Topics tagged with 'Energy'
EDITORIAL: Two to remember
13 Dec 2019
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | This year will be remembered for two things – the passing of the zero-carbon act and the year in which our children got angry with us over climate change.
NZ 'low' performer, says climate action watchdog
12 Dec 2019
Failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions has seen New Zealand ranked 37th and in the “low” category in an international assessment of performance on climate change.
MADRID MESSAGE: Our cuts will take hard work
11 Dec 2019
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions will decrease steadily to 2030 but will still be well above 1990 levels, officials have told international climate talks in Madrid.
PLEASE EXPLAIN: NZ faces grilling at Madrid meet
9 Dec 2019
New Zealand faces up to the world in Madrid today to explain how it is meeting its emissions reduction targets despite a 23 per cent rise in gross emissions and 65 per cent rise in net emissions since 1990.
Why lower emissions mean better business
6 Dec 2019
Companies with high levels of greenhouse gas emissions are worth less than low-emitting companies, says financial analysis and advisory firm Forsyth Barr.
Jump to it, Jacinda, says global carbon watchdog
5 Dec 2019
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is under international pressure to increase New Zealand’s 2030 emissions reduction target in line with the Paris Agreement.
HOT TIMES: This year could be our warmest ever recorded
5 Dec 2019
A hot December could see 2019 become New Zealand’s warmest year on record.
Cut hydrogen red tape, urges business sector
4 Dec 2019
Businesses say a hydrogen-export industry drastically cutting emissions from fossil fuels could be stymied by red tape and a failure to recognise the value of “blue” hydrogen.
Climate-impact reporting to be mandatory
4 Dec 2019
The Government is to assess the climate implications of every major decision it makes.
Why the rulebook matters for us at Madrid talks
3 Dec 2019
New Zealand’s plan to use carbon credits to meet part of its emissions reduction target means the country has a big stake in international climate negotiations now under way in Madrid.
Tell us what you're doing, investors tell govts
2 Dec 2019
Institutional investors will either stay away or demand higher returns in New Zealand and Australia if their governments don’t produce credible, long-term climate investment strategies, a new report says.
EDITORIAL: Right road, but the slow road
29 Nov 2019
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | It must be tempting, if you’re in the New Zealand delegation at climate talks in Madrid next week, to rest on your laurels, take the pats on the back, bask in the international limelight.
Minister won't act on ACC oil investments
28 Nov 2019
The Government says it will not interfere in the Accident Compensation Corporation’s decision to invest in fossil fuels.
Scientists claim breakthrough on gut bacteria
28 Nov 2019
Scientists have used “directed evolution” to turn gut bacteria into a carbon dioxide-munching machine in what is being called a step towards carbon-neutral production of food, fuels, and biochemicals.
Toyota tests the water on hydrogen vehicles
27 Nov 2019
Toyota New Zealand says it is testing the New Zealand market for hydrogen vehicles as part of a drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Give councils green powers, politicians told
25 Nov 2019
Parliament is being told by some unlikely bedfellows that councils should have to consider greenhouse gas emissions when granting resource consents.
Supermarkets, powercos best at sustainability
25 Nov 2019
Supermarkets and electricity retailers are scoring the highest marks with consumers for sustainability, but none is doing well enough, a new study says.
Government can order ACC to quit fossil fuels
22 Nov 2019
The Government has the power to instruct its largest institutional investor, the Accident Compensation Corporation, to pull out of fossil fuel investments, a select committee says.
The little windfarm that could ...
22 Nov 2019
It might not be on the scale of Mercury’s Turitea project, but New Zealand’s newest windfarm, on Stewart Island, will make a dent in the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Northport move will up emissions, says report
21 Nov 2019
Greenhouse gas emissions from freight currently shipped through Auckland will increase 400 per cent if the port’s operations are shifted to Northland, a new critique says.
Treasury casts eye over emissions changes
18 Nov 2019
Greenhouse gas emissions from farming will fall 12 per cent by the middle of the century even without a carbon price, Treasury says.
