Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Careless companies hit by rising water costs
28 Nov 2016
Companies worldwide are being warned that taking water preservation measures is now vital, and that those who fail to act are likely to face mounting financial losses.
Bolivia battles water crisis as glaciers vanish
28 Nov 2016
The government of Bolivia has been forced to declare a state of emergency as it faces its worst drought for at least 25 years.
Richer forest biodiversity could rake in billions
25 Nov 2016
Biodiversity is not just a conservationist ideal, it is a high-value strategy, according to new research. It makes forests more productive, and could deliver up to $500bn a year in wealth across the planet.
Can Americans turn Black Friday green?
25 Nov 2016
While shoppers scramble for Black Friday bargains this year, outdoor retailer REI is closing its 145 US stores. This is the second consecutive year the Seattle-based company will ignore the frenzy that traditionally marks the start of the holiday shopping season.
Will China and Europe form a powerful climate bloc?
24 Nov 2016
It seems almost certain that US President-elect Donald Trump will walk away from the Paris climate agreement next year. In the absence of US leadership, the question is: who will step up?
UN plans early warning network as climate risks soar
23 Nov 2016
As summers get hotter, seas get warmer and extreme wind and rainstorms inflict ever-greater loss of human life and property, the World Meteorological Organisation is trying to develop an early warning system for vulnerable countries.
CLIMATE CLASS: We're ranked in the bottom five
22 Nov 2016
A new international survey ranks New Zealand as one of the five worst-performing countries when it comes to climate policy – alongside Spain, Japan, Turkey and the Ukraine.
Solar company wins innovation award
22 Nov 2016
An energy service that combines battery storage and rooftop solar without any equipment costs for Kiwi homeowners has won a green award for innovation.
PV power could save nation tonnes of emissions
21 Nov 2016
New Zealand could save up to 815,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year by converting 18 per cent of households to photovoltaic solar power, a new study says.
It's going well, says PM, as we pick up another fossil award
18 Nov 2016
The Prime Minister says the Emissions Trading Scheme is operating “pretty well”.
Air NZ flies high at sustainable business awards
18 Nov 2016
Air New Zealand is the supreme winner in this year’s Sustainable Business Network Awards, announced in Auckland last night.
Tokelau comes under the Paris Agreement umbrella
17 Nov 2016
New Zealand is extending its ratification of the Paris Agreement to include Tokelau.
World needs major emissions cuts by 2020, says report
17 Nov 2016
All key sectors– including commercial agriculture – must have major emissions cuts under way by 2020 if the world is to keep global warming within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5deg limit, a new report says.
MARRAKECH MESSAGE: We've got enough clean credits
16 Nov 2016
New Zealand is likely to use 38.1 million tonnes of its surplus carbon credits to meet its next emissions reduction target and will not need access to international markets, climate change talks in Morocco have heard.
American Muslims ditch fossil fuels investments
14 Nov 2016
As representatives of many of the world’s main religions join financial leaders in calling for a switch of investment from polluting energy to renewables, a prominent Islamic organisation says it will do just that, in a landmark divestment commitment from a Muslim institution.
What Trump means for the future of energy and climate
11 Nov 2016
President … Donald … Trump. For those on both sides of the aisle who vowed “Never Trump!,” that’s going to take some getting used to.
Australia ratifies, under a large Trump-shaped shadow
11 Nov 2016
Australia has announced that it is to ratify the Paris climate agreement, which entered into force last Friday.
PLEASE EXPLAIN: NZ under scrutiny in Marrakech
10 Nov 2016
New Zealand's progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions will come under international scrutiny at climate talks in Marrakech on Monday.
Deforestation forces up Brazil’s carbon emissions
10 Nov 2016
In 2015, Brazil told the world it would make significant reductions in its emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas driving global warming. Its emissions are, however, heading in the opposite direction.
We can’t bet on renewable energy to save the world
9 Nov 2016
The Paris climate agreement has now officially come into force most people have hailed it as a huge success and a significant milestone in our quest to limit the effects of global climate change.
Government prepares for 2030 carbon price of $152
8 Nov 2016
The Government is pricing carbon into its forward projections at up to $152 a tonne in 2030.
The day the world shut the door on disaster
8 Nov 2016
PATRICIA ESPINOSA, UNFCCC Executive Secretary and SALAHEDDINE MEZOUAR, President of COP22 and Morocco Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation look at the UN climate conference which opened today in Marrakech:
Fossil fuel majors strut their stuff for Marrakech
8 Nov 2016
The oil industry has been in damage limitation mode ahead of this week’s climate change talks in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.
How will Paris Agreement change your day-to-day life?
7 Nov 2016
What is clear about the Paris Agreement on climate change is that to have a fighting chance of meeting its target it will require large and sustained emissions reductions, starting very, very soon.
