott Simpson.
'It's time,' Taylor says ahead of climate event
11 Nov 2020
Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor is more optimistic about action on climate change than he has ever been.
No miracle energy sources to replace fossil fuels, says scientist
10 Nov 2020
Radical decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement means getting used to living in a world without abundant supplies of energy, ecologist Dr Mike Joy is warning.
Europe ready to restart transatlantic climate talks
10 Nov 2020
The European Commission and senior EU lawmakers say they are ready to intensify dialogue with the US on climate change, listing car CO2 limits and green finance among areas where “real transatlantic cooperation” is again possible after the four-year “Trump parenthesis”.
Where should be we use hydrogen?
10 Nov 2020
Is hydrogen the lifeblood of a low-carbon future, or an over-hyped distraction from real solutions?
NSW unveils $32bn renewable energy plan
10 Nov 2020
The New South Wales Government is promising a $32bn private investment boom in renewable energy in regional areas under a plan to transform the state’s electricity infrastructure.
Scientists, doctors sound warning for farmers
6 Nov 2020
Emissions from food production alone could sink the world’s chances of meeting the Paris Agreement, scientists are warning in research with major implications for New Zealand.
How 'geothermal anywhere' can cut our emissions
6 Nov 2020
Large-scale geothermal energy has long been constrained to volcanic areas where heat can easily be captured and turned into electricity. Today, breakthroughs in drilling techniques are opening new horizons for the technology, offering the prospect of “geothermal anywhere”.
'Liquid window' harnesses light and heat
6 Nov 2020
Rising demand for cooling and heating in commercial buildings has pushed up their carbon emissions - could temperature-sensitive windows help?
PLANET IN PERIL: Why we must change our financial system
4 Nov 2020
New Zealand can have a sustainable financial system by 2030, driving environmental, social and economic prosperity, a panel of public and private-sector heavyweights says.
Help for SMEs to cut emissions
4 Nov 2020
A new tool for measuring carbon emissions in small and medium-sized businesses will help decarbonise the country’s supply chain, says Toitû Envirocare.
Shell's climate tweet goes badly wrong
4 Nov 2020
A climate poll on Twitter posted by Shell has backfired spectacularly, with the oil company accused of gaslighting the public.
EU set to deny gas power plants a green investment label
4 Nov 2020
Power plants fuelled by natural gas will not be classed as a sustainable investment in Europe, unless they meet an emissions limit that none currently comply with.
Energy sector ripe for govt emissions targets
3 Nov 2020
The Government appears to have emissions from energy in its sights as it seeks to finally make real cuts in the country's emissions.
You've got cheap data, how about cheap power too?
3 Nov 2020
The iPhone transformed mobile phones in just 10 years. Could green energy see a similar revolution?
New Govt unlikely to cut farmers more slack
2 Nov 2020
Speculation the Government may go soft on agricultural emissions without the Green Party in Cabinet ignores Labour’s track record on the issue.
Petronas Asia's first oil company to set zero-emissions target
2 Nov 2020
Malaysian state-owned energy firm Petronas has declared that it will be carbon neutral by 2050
Bank to ban companies using coal
30 Oct 2020
The ANZ Bank says it will not take on any new customers using coal, and that by 2030 it will finance gas and renewable power generation only.
Aviation joins the electric age
30 Oct 2020
New Zealand’s first electric plane will take to the skies today.
Philippines declares moratorium on new coal power plants
30 Oct 2020
The Philippines Government will no longer accept proposals to build new coal power plants, in a significant policy shift designed to boost the deployment of renewable energy.
Ford and GM knew about climate change - and covered it up
30 Oct 2020
Exxon knew, Shell knew, coal knew — is it any surprise that top auto manufacturers knew, too?
How to boost the hydrogen market
30 Oct 2020
Step by step, hydrogen has worked its way into the heart of the energy transition: as a storage medium for renewable energy; a fuel of the future for ships and planes; and a replacement for fossil fuels in homes, power and industry.
Consortium plans carbon-capture projects
29 Oct 2020
After decades spent extracting fossil fuels from the UK’s North Sea, a consortium of oil companies is preparing to pump Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions back beneath the seabed to help meet the government’s climate ambitions.
EU tries to stop fossil-fuel companies suing over climate action
29 Oct 2020
The European Union is trying to remove fossil fuels from the list of investments protected by the Energy Charter Treaty to stop its member states being sued over climate action.
