Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Cheap-credits companies might face crackdown
22 Aug 2018
The Government might crack down on companies using cheap credits to cover their carbon liabilities while banking or selling credits given to them by taxpayers.
Government takes aim at synthetic gases
20 Aug 2018
Synthetic greenhouses gases, like those used in refrigeration and air conditioning, could come under a new product stewardship regime.
Companies offer e-cars on subscription
20 Aug 2018
Electric vehicles could soon be available on subscription.
Businesses reluctant to factor in carbon prices
9 Aug 2018
Carbon prices rarely influence businesses’ decisions to install energy-efficient plant, according to a new report examining the market’s failure to drive down greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector.
Experts predict the arrival of Hothouse Earth
8 Aug 2018
Allowing the world to warm by even 2deg could threaten the existence of humans.
How ignoring climate change will cost us billions
7 Aug 2018
Unchecked climate change will cost New Zealand nearly $6 billion a year in lost earnings, researchers have calculated.
KiwiRail sees exciting future for hydrogen trains
3 Aug 2018
Hydrogen-powered trains could play a big part in cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, KiwiRail says.
STATS SHOW: Shaw about to change the story
31 Jul 2018
Green Party co-leader James Shaw might be the climate minister, but it’s in his statistics portfolio that he is about to change everything.
Bridges ignores climate change in party address
30 Jul 2018
National Party leader Simon Bridges is promising to have “the best ideas” on the environment.
Big investors call for low-carbon roadmap
25 Jul 2018
New Zealand and Australian investors with $10 trillion worth of assets are calling for a suite of policies to direct finance into the low-carbon economy.
Parties eye early start to zero-carbon talks
23 Jul 2018
Cross-party talks on the Zero Carbon Bill could be under way within a month.
Shaw applauds China's work on climate change
20 Jul 2018
China’s action on climate change makes New Zealand look like its “pussy-footing around”, says climate minister James Shaw.
Latest ETS review kicks off next month
18 Jul 2018
Consultation on the next review of the Emissions Trading Scheme will start next month.
Ngai Tahu targets a million native trees
17 Jul 2018
Ngai Tahu is planting a million native trees and converting some of its farms to horticulture as part of its strategy to deal with climate change.
Banks face divestment pressure from councils
16 Jul 2018
Banks can expect pressure from the country’s largest urban authorities to get their money out of fossil-fuel investment.
Act or face financial crisis, warns leading banker
13 Jul 2018
New central bank head Adrian Orr is warning of financial crisis and mass social unrest if the world doesn’t urgently address climate change.
Big Business makes public climate promises
12 Jul 2018
Details of support for the Zero Carbon Bill by businesses responsible for half the country’s greenhouse gas emissions have emerged today.
We don't want to be like Australia, says Vector
6 Jul 2018
One of the 53 big companies stepping up to publicly support the Zero Carbon Bill says it doesn’t want New Zealand’s climate policy to end up like that of Australia.
We can use organic waste, says landfill operator
29 Jun 2018
Keeping organic waste out of rubbish dumps will double its carbon footprint and deny the country an important source of renewable energy, says the country’s largest landfill operator.
Big Business gets ready to back carbon neutrality
28 Jun 2018
Fifty-three of New Zealand’s biggest companies - including major players in the farming, forestry and fishing industries - appear to be ready to announce their support for the Zero Carbon Bill.
Don't bet on the future of our cars being electric
27 Jun 2018
The future of low-emissions transport is not necessarily electric, car makers are telling the Government.
OPINION: Let's charge the high-emitting vehicles
27 Jun 2018
By Toyota NZ chief executive ALASTAIR DAVIS | The Productivity Commission’s draft on the move to a low-carbon emission economy through a Zero Carbon Act is a sound report on what lies ahead.
Get climate house in order, Trustpower tells Govt
26 Jun 2018
Energy company Trustpower says the Government needs to use “joined-up thinking” on climate change.
Government might aim for more carbon cuts
25 Jun 2018
The Government might increase New Zealand’s 2030 emissions reduction target.
