Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Big investors put pressure on carbon emitters
13 Dec 2017
The biggest New Zealand and Australia institutional investors are among more than 225 global investors with more than $37.5 trillion in assets under management promising to “engage” the world’s largest emitting companies to act on climate change.
Business chiefs call for carbon transparency
11 Dec 2017
Leading chief financial officers, chairs of pension funds and the chief executives of global accounting bodies – including one from New Zealand - are calling for transparency about carbon exposure.
SHAW THING: Business needs to get into gear
4 Dec 2017
New climate minister James Shaw has a clear message for business: get your house in order because New Zealand is decarbonising ... fast.
NZ Post takes out sustainability award
1 Dec 2017
Working with the Red Cross has won New Zealand Post the top prize in the Sustainable Business Network awards this year.
Climate commission might have carbon price role
30 Nov 2017
The climate commission – one of the Government’s promises for its first 100 days in office – is likely to play a role in setting carbon prices, the new climate minister says.
New report has dire climate-change warnings
29 Nov 2017
As many as one in six species faces extinction as a result of climate change, scientists are warning in a new report.
Shell doubles up on green spending and vows change
29 Nov 2017
Shell has doubled its spending on clean power and bowed to shareholder pressure by promising to halve the carbon footprint of the energy it sells by 2050.
Force firms to report carbon, say energy leaders
28 Nov 2017
The Government is being told to make carbon reporting mandatory for publicly listed companies and to hold public-sector executives responsible for carbon performance.
Green bonds reach $100 billion milestone
27 Nov 2017
The latest Climate Bonds Initiative analysis shows that green bond issuances in 2017 have reached the significant $100 billion benchmark.
Drilling awakens sleeping faults in Texas
27 Nov 2017
Since 2008, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and a handful of other states have experienced unprecedented surges of earthquakes.
Musk's Australia battery poised for final testing
27 Nov 2017
The world’s largest lithium-ion battery, which is being built in South Australia by Tesla to store renewable energy, is about to enter final testing.
Melbourne consortium underwrites windfarm
27 Nov 2017
Three Melbourne councils, two universities, Zoos Victoria, and half a dozen corporations have banded together to underwrite a windfarm in western Victoria.
Two global reports slam NZ's poor climate record
23 Nov 2017
New climate minister James Shaw might have wowed the world with his rhetoric at international climate talks last week, but it’s on the policies of his predecessor that New Zealand is still being judged.
Te Kuha coal mine first test for new minister
22 Nov 2017
Deciding whether to let a new opencast coal mine go ahead on the West Coast will be the first real test of the new government’s conservation policy, says an anti-coal mining lobby group.
SERIOUS SCIENCE: Soon it will be too late
21 Nov 2017
New Zealand scientists are among more than 15,000 warning humans they have precious little time left to change their ways and avoid environmental and social disaster.
Electric highway will link Norway and Italy
21 Nov 2017
A German utility is planning a string of electric vehicle fast chargers every 120 to 180 kilometers along highways in seven European countries, from Italy to Norway.
Norway’s wealth fund eyes divesting from fossil fuels
20 Nov 2017
Norway’s $1 trillion fund is to consider divesting from oil and gas stocks to protect the country's economy from oil price risk.
The inconvenient truth about smart cities
20 Nov 2017
Plans for more wired, networked, connected urban areas face challenges if they fail to account for existing, local, non-digital elements such as government and socioeconomic conditions.
Musk unveils electric truck ... and a surprise sports car
20 Nov 2017
Elon Musk has unveiled Tesla’s first electric semi-truck at an event in Los Angeles that also included the surprise reveal of a new Tesla sports car.
Shaw commits NZ to leading on climate challenge
17 Nov 2017
New Zealand has just committed itself on the world stage to being carbon-neutral by 2050 and being a Pacific leader on climate change.
NZ signs up to cut methane and black carbon
17 Nov 2017
New Zealand has signed up to a plan to cut methane and black carbon emissions from agriculture and waste.
Fonterra intends to get rid of coal ... later
15 Nov 2017
Fonterra says it is turning its back on coal as part of a drive towards being carbon-neutral by 2050.
Livestock emissions must be cut, say scientists
13 Nov 2017
Livestock emissions will have to be cut if the world is to keep warming down to Paris Agreement levels, two top New Zealand scientists are warning.
Mining giant about to go coal-free
13 Nov 2017
Just five years ago it would have been almost unthinkable that one of the world’s biggest mining companies would not dig any coal. It’s now likely to become a reality.
‘War on coal’ goes global with $50m fund
13 Nov 2017
A billionaire’s campaign has seen half of US coal plants close in six years. Now he is targeting Europe and beyond to fight climate change and air pollution.
