Topics tagged with 'Energy'
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.
HEY, JUDE: That's dangerous talk, say 'fanatics'
15 Oct 2019
National MP Judith Collins’ dismissal of the need for urgent action on climate change is being called ill-informed, dangerous and just plain wrong.
Fanatics overstating climate case, says Collins
14 Oct 2019
National Party MP Judith Collins says the risks of letting global heating go beyond 1.5deg above pre-Industrial levels are being overstated by an “increasingly fanatical” green lobby.
Beware of a populist backlash, unions warn
11 Oct 2019
New Zealand risks a Brexit-style populist backlash if it mishandles decarbonisation of the economy, unions are warning.
History shows we can handle it, says CCC chief
11 Oct 2019
Cutting carbon out of the economy should not cause the “collateral damage” seen in New Zealand’s other economic transformations, says the first head of the Climate Change Commission.
SOLO ACT: Amy tells it like it is
10 Oct 2019
Yesterday, a 29-year-old Auckland music teacher who has been an activist for only a few short weeks, screwed up her courage and told some of the country’s biggest businesses they’re not doing enough on climate change.
Higher carbon prices vital, says ETS expert
9 Oct 2019
Rising carbon prices are critical to getting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emission down, business leaders have been told.
National wants in on the ETS act
9 Oct 2019
If the Government wants cross-party consensus on climate legislation it should put up legislation the Opposition can support, National’s climate spokesperson says.
How Chia Sisters took their business green
9 Oct 2019
Student climate activist Florence van Dyke has taken the fight to a new arena – business. And it’s working.
Banking academic to head climate commission
8 Oct 2019
Former Reserve Bank chair Dr Rod Carr will head the Climate Change Commission.
Govt poised to reveal farm emissions decision
8 Oct 2019
An announcement on how the agricultural sector will be charged for greenhouse gas emissions is imminent, the Government says.
It's time to 'pull finger', EDS tells politicians
7 Oct 2019
The organisers of a high-powered business and climate change conference in Auckland this week say it is way past time for politicians to come together.
EDITORIAL: Uncomfortable is coming, ready or not
7 Oct 2019
By ADELIA HALLETT | Protests like the one that has closed off some Wellington streets today and is preventing staff from a major government department from getting to work make some people uncomfortable.
NZ bankrolls Scottish search for clean green sheep
4 Oct 2019
New Zealand is putting money and science behind Scottish research into farming climate-friendly sheep.
NZ scientists use algae to improve Japanese cars
3 Oct 2019
New Zealand scientists are working with the Japanese motor industry to find a low-carbon replacement for fuels, plastics and a host of other substances.
Business slow to take up offsetting airline travel
30 Sep 2019
Most New Zealand businesses are not offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from flights, Air New Zealand says.
NZ sets new mark for coal-fired electricity
27 Sep 2019
New Zealand has burnt more coal to make electricity this winter than in any June quarter since 2014.
Ardern sets up climate-change trade deal
26 Sep 2019
New Zealand is one of five countries bringing climate change into a trade deal.
Emissions spotlight on land use and transport
25 Sep 2019
The committee of experts advising the Government on emissions budgeting has its sights set on our two biggest climate-polluting sectors – land use and transport.
ARDERN'S GLOBAL INVITE: Let's trade strengths
24 Sep 2019
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told the world New Zealand wants climate change included in trade deals and global co-operation on carbon pricing.
Green fund hires clean-investment banker
24 Sep 2019
A former Bank of America Merrill Lynch vice-president with a background in financing “clean” investment is heading the investment programme of the Government’s Green Investment Fund.
Smarts and skills keys to the future, says Govt
23 Sep 2019
Deeper pools of capital, a smart, skilled and motivated workforce and plentiful clean energy are behind the Government’s plans for the future of the economy.
Ardern in star turn at UN climate summit
23 Sep 2019
New Zealand will again take centre stage at international climate talks in New York, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern giving a keynote speech in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
New water rules have Govt guessing on gases
20 Sep 2019
New rules to improve water quality will also drive down New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions – but the Government doesn’t know by how much.
At last, we're getting a look at climate risks
19 Sep 2019
Progress is being made at last on assessing the risk climate change poses to New Zealand.
Local businesses given emissions know-how
19 Sep 2019
The Government has released new advice for local businesses wanting to voluntarily offset their emissions.
OUR ETS: What goes around, comes around
16 Sep 2019
New Zealand had the opportunity a decade ago to adopt the type of agricultural emissions pricing regime for which farmers are now fighting.
Farming is losing ground, says Sir Lockwood
13 Sep 2019
New Zealand agriculture can be carbon-neutral but it is slipping behind developments in Ireland, former Speaker, UK ambassador and agricultural scientist Sir Lockwood Smith says.
Welcome to Welly ... the Paris of the southern hemisphere
13 Sep 2019
Wellington is the new Paris of the South, according to the latest cities’ liveability index.
Let new commission be the arbiter, says Upton
12 Sep 2019
ANYTHING in the zero-carbon bill that MPs can’t agree on should be referred to the new climate commission, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton has told MPs.
Electricity planning is vital, politicians hear
12 Sep 2019
Extra demand for electricity as the country’s economy decarbonises needs to be co-ordinated if the system is to cope, MPs have heard.
We'll be doing more driving, researchers say
12 Sep 2019
Human demand for transport will increase as the climate warms, becoming its own feedback loop, researchers say.
Govt expects $7b windfall from new forestry rules
11 Sep 2019
The move to new forestry carbon accounting rules will earn the Government $7 billion over the next 30 years.
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.