Our cities in the 30-year climate firing line
20 Jun 2018
New Zealanders are among the billions of city dwellers who will be hit by the impacts of climate change within three decades, a new report shows.
OPINION: If energy grew on trees
20 Jun 2018
By JONATHAN McKEOWN | It is always refreshing when structures and processes work as they were designed to. It’s an absolute triumph when it involves the public sector, an industry body and business.
History says Bridges and Nats are talking hot air
18 Jun 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Is Opposition Leader Simon Bridges’ offer to work with the Government on climate change policy worth any more than a dodgy hot-air carbon credit?
Key report dangerously misleading, say Wise men
15 Jun 2018
A document likely to underpin the Government’s plans to decarbonise the economy is being called dangerously misleading.
Shaw invites Nats to work on Zero Carbon Act
12 Jun 2018
Climate minister James Shaw has invited the National Party to help him to draft the Zero Carbon Act.
Parker to talk hydrogen energy in Japan
11 Jun 2018
Developing a sustainable hydrogen energy industry will be on the agenda for talks between New Zealand and Japan this week.
Sustainable Business Network looks for winners
11 Jun 2018
Entries are open in this year’s Sustainable Business Network awards.
Carbon Bill provides certainty for fuels chief
8 Jun 2018
The Zero Carbon Bill gives the certainty that has been lacking to tackle one of the biggest problems facing business, says Z Energy chief executive Mike Bennetts.
Government hears of $800 carbon price possibility
7 Jun 2018
Carbon prices of more than $800 a tonne will be needed if New Zealand doesn’t tackle greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the Government has been told.
ICCC to probe impact of oil and gas exploration
6 Jun 2018
The Interim Climate Change Committee will investigate the impact of further oil and gas exploration on New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets.
Companies call on governments to act
5 Jun 2018
Companies with nearly $37 trillion under investment are calling on the world’s governments to step up action on climate change to meet the Paris Agreement targets.
Shaw set to talk carbon markets in China
29 May 2018
Climate minister James Shaw is to visit the world’s largest carbon market – China.
Let's be clear - the future excludes fossil fuels
28 May 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Debate about the future of oil prospecting in New Zealand is ignoring one very important point - the world is facing an emissions crisis, and the future does not include fossil fuels.
Wood fuel benefits beg for attention, say backers
23 May 2018
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions could be cut by more 640,000 tonnes a year by burning wood instead of coal in boilers in the Otago region alone.
Policy makers dragging the chain, say scientists
23 May 2018
An increasing number of reports are identifying limiting global warming to 1.5deg as critical for the future of humans and nature.
Natural gas will last bit more than a decade
21 May 2018
Officials have confirmed that at the rate we're using it, New Zealand has about 10 and a half years’ worth of natural gas reserves.
Tax system must go green, says enviro group
17 May 2018
Another organisation is telling the Government to shift the tax burden from the production of private wealth to the consumption of public wealth, aka the environment.
Natural gas not the solution, claims new report
10 May 2018
Natural gas is not a transition fuel to a low-carbon economy – and the Government should go further than just banning all new offshore exploration licences, a new report says.
Small land area, big rewards from solar panels
8 May 2018
Covering 0.06 per cent of New Zealand’s land with solar panels would provide enough power for the country’s total energy needs, a new study says.
One way or another, oil industry got the message
4 May 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Did the Government consult the oil industry before announcing there would be no new licences granted for oil and gas exploration?
Prod Com off course, says carbon tech company
1 May 2018
The Productivity Commission is badly under-estimating the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the steel and iron industries, says a New Zealand company with technology to do just that.
Industrial emissions can be cut - but it's not easy
30 Apr 2018
Soaring emissions from the industrial sector can be cut through improved efficiency and using lower-emissions fuels, but there’s no easy fix, the Productivity Commission says.
OPINION: Ministers have gone deaf
30 Apr 2018
The Productivity Commission might be talking about big things from the energy sector, but the Government doesn’t seem to want to know, says Bioenergy Association chief executive BRIAN COX.