Govt eyes bid limits for carbon credit auctions
15 Nov 2019
The Government is looking at setting a maximum bid lot to stop a handful of entities getting control of the New Zealand carbon market.
Young campaigners see nation adopt carbon laws
14 Nov 2019
New Zealand’s zero-carbon legislation becomes law today.
Incineration no solution to plastic waste crisis
14 Nov 2019
Since the Chinese market closed, 58 per cent of New Zealand’s plastic waste now goes to Asian countries with weak regulations and high rankings as global sources of marine plastic pollution.
RMA could ease path of climate-change work
13 Nov 2019
Climate-saving projects could get an easier run under the Resource Management Act, says a Government-commissioned panel of experts.
Mercury gives green light to country's biggest windfarm
13 Nov 2019
Mercury is going ahead with plans to build the country’s largest windfarm.
'Catastrophic' bushfires sound alarm bells in NZ
12 Nov 2019
Experts planning for increased fire risk in New Zealand as the planet warms are looking across the Tasman in alarm at “catastrophic” fire conditions.
New party backs emissions pricing
11 Nov 2019
A new environment-based political party supports emissions pricing, wants the Climate Change Commission to set the methane reduction target, and says it would be reluctant to get rid of a ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration.
Upton wants more bite for environment reporting
8 Nov 2019
The Government should have to at least respond to official reports on the state of New Zealand’s environment and climate, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Industry sees process heat alternatives
7 Nov 2019
New research shows how everything from wood to ultraviolet light and ultrasound can replace fossil-fuel-intensive heat sources in industrial processes.
NZ scientists back global climate statement
6 Nov 2019
Leading New Zealand climate scientist Professor James Renwick says an 11,000-strong global statement by scientists warning of “untold suffering” as the climate changes should be taken seriously.
Kiwi company pushes one-click carbon offsetting
5 Nov 2019
CarbonClick plans to be as much of a disrupter for carbon offsetting as Xero has been for accounting.
Government happy with ZCB direction
5 Nov 2019
The Government intends sticking with the recommendations of the select committee when the zero-carbon bill comes back before Parliament this afternoon.
Staunch Nats vow to change zero-carbon bill
4 Nov 2019
National still hopes to drive through changes to the zero-carbon bill before it is passed this week.
Foresters query claims over dairy land sales
4 Nov 2019
Forest owners are challenging claims that vast areas of productive farmland are being turned into carbon forests by foreign investors.
Government wants info on biofuture of wood
1 Nov 2019
Government plans for a report into the potential to use wood to make bioproducts is being hailed by those pushing for a biofutures industry.
Directors learn climate denial no legal defence
31 Oct 2019
Denying humans are changing the climate will be no defence for directors facing lawsuits for failing to deal with carbon risk, businesses are being told.
Opinions side with charging for farm emissions
29 Oct 2019
A majority of people and organisations making submissions on whether agricultural emissions should be in the Emissions Trading Scheme say price-based mechanisms are the way to go.
FACT CHECK: Is that right, Paula?
29 Oct 2019
National Party deputy leader and former climate minister Paula Bennett says when it was in power, her party stabilised greenhouse gas emissions, while under this Government they will keep rising until 2025. Is she right?
EDITORIAL: A Shaw thing
25 Oct 2019
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Climate minister James Shaw, take a bow - you deserve five minutes in the sun for doing what none of your seven predecessors did.
Forest credits' future unclear as new laws loom
25 Oct 2019
The use of forestry carbon credits to offset agricultural emissions remains unclear as law changes go before Parliament.
Former Greens leader roasts Shaw's carbon bill
23 Oct 2019
Climate minister James Shaw will let the climate commission control carbon prices if he’s serious about cutting emissions, says the man who preceded him as co-leader of the Green Party.
Farmers will find out ETS future on Thursday
22 Oct 2019
Farmers will find out on Thursday whether they will be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Zero-carbon bill report pleases minister
22 Oct 2019
A report by the Environment Select Committee has made the zero-carbon bill even stronger, says climate minister James Shaw.