EU will not block new nuclear power plants
27 Oct 2020
The European Commission will not stand in the way of countries that choose to build new nuclear power stations, said EU climate chief Frans Timmermans.
World Bank branch backs coal megaproject
23 Oct 2020
The World Bank’s private lending branch is indirectly backing one of the world’s biggest new coal complexes, despite a new green policy.
Forestry’s climate impact ‘invisible’ under UN rules, experts say
23 Oct 2020
Forests are the planet’s biggest carbon “sink” – absorbing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they emit – but their contribution to cooling the earth’s climate is currently not fully accounted for under UN rules, experts say.
NZX wants 'efficient' links to secondary market
22 Oct 2020
The Government’s new carbon-auctioning site could be connected to platforms in the secondary market.
Business makes bid for $7.23 billion
22 Oct 2020
Businesses want the new Government to back $7.23 billion worth of projects they say will cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 5.5 per cent over the next decade.
EU to go for tough new rules for car batteries
22 Oct 2020
The European Commission will table new EU-wide regulations this autumn to ensure that batteries manufactured or imported into Europe are “the greenest on this planet".
Carbon auctioning platform operator revealed
21 Oct 2020
NZX has won the right to set up and operate the Government’s carbon-auctioning platform.
Let's cool the ground and keep drilling, says Big Oil
21 Oct 2020
Oil company ConocoPhillips has a problem; it wants to pump 160,000 more barrels of oil each day from a new project on Alaska’s North Slope, but the fossil fuels it and others produce are leading to global heating, and the Arctic is melting.
Election has little impact on carbon markets
20 Oct 2020
Carbon markets have barely reacted to the general election, which returned Labour to power with an absolutely majority and arguably an endorsement of its actions on climate change.
We need to solve the dry-year problem, says Carr
20 Oct 2020
Electrification of more of the economy to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions will require a resolution to the risk posed by dry years to the hydro-electricity system, says Climate Change Commission chair Dr Rod Carr.
How China can be carbon-neutral by 2060
20 Oct 2020
Three weeks after China told the world it is aiming for carbon neutrality, an important study outlines a roadmap to that goal, and challenges along the way.
The four who could be our next climate minister
19 Oct 2020
Who will be New Zealand’s next climate minister? Carbon News canvasses the options and comes up with four names.
World makes haste too slowly on cutting energy use
19 Oct 2020
The world is dragging its feet on efforts to tackle the climate crisis by reducing its energy use, according to a global watchdog.
BHP hears Musk's call for more nickel
16 Oct 2020
Australian resources giant BHP may finally be starting to establish itself as a primary supplier of materials to the battery and electric vehicle markets, confirming that it has started to boost nickel production after Tesla CEO Elon Musk issued a call out for miners to ramp up output of the key material used in the company’s batteries.
National releases its climate policy - at last
15 Oct 2020
Forestry's role under the Emissions Trading Scheme would be reviewed under a National Government and agricultural emissions would not face a carbon price until other countries do the same.
Our greenhouse gas emissions are being pushed by growth
15 Oct 2020
Economic growth is driving New Zealand’s rising greenhouse gas emissions, a new report confirms.
Electric trucks and green hydrogen 'ripe' for investment
15 Oct 2020
Green hydrogen, low-carbon aviation fuel and electric trucks are among 55 clean technologies that can help the European Union to reach its goal of climate neutrality by mid-century, new research shows.
IEA outlines how world can reach net-zero emissions by 2050
14 Oct 2020
For the first time, the International Energy Agency has set out what would need to happen this decade to reach net-zero emissions globally by 2050.
Business, experts, brief PM in secret meeting
13 Oct 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and three of her Cabinet heavyweights have been briefed on what experts and business leaders see as the real issues in dealing with climate change.
Steel giant joins growing list of companies aiming for net-zero
13 Oct 2020
Luxembourg company ArcelorMittal produces more steel than any other company. It is also taking a leading role in developing technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from steel-making.
Parker pushes back against pumped-hydro critics
12 Oct 2020
Environment and former climate and energy minister David Parker says he is backing investigations into a pumped-hydro scheme because it has the potential to slash the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Exxon’s leaked documents reveal pollution plan
12 Oct 2020
Leaded documents show Exxon plans to increase its carbon production by 17 per cent by 2025 - an increase equivalent to the total annual emissions of Greece.
Lines project first to try covid consent process
9 Oct 2020
A project that could form part of the Government’s pumped-hydro electricity scheme is the first to be considered by an expert panel set up under the Government’s covid-19 fast-tracking consenting process.
