Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Green accounts point finger at primary industries
27 Feb 2018
Primary industries contribute nearly two-thirds of the country’s greenhouse gases but account for less than 8 per cent of economic production, new figures show.
Biofuels need backing of the nation, says Scion
27 Feb 2018
New Zealand could run its heavy vehicles on locally produced low-carbon biofuels – but only if the country decides collectively to act.
OPINION: Biofuels not easy, but worth the effort
27 Feb 2018
Biofuels, liquid and gaseous, will have a role to play in moving towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions by around mid-century in both New Zealand and globally, says Professor Ralph Sims.
Energy minister to get the word on biofuels
26 Feb 2018
Energy minister Megan Woods today will be told how the country can use biofuels to cut its burgeoning transport emissions.
Minister mum on future of electric trains
23 Feb 2018
There’s no word yet on whether KiwiRail’s plans to replace electric engines with diesel will go ahead.
OPINION: We should adopt the 'easy win' way
22 Feb 2018
Government officials appear to be putting more effort into working out how to purchase international carbon credits than into reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, says Bioenergy Association chief executive Brian Cox.
Minister offers money for good emissions moves
21 Feb 2018
Got a good idea to cut greenhouse gas emissions in your business or in the transport sector? The Government wants to give you money.
Yoogo is a-go-go in Christchurch
16 Feb 2018
The Southern Hemisphere’s biggest deployment of pure-battery electric cars has been launched in Christchurch.
Drones deliver the goods ... and clean the atmosphere
14 Feb 2018
Delivering parcels by drone could help to cut carbon emissions.
Why now's the time for businesses to cost carbon
13 Feb 2018
Businesses are being told to price carbon into their forecasts now – regardless of whether they currently face a carbon price.
If we build these coal plants, climate goals are doomed
12 Feb 2018
If all planned plants are constructed, the world would have little chance of meeting its climate change goals, say scientists.
How Trudeau welcomed Trump and oil lobby pipeline help
12 Feb 2018
The Trudeau government treated Donald Trump’s election as “positive news” for Canada’s energy industry and welcomed the help of Canada’s main corporate oil group in lobbying the US administration, documents show.
FAIL MARK: Environmentally, NZ has got it wrong
8 Feb 2018
New Zealand is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to exceeding planetary boundaries, new research shows.
We'll soon feel the effects of China's market
8 Feb 2018
China’s new carbon market will have a profound impact on electricity companies, says Standard & Poors.
Government wants drive for more electric vehicles
7 Feb 2018
The new government wants more electric vehicles on the road – but it’s not yet saying how many.
'It’s good to hear a government finally talking sense'
2 Feb 2018
What kind of reception is climate minister James Shaw likely to be getting from the Iwi Leaders Group as they meet at Waitangi today?
OPINION: Kiwi consumers push sustainability
2 Feb 2018
New Zealand businesses that plan to wait for regulation before taking sustainability seriously are in for a rude awakening.
How Shaw intends to massively change our lives
30 Jan 2018
Climate minister James Shaw has outlined economic changes on the scale of those brought in by Michael Joseph Savage in 1935 and Roger Douglas in 1984.
Doughnut economics? What Shaw's on about
30 Jan 2018
When British economist Kate Raworth wanted to show where she saw economics going, she picked up a pencil and drew two circles, one inside the other.
Time to put the kettle on as solar power scheme tees off
30 Jan 2018
Aucklanders buying and selling solar-generated electricity to each other have shared enough power to make five million cups of tea, says peer-to-peer energy company P2 Power.
We'll do better than emissions target, says Shaw
25 Jan 2018
The new government will not officially increase the country's 2020 emissions reduction target.
NZ gets more low marks for environment action
24 Jan 2018
New Zealand, which sells itself as 100 per cent pure, has been given another bad report card for environmental performance.
EV projects win $3m in Government funding
23 Jan 2018
Twenty new electric vehicle projects, including a 58-tonne truck to carry dairy products and developing a qualification for EV technicians, are to receive government funding.
Thailand gets $1.1 billion for wind power project
15 Dec 2017
Southeast Asia’s leading solar energy nation -Thailand - could be the frontrunner in wind energy after renewables developer WEH secured funding for the region’s biggest wind power project.
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.
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.