Select Committe backs methane status quo
21 Oct 2019
The Environment Select Committee has taken a bob each way on methane targets – recommending the Government’s target stay in place but that the Climate Change Commission should be able to change it.
High carbon price has downside, says gentailer
17 Oct 2019
High carbon prices could hinder electrification of New Zealand’s energy sector, the country’s largest electricity retailer says.
Green investment fund defends slow start
17 Oct 2019
The Government’s Green Investment Finance fund says it is working on “a number of opportunities” for investment.
Now's the time to go green, bank tells business
16 Oct 2019
Green financial markets will not develop in New Zealand if companies don’t use them, Westpac says.
Unions put case for 'just transition'
15 Oct 2019
Unions want reform of the tax system and redundancy payments for all laid-off workers as part of a “just transition” to a low-carbon economy.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
Fri 12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt overhaul leaves the door open for coal mining on conservation land
Fri 12 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s sweeping reclassification of thousands of hectares of publicly-owned conservation land has met with sharp criticism, with environmental groups saying the decision leaves vulnerable ecosystems exposed to mining and development.
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.
Second fire tears through Tongariro National Park
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fire crews have returned to Tongariro National Park this morning as a fast-moving fire that started yesterday threatens unburnt vegetation and nearby communities, just a month after a major blaze scorched 3000 hectares in the same area.
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.
Minister not concerned about potential economic impacts of ruling out offshore mitigation
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts isn’t worried that ruling out using offshore mitigation is effectively reneging from the Paris Agreement with potential to damage New Zealand’s economy and access to export markets.
What are the causes of recent record-high global temperatures?
Fri 12 Dec 2025
The past three years have been exceptionally warm globally.
Is Govt rushing through changes to climate framework to avoid litigation?
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says the Government’s motivation for proposed changes to the country’s climate framework law are unclear: “The only reason I can think of is one grounded in potential litigation risk.”
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
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.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
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.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
Fri 12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
Wed 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.
Australia has new laws to protect nature. Do they signal an end to native forest logging?
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Reforms to Australia’s nature laws have passed federal parliament. A longstanding exemption that meant federal environment laws did not apply to native logging has finally been removed from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
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.”
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
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.
Ticking time-bomb in Govt’s failure of leadership on climate – Carr
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The coalition Government’s failure to slash emissions is like pulling the pin on a grenade, handing it to a kid, and saying “hold on tight, she’ll be right”, says former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
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
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.
Shell facing first UK legal claim over climate impacts of fossil fuels
Fri 12 Dec 2025
Victims of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a legal claim against oil and gas company Shell in the UK courts, seeking compensation for what they say is the company's role in making the storm more severe.
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
Fri 12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
Govt rushes to pass climate law changes under urgency
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legislation to amend the Climate Change Response Act was introduced to Parliament on Monday, and the government intends to rush the changes through under urgency in the next two weeks, avoiding the usual public consultation.
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.
High risk of economic losses from Cook Islands nodule extraction and sales – new study
Fri 12 Dec 2025
Media release: Greenpeace | The economic potential of seabed polymetallic nodules in the Cook Islands has been overstated, according to a new independent study commissioned by Greenpeace International.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
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 green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
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.
Neighbours fume over plans to axe trees for solar farm
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | Whakatāne District Council has thrown its support behind residents of a country lane distressed about Genesis Energy’s plans to axe their trees.
NZ and US studying "huge unknown" in Antarctic climate science
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Scientists are measuring a huge unknown in climate science: how much heat Antarctica emits into space.
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.
More than $2m up for grabs for low-emissions farming innovation
Wed 10 Dec 2025
The Ag Emissions Centre and AgriZeroNZ yesterday opened their 2026 innovation investment round.
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.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
Tue 9 Dec 2025
Pressure from EU countries, lawmakers and the automotive industry is likely pushing the European Commission to delay the revision of the bloc's ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035.
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.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Australian market operator slashes wind farm predictions amid falling costs for solar and batteries
Thu 11 Dec 2025
The body that runs Australia's biggest power market has scaled back its plans for high-voltage power lines and wind farms to meet the country's green energy targets.
