Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Genesis extends life of Huntly coal-fired plant
28 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s coal-fired power station will remain open until 2022, but Genesis Energy says it is still committed to closing it.
We need an emissions cap, says business council
28 Apr 2016
New Zealand needs a cap on emissions and to include all sectors in the Emissions Trading Scheme, says the Sustainable Business Council.
Labor’s climate policy puts it back in the game
28 Apr 2016
The Australian Labor Party has announced the climate policy it will take to the federal election, including a return to carbon pricing under an emissions trading scheme.
Policy sounds good to us, say investors
28 Apr 2016
The Australian Labor Party’s new climate change policy has many of the elements investors are looking for, including market-based carbon pricing, says the Investor Group on Climate Change.
Carbon budgeting big success, says UK expert
27 Apr 2016
Carbon budgeting and an independent statutory body that reports on the Government’s performance have been critical to the United Kingdom’s success in cutting greenhouse gases, says a visiting expert.
What we must change to get emissions under control
26 Apr 2016
A cross-party forum on climate change, efficient agriculture, and using revenue from auctioned carbon credits to stimulate innovation are some of the measures necessary for New Zealand to get to net-zero emissions, according to a paper to be released later today.
Bennett stays on course for higher carbon price
26 Apr 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula has again said that carbon prices need to be higher.
PARIS PACT: New Zealand's world, according to Bennett
26 Apr 2016
On Saturday in New York, Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett signed the Paris Agreement on climate change on behalf of New Zealand.
PARIS PACT: How should we compensate the poor countries?
26 Apr 2016
Written within the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is an article on “loss and damages,” the notion of providing aid to vulnerable countries that suffer damages from climate change.
Volvo sets target of a million e-cars sold by 2025
26 Apr 2016
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has announced that it aims to sell a total of up to one million electrified cars by 2025.
Cool building ideas for hot cities of the future
22 Apr 2016
"Another hot and humid day in Sydney tomorrow with a maximum of 32 degrees in the city and 38 in the western suburbs." How many times have we heard that on TV or radio weather reports?
NZ Bus going electric will save the capital's trolleys
21 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s largest bus company is going electric in a move that will save Wellington’s beloved trolley buses – albeit without the overhead wires.
US-Canada pact eases Arctic drilling fears
21 Apr 2016
Low oil prices have reduced pressure to exploit Arctic fossil fuels and boosted hopes that the region’s fragile environment and indigenous people may be better protected.
YES WE CAN! Business leaders to make blueprint for our low-carbon future
20 Apr 2016
Some of the country’s largest businesses, lobby groups and organisations will meet in Wellington next month to draw up a blueprint for making New Zealand into a low-carbon economy.
Business backs stronger line on climate
20 Apr 2016
Business leaders say they hope this week’s signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change by New Zealand signals a stronger line on climate change action – with New Zealand reaching net-zero emissions not long after 2050.
Z Energy's biodiesel plant strikes gold
20 Apr 2016
Z Energy’s $26 million dollar biodiesel plant has earned it gold membership of the Bioenergy Association.
Nuclear costs are travelling in uncharted territory
20 Apr 2016
As some governments press on with new nuclear installations to address climate change, a multi-billion dollar industry will be needed to make safe old power plants and their hazardous waste.
Here's a six-point plan for getting Australia on track
19 Apr 2016
The past two years have been the hottest on record globally, yet Australian climate policy is frozen in the past.
Climate-threatened islands now facing the Big Dry
18 Apr 2016
Almost threequarters of a sample of island groups – atolls and archipelagos that are home to more than 18 million people − are expected to become increasingly more arid under a regime of climate change.
Forgetting fossil fuels a turning point in history
18 Apr 2016
The head of a global philanthropic foundation says that the world turning away from fossil fuels is a critical moment in human history, akin to the abolition of slavery.
Why carbon price is key to forestry worth billions
15 Apr 2016
Carbon prices will need to hit $35 a tonne by 2017 or forest owners will quit the Emissions Trading Scheme, leaving New Zealand unable to meet its emissions reductions targets, an expert is warning.
Wasted food places heavy burden on climate
15 Apr 2016
As obesity levels soar, cutting the vast amount of food we waste could have a major impact on reducing the effects of climate change, as well as alleviating world hunger.
Top table invites us to chew over carbon market
14 Apr 2016
New Zealand is to join a select group of countries talking about developing a global carbon market.
Day of the industrials in next ERF auction
14 Apr 2016
Low-cost industrial projects are likely to out-bid many land-use projects in Australia’s next Emissions Reduction Fund auction, says analyst RepuTex.
Big powers in push for small nuclear reactors
14 Apr 2016
Concerns are being raised about the billions of dollars being spent on research to design and build small nuclear reactors for electricity production.