Carbon pricing essential, says Energy Minister
10 Nov 2017
The new energy minister expects carbon to be priced into all energy projects.
ETS changes win us an award at Bonn talks
10 Nov 2017
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme have won New Zealand a Carbon Pricing Champion Award at international climate negotiations in Bonn.
Contact Energy likes what it's doing with green bonds
10 Nov 2017
Contact Energy is getting a lot of attention for its pioneering green borrowing programme, certified by Climate Bonds Initiatives and launched in mid-August.
Auckland - clean power but lacking environmental protection
8 Nov 2017
New Zealand’s clean electricity supply has won Auckland 48th place in the 2017 Smart City Index – but its traffic congestion and lack of environmental protection have let it down.
Polish grab for carbon-market cash
8 Nov 2017
A Polish bid to siphon off up to €29bn of EU carbon market money for ageing coal plants has been slapped down in a backroom statement by the UK, France, Germany and four other countries.
Bishops urge Church to divest from Exxon because of climate change
8 Nov 2017
The Church of England should "show moral leadership" and immediately sell its investments in the oil giant ExxonMobil, according to a group of bishops and other clergy.
Report: oil refineries will close as world decarbonises
7 Nov 2017
A quarter of global oil-refining capacity could become unviable and be forced to close by 2035 as a swelling tide of climate regulations and rapid advances in clean technologies cut oil demand, a new report shows.
Memo coalminers: we're looking at your climate policies
7 Nov 2017
ANZ BANK is telling thermal coalminers to clean up their act ,as it starts to pick and choose which it will back through a transition to a low-carbon economy.
Scots on track to be 100% renewable
7 Nov 2017
Scotland is on target to generate all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
The other China that wants to lead on climate change
6 Nov 2017
By PATTRICK SMELLIE | As international delegations descend on Bonn for the November 6-17 annual global climate change summit, spare a thought for the other country that calls itself China but, instead of claiming a leadership position in the global debate, is shut out on the sidelines.
5 things MFAT wants you to know about COP23
6 Nov 2017
INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS to put meat on the bones of the Paris Agreement start in Bonn today, with Fiji in the presidency.
Cape Verde may beat NZ to 100% renewable power
6 Nov 2017
By ERIK NORDMAN | Cape Verde, the small island archipelago nation off Africa’s northwest coast, has set itself a very bold renewable energy target - to obtain 100 per cent of its electricity from renewale resources by 2025.
Previous govt wrong about 2050 emissions - court
3 Nov 2017
The Government should have reassessed New Zealand’s emissions-reduction target after the International Panel on Climate Change released its new report, the High Court says.
Paris possible with huge private-secctor investement
3 Nov 2017
Global investment could hold the key to fighting climate change, with $1 trillion already invested in solutions such as renewables and energy efficiency, says International Finance Corporation
How Bennett toyed with cross-party climate move
1 Nov 2017
Former climate minister Paula Bennett sought advice on forming a cross-party agreement on climate change.
Get ETS working, say superfund guardians
30 Oct 2017
New Zealand cannot afford an Emissions Trading Scheme that doesn’t work, say the guardians of the $36.4 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund - and that means bringing the agricultural sector into the scheme.
WISE WORDS: It's not all about economic growth
26 Oct 2017
The Productivity Commission is being told not to let economic growth rule its investigation into cutting New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon price set to break through $19 mark
24 Oct 2017
Carbon looks set to break the $19 barrier today as the market adjusts to a new government with more ambition to address climate change.
New leaders have serious climate job to do
19 Oct 2017
Whichever political party forms a government this afternoon has a critical job preparing New Zealand for the impacts of climate change and in getting the country’s emissions under control.
NZ goes for 'triple win' at Bonn climate talks
18 Oct 2017
New Zealand will push a “triple win” for agriculture at international climate talks in Bonn next month.
NZ fires first COP23 shots in Fiji today
17 Oct 2017
Acting climate minister Paula Bennett will deliver New Zealand’s opening statement at the pre-COP climate talks in Fiji today.
Foreign credits bad call, warns ex-climate envoy
16 Oct 2017
Spending up to $20 billion on buying foreign carbon credits will be a “severe imposition” on the economy and will delay New Zealand’s decarbonisation, warns our former climate ambassador.
Is your Auckland rooftop suitable for solar?
13 Oct 2017
Got a roof in Auckland? A new computer tool will help you to figure out how many solar panels will fit on it and the economics of installing the system.
MEMO MPs: The country needs a climate commission
12 Oct 2017
Politicians negotiating to form a new government have again been told that action on climate change is a priority for business and society.
Why National should lead on climate commission
11 Oct 2017
The National Party should support a climate commission, says a former Conservative British Cabinet minister.
'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.