Directors face climate liability, says report
20 Apr 2018
New legal analysis shows that company directors in at least four Commonwealth countries must take action to address material climate risk or face legal and reputational risk.
OUR LAND: Trouble ahead ... but how much?
19 Apr 2018
Climate change will have long-term impacts on New Zealand’s land-based industries and biodiversity – but we don’t have enough information to predict what will happen.
OUR LAND: We're losing our best growing soils
19 Apr 2018
The Government is moving to protect New Zealand’s best growing soils in the wake of a report that shows they’re compacted, contaminated and being washed away at an alarming rate.
'A sneeze in the night': Peters questions NZ's climate culpability
Mon 4 Aug 2025
New Zealand First seems to be vying with ACT and farming lobby group Groundswell to claim credit for being the first to call for New Zealand to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Climate change policy growing concern for farming sector
Mon 4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While farmer confidence has hit an eight-year high, concerns about climate change policy and the Emissions Trading Scheme are growing in New Zealand’s rural sector, according to Federated Farmers.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
Wed 6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
Taking NZ biodiversity to the world
Wed 6 Aug 2025
Media release | Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari and Ekos are making history by launching New Zealand biodiversity and conservation into the global marketplace.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Carbon prices slide as market awaits ETS decision
Fri 1 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Volatility has returned to the secondary carbon market, with prices sliding again after plateauing in recent weeks, as the market waits for government decisions on Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
Divided nations start 'final' talks on UN plastics treaty
Wed 6 Aug 2025
The key divide is whether the new treaty includes a target to limit plastic production or just focuses on recycling and waste management.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
Gentailers to stockpile coal under new deal
Tue 5 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An agreement between New Zealand’s four major electricity generators to establish a 10-year fuel reserve is being labelled a 'climate change stockpile', and could undermine momentum for renewable energy investment.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
Fri 1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Insurers need to get ready for the next climate-fuelled disaster: FMA
Wed 6 Aug 2025
Insurers need to do more to improve their claims processes and services as climate-driven disasters increase in frequency and severity, according to the Financial Markets Authority.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Can the US timber industry and forest carbon credit programs coexist?
Wed 6 Aug 2025
The climate crisis is forcing society to rethink existing technological and ecological systems. At the nexus of this challenge is how the U.S. values and manages forests.
Labour vows to reinstate oil and gas ban
Wed 6 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party is promising to reinstate a ban on new oil and gas exploration permits, but won’t say if they will go even further and commit to revoking permits if elected.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Barclays exits net zero banking alliance
Tue 5 Aug 2025
Barclays will exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, marking the second UK-based bank to withdraw from the UN-backed coalition dedicated to advancing global net zero goals through their financing activities, after the departure last month of HSBC.
EU climate goals at risk as ailing forests absorb less CO2, scientists say
Tue 5 Aug 2025
Damage to European forests from increased logging, wildfires, drought and pests is reducing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, putting European Union emissions targets at risk, scientists warn.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
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.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
BlackRock, other fund managers lose bid to dismiss Texas climate collusion lawsuit
Tue 5 Aug 2025
A U.S. judge on Friday largely rejected a request by top asset managers including BlackRock, to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Texas and 12 other Republican-led states that said the companies violated antitrust law through climate activism that reduced coal production and boosted energy prices.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
Mon 4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
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 govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
Why I’m in a coal bucket
Mon 4 Aug 2025
By Rach Andrews | OPINION: People might wonder why a 53-year-old grandmother would choose to climb into a 80 metre high stinky coal bucket on the rainy West Coast and settle in for the long haul.
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.
Kōwhai Park solar farm reaches ‘golden row’ milestone, marking major step in delivery
Wed 6 Aug 2025
Media release – Christchurch Airport | Construction of one of New Zealand’s largest solar projects has reached a major milestone, with the installation of the first row of solar panels – known in the industry as the ‘Golden Row’ – now complete at Kōwhai Park solar farm.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
Tue 5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
Mon 4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