China coal use: Here’s how to read the tea leaves
14 Apr 2016
As the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, how much coal China is burning is of global interest.
Nine ways steel could build a greener economy
13 Apr 2016
Steel might be the largest industrial carbon dioxide emitter, but Britain’s troubled industry could be a big part of a cleaner, greener future.
Couch potatoes have outsized energy footprints
13 Apr 2016
It is alluringly easy to use averages, but when most of a group is far from average, they can lead us astray. This is no less true in the area of energy consumption.
Could this be a fair dinkum climate policy for Australia?
12 Apr 2016
An Australian think-tank claims to have done the impossible – come up with an effective climate policy that both sides of the political divide can live with.
If our ecosystems are threatened, let’s move them
12 Apr 2016
Picking up and moving entire ecosystems at risk of being wiped out by climate change is a technique that has already been used to deal with other human impacts - at the Stockton mine on the West Coast.
Here’s a way to make carbon markets work better
11 Apr 2016
Carbon markets could play a crucial role in delivering promises made at the Paris climate conference.
Why it makes sense for offshore drilling to wait
11 Apr 2016
From chants of “Drill, Baby, Drill” to outrage over the BP oil spill, offshore drilling has been highly controversial in recent years. Some view it as a vastly underused revenue source, while others see it as a grave environmental threat.
We keep flushing valuable energy down the drain
11 Apr 2016
Every time you flush your toilet or drain the bath, you’re losing something surprisingly valuable: heat.
Banks threaten to unleash infrastructure tsunami
8 Apr 2016
We are living in the most explosive era of infrastructure expansion in human history. The G20 nations, when they met in Australia in 2014, argued for between US$60 trillion and $70 trillion in new infrastructure investments by 2030, which would more than double the global total value of infrastructure.
Green business awards finalists pack energy punch
7 Apr 2016
Clean-energy projects highlighted in this year’s EECA awards will cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 120,000 tonnes a year.
Solar energy shines as power business shrinks
7 Apr 2016
The solar energy business was the bright spot in the shrinking global power business last year, a new report says.
Vancouver chases crown as world's greenest city crown
7 Apr 2016
Vancouver wants to be the greenest city in the world - and it’s given itself until 2020 to do it.
INDEFENSIBLE! Scientists slam Key's climate change attitude
6 Apr 2016
Scientists are calling the Government’s lack of leadership on climate change indefensible, after Prime Minister John Key said that science would solve the problem.
Christchurch gets first fast-charging station
6 Apr 2016
Christchurch has its first rapid-charging station for electric vehicles.
GET WISE! We have a real carbon exposure risk
5 Apr 2016
New Zealand has a carbon exposure risk whether it likes it or not, says business commentator Rod Oram.
GM crops can thrive as climate warms
5 Apr 2016
Plants genetically modified to take advantage of hotter temperatures and increased carbon dioxide could cut fertiliser use and raise yields to alleviate global food shortages.
Mighty River snaps up latest from Tesla
4 Apr 2016
Mighty River Power is adding the new Tesla Model 3 to its fleet of electric vehicles.
Science grapples with climate conundrums
1 Apr 2016
New research illustrates that reactions of people, plants and animals to the changing climate are a key factor in unravelling the complexities of global warming.
That good addresses might not be so good for solar
31 Mar 2016
Auckland’s better-off suburbs are not as good for solar roof-top electricity generation as many of the city’s poorer suburbs, a computer modelling project by Auckland University school shows.
Storing carbon could help to meet climate goals
31 Mar 2016
Australia's agricultural lands help to feed about 60 million people worldwide, and also support tens of thousands of farmers as well as rural communities and industries.
It wouldn't take much for e-cars to ease our emissions
30 Mar 2016
Replacing just 10 per cent of the cars in New Zealand with electric vehicles would cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by a million tonnes a year.
LanzaTech signs first US biofuels deal
30 Mar 2016
New Zealand-founded LanzaTech has signed its first North American deal, giving United States biofuels and biochemicals maker Aemetis exclusive rights to its patented technology to convert various types of waste gas to ethanol in California.
Aussie offices race to go green
30 Mar 2016
More than three million square metres of Australia’s office space is officially green.
Emitters, you have until Thursday
29 Mar 2016
Emitters have until Thursday to file returns for last year.
Capital plugs in to fast-charge e-car stations
29 Mar 2016
Wellington has its first high-speed electric car charging stations.
Fifty years of observations, no reversal of glacier climate damage
31 Mar 2026
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Fifty years on from the first aerial survey of our Southern Alps glaciers, late snow and variable summer weather delivered a temporary reprieve from rapid ice loss, says Earth Sciences New Zealand.