Bill to ban new coal mines fails at first reading
Fri 24 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bid to outlaw new coal mines was defeated at its first hurdle in Parliament this week, after a heated debate pitting climate imperatives against energy security and affordability.
'It was the start of a new movement': The Dutch rewilding project that took a dark turn
Fri 24 Oct 2025
In 2018, thousands of dead animals, emaciated from starvation, lay strewn across a famous Dutch rewilding project. Was it animal cruelty or just nature taking its course?
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
Wed 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.
Just 28% of countries have released nature pledges a year after UN deadline
Thu 23 Oct 2025
Only 28% of countries have met a UN call to submit new plans on addressing nature loss – a year after the original deadline.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
Thu 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.
‘Plain old dull’: NZU market continues to limp sideways
Fri 24 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The NZU market has been “plain old dull” in recent months, with activity driven mainly by credit opportunities or a specific need to raise cash, according to Lizzie Chambers of trading platform Carbon Match.
Is greenhushing the new greenwashing? Or something else entirely
Fri 24 Oct 2025
Companies used to be accused of faking sustainability via greenwashing. Now some are hiding actual climate progress.
Broker predicts all this year’s carbon auctions will fail
10 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Marex New Zealand is forecasting that the government will sell no ‘pollution permits’ at the NZU auctions this year, with a significant gap continuing between secondary market prices and this year’s $68 auction floor price.
Genesis doubles down on Huntly as renewables ramp up
Fri 24 Oct 2025
Genesis Energy is doubling down on Huntly’s role as New Zealand’s energy backstop while accelerating one of the country’s largest pipelines of new renewable generation.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
Wed 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.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Media round-up
Fri 24 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The Government planned to gut New Zealand's world-leading climate disclosure law - even as it bragged about it on the world stage; a new Indigenous climate adaptation network launches; and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts admits that the new methane target might breach the global 1.5C goal.
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.
EU plans deforestation delay only for small businesses
Wed 22 Oct 2025
The proposal will need approval of co-legislators, EU countries at the Council and MEPs, who can still push for more changes to the legislation.
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.”
Super Fund smashes decarbonisation goals
Thu 23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The New Zealand Superannuation Fund continues to blow through its self-imposed targets for decarbonising its investment portfolio, increasing its exposure to fast-growing green technology opportunities in the process, according to its 2025 climate statement.
No major banks have yet committed to stop funding new oil, gas and coal, research finds
Fri 24 Oct 2025
‘The objectives of the Paris agreement are slipping further out of reach,’ say researchers.
Climate credibility gap widening for Aussie firms
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Australian public companies’ climate change commitments are in retreat, reflecting difficulty in achieving stated targets and increased fossil use, but not because of any pressure to make less effort, according to a study of major companies’ ESG reporting.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
On Louisiana’s Gulf Coast, residents fume as insurers hike rates and invest in fossil fuel projects
Wed 22 Oct 2025
Locals face a perfect storm — they can’t afford insurance and climate change threatens their livelihood.
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.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
US, Australia to invest $2 billion in critical minerals, advance Alcoa gallium project
Thu 23 Oct 2025
The United States and Australia extended financial support to several Australian companies as part of a wide-ranging critical minerals agreement aimed at countering China's hold over the industry.
Govt ‘captured by industry’ on methane – Carr
Tue 21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr says that recent moves to weaken methane targets and halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing show the Government has been captured by industry.
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.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
Thu 23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
‘Weird and sad’ – Tuvalu Climate Minister condemns NZ halving methane target
15 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Dr Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment, says he’s surprised at New Zealand’s decision to weaken its target for reducing methane emissions – and is planning to take up the issue with his counterpart Climate Minister Simon Watts this week.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Students repeat request for Victoria University to divest from fossil fuel investments
24 Sep 2025
Media release | A group of students campaigning for climate action at Victoria University of Wellington have dropped a banner protesting against the university’s lack of action on its 2014 commitment to divest from fossil fuels.
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.
Difficult trade-offs ahead for climate adaptation
17 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While climate impacts are already here, bringing the urgent need to accelerate effective adaptation now, the Government's newly minted adaptation framework still leaves important questions unanswered about who will pay.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
NZ abstains from vote on global shipping carbon tax
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government says it held back from endorsing the International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework over fears the plan could raise costs for exporters and importers.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
Tue 21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
Tue 21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
