Topics tagged with 'Energy'
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.
August date for public to have say on Shaw's ETS
18 Apr 2018
A new review of the Emissions Trading Scheme will be open for public consultation in August.
Govt announces body to steer climate transition
17 Apr 2018
The interim climate commission has just been announced.
Waste food could fuel emissions cuts. says report
17 Apr 2018
New Zealand could slice thousands of tonnes off its greenhouse gas emissions by turning industrial food waste into fertiliser and energy, says a new report.
We can do net-zero by 2050, says Prodcom
16 Apr 2018
New Zealand can get to net-zero emissions by 2050, the Productivity Commission says.
Emissions trimmed, but that's not the full story
13 Apr 2018
Increased hydro-electricity generation and a 1.5 million fall in the national sheep flock has led to a slight fall in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Government acts to block offshore exploration
12 Apr 2018
The drive to decarbonise New Zealand’s energy production has taken a step forward with the Government’s announcement that there will be no new offshore oil exploration.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Media round-up
Fri 20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
Wed 18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
California, Connecticut preparing 'attack' against Trump's repeal of basis of US climate regulation
Fri 20 Feb 2026
California and Connecticut are working together on a multi-state "plan of attack" against President Donald Trump's repeal of the foundation of federal climate regulation of vehicles, the states' attorneys general told Reuters on Tuesday.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
Flawed decision-making around taxing electricity to fund LNG import terminal
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: The Government's decision to back an LNG import terminal exemplifies an egregious failure in public policy and energy sector governance.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
Thu 19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
Wed 18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Seabed miners quit South Taranaki fast-track bid
Fri 20 Feb 2026
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Would-be seabed miners have abandoned their fast-track bid to mine in South Taranaki waters, saying they can’t change the minds of the panel that rejected their application.
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.
Partnership to advance Pacific science and environmental leadership
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Media release | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in Pacific-led science, research and capacity-building, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ocean stewardship.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
IEA Declaration strengthens international co-operation on critical minerals
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Media release – NZ Government | New Zealand has joined international leaders at the 2026 International Energy Agency Ministerial meeting in committing to strengthen global co-operation on critical minerals to strengthen long‑term energy security.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Climate ambassador moves on
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
Mon 16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