Politicians feel the heat from rising temperatures
7 Nov 2016
Voters who feel good about life – whether it is to do with their job, their marriage or even the success of their sports team – are more likely to support their politicians.
EDITORIAL: Welcome to the real world that's Paris
4 Nov 2016
It's Paris Day – the day the Paris Agreement comes into force.
Australia left behind 12 months after Paris
4 Nov 2016
Australia has been left behind as countries and businesses accelerate action on climate change after the historic global agreement one year ago, a new Climate Council report has revealed.
Why geo-engineering is unlikely to save the world
4 Nov 2016
The global watchdog responsible for protecting the world’s wealth of species, the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, has looked at the hopes for reining in climate change through geo-engineering.
Government getting serious about forestry
3 Nov 2016
The climate ministers are seriously considering the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s afforestation proposals, it was revealed yesterday.
New energy strategy on way, says minister
3 Nov 2016
The Government's new energy strategy is about to be released and is likely to contain aspirational targets to convert the heat and transport sectors to renewable energy sources.
PAY DAY: Bioenergy switch brings in business
3 Nov 2016
An eight-year investment in bioenergy is finally paying off with customers for an Invercargill laundry company.
You can't do it alone, bioenergy body hears
2 Nov 2016
No country has made the move to low-carbon bioenergy without strong governmental support, the New Zealand Bioenergy Association has been told.
EECA names award finalists
2 Nov 2016
THE FINALISTS have been announced for the EECA Business Energy Management Award.
Will US policy push fossil fuels or clean energy?
2 Nov 2016
The United States is blessed with many energy resources: huge fossil fuels reserves and substantial renewable energy potential, from offshore wind to geothermal power.
Chile’s freemarket water scheme brings conflict
2 Nov 2016
Is water a basic human right or something with an inherent economic value? The answer to this question has led to decades of conflict in Chile.
Why aren’t Washington greenies supporting a carbon tax?
1 Nov 2016
Legislation known as Initiative-732 would make Washington the first US state to have a carbon tax. The tax would be levied on refineries and utilities, who would then pass the tax on to consumers in the form of higher gasoline, electricity and natural gas prices.
Iceland turning up the heat on thermal energy production
1 Nov 2016
Iceland is about to tap into water as hot as lava. Several kilometres below ground, a drilling rig named Thor will soon penetrate the area around a magma chamber, where molten rock from the inner Earth heats up water that has seeped through the seafloor.
Are priority measures for e-cars really a good idea?
1 Nov 2016
With as many as 40,000 premature deaths linked to air pollution each year, five UK cities are considering a novel approach to reduce emissions.
Electric floor sparks power from footfalls
31 Oct 2016
US scientists have found a new way to generate energy at home: the tribo-electric floor. Tread on it and it will convert the kinetic energy of a footstep into a current of electricity.
Skies darken over Iraq as Isis torches desert oil fields
31 Oct 2016
Even at the height of the day, the skies in many parts of northern Iraq are dark as Isis torches oil wells and oil-filled defensive trenches in its retreat.
New EECA chief has busy background
28 Oct 2016
The new chief executive of the Government’s energy efficiency agency has a background in commercial law, policy making and disaster recovery.
India’s solar power set to outshine coal
26 Oct 2016
India wants to provide its entire population with electricity and lift millions out of poverty, but in order to prevent the world overheating it also needs to switch away from fossil fuels.
Britain becomes nuclear showroom to the world
26 Oct 2016
The UK has laid out a welcome mat for any nuclear operators in the world who want to showcase their latest designs in Britain − the one exception being the Russian state company Rosatom.
Energy efficiency makes impact on carbon emissions
25 Oct 2016
Improved energy efficiency is helping New Zealand to cut thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions, as well as saving millions of dollars a year, the Government energy efficiency agency reports.
Corporate climate risk is all about turning a profit
25 Oct 2016
Risk has become a central construct for how businesses should respond to climate change.
Clinton says clean energy economy will create millions of jobs. Can it?
25 Oct 2016
Job growth is a prime topic in the US presidential race, but Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have very different takes on the role clean energy could play in creating employment.
The world meets in Quito to discuss the future of cities
25 Oct 2016
As the global population grows from seven billion to nearly 10 billion by 2050, we will need to build the equivalent of a city of one million people every five days to house them.
Diesel use boosts national gas emissions
21 Oct 2016
New Zealanders are producing more greenhouse gas emissions from the use of diesel, according to new figures.
Millions worth of free credits sit in private accounts
20 Oct 2016
Non-forestry carbon credits worth more than $350 million – many of them given by taxpayers to large industrial emitters – are sitting in private carbon accounts.
Secret ingredient lures bees into making more food
20 Oct 2016
A plant virus has developed the trick of attracting bees to the plants it has attacked to make sure they produce plenty of seed.
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.