From war to weather: A ‘super El Niño’ event poses fresh risks to global food costs
Fri 10 Apr 2026
An unusually powerful El Niño later this year could exacerbate food security fears as disruption caused by the Iran war strains supply for crucial fertilier products.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Media round-up
Fri 10 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Past fuel price spikes failed to shift Kiwis out of their cars with signs suggesting it’s happening again, a 'she’ll be right' attitude is not enough in a climate crisis, and should forestry be listed as critical in the government's national fuel plan?
Environmental groups launch legal action over Govt's 'tick-box approach' to conservation land
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society are taking the Government to court over decisions about the future of publicly-owned land on Te Tai Poutini/the West Coast.
New alliance wants renewable-led energy – and Govt to press pause on LNG
Thu 9 Apr 2026
A newly formed coalition of business, consumer and energy organisations has unveiled a renewable-led strategy it says will strengthen the country’s energy security, and it’s calling on the Government to pause its plan for an LNG import terminal.
Carbon ‘stockpile’ up 9 million in March quarter
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The ‘stockpile’ of pollution permits (NZUs) in private accounts has increased by just over 9 million to almost 145 million since the end of 2025, according to the latest figures from the Environmental Protection Authority.
India pulls out of bid to host UN climate summit
Fri 10 Apr 2026
Climate experts term the decision as a setback and surprise as India had been using the proposed summit to position itself as climate leader of the Global South.
Economic contraction will impact carbon market
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | While higher fossil fuel prices strengthen the long-run economics of decarbonisation, the current fuel crisis won’t inspire near-term confidence in the carbon market, according to Lizzie Chambers of Carbon Match.
Activist ends five-day tree-top protest at West Coast coal mine
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A climate activist has ended a five-day tree-top occupation that blocked access to Bathurst Resources’ Cypress Mine on the West Coast, in a protest against plans to expand what could become New Zealand’s largest coal mine.
Supply-side pressures and political uncertainty ahead for carbon market
Tue 7 Apr 2026
By Kristen Green | ANALYSIS: With failed auctions, a surge of new forestry registrations, and an election a few months away, the NZ ETS in 2026 will be subject to a mix of supply-side pressures and political uncertainty.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
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 price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
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.
Climate change means a 2004-level flood would likely be worse today
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Rebecca Hogan, Local Democracy Reporter | If floods equivalent to the devastating 2004 event hit Manawatū today, it is predicted the outcome would be more extreme “as a result of climate change”.
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.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Genesis fires up pellet study with Nature’s Flame
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Genesis Energy is extending its quest for locally produced torrefied wood pellets to supplement coal and gas to fuel its Huntly power station, announcing it is investigating plant construction with established local solid fuels player Nature’s Flame.
A matter of strategy
Tue 7 Apr 2026
COMMENT: Even on the brink of a global commodities crisis, the possibilities for climate action aren't hopelessly foreclosed. Strategy can turn our fortunes around, writes David Hall.
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.”
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New international protections for migratory species, including several found in New Zealand, are a positive step – but global protections won’t halt the decline of migratory species on their own, experts say.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
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.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
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.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
EA entrenches 10kW export limit for residential solar
Wed 8 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The Electricity Authority intends to require all electricity networks to offer at least a 10 kilowatt (kW) export capacity for residential rooftop and other small-scale distributed generation.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Renewable build-out runs into grid and firming limits
Wed 8 Apr 2026
New Zealand's electricity market entered 2026 with renewable generation at record levels and a substantial build pipeline finally moving from paper to construction. The harder question is whether the wider system can absorb and firm that capacity fast enough.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Govt tweaks consenting rules for EV chargers
Fri 10 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has announced a national reset of planning rules for EV chargers, which it says aim to address infrastructure shortages which have put the brakes on electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand.
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Solar energy, cheap battery storage can meet 90% of India’s power demand at affordable costs: Ember report
Thu 9 Apr 2026
Battery storage is now cheap enough in India that solar power can meet 90% of the country’s power demand at lower lifetime costs than current average purchase rates in most states, a new study has found, a finding that could potentially point to a future buffer against global energy shocks.
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
2 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists | The Prioritisation Report released yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
AI’s arrival complicates Big Tech climate goals, and some worry it’s locking in more fossil fuels
2 Apr 2026
Six years ago, Google was confident that by 2030 it would power all operations with electricity generated from clean sources, including wind and solar power, and remove as much pollution as it produced. Today it calls those goals a “moonshot.” Microsoft says it’s still aiming to remove more carbon than it creates by 2030 but now describes the effort as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
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.
Free fares call as fuel crisis impacts school attendance
Wed 8 Apr 2026
An open letter is urging the Government to make public transport free for all school children and subsidised for students under 25, as rising fuel costs begin to impact attendance and access to education across the country.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
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.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
1 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Fast-track approved project could deliver NZ’s largest wind farm
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Government |Fast-track approval has been granted for New Zealand’s largest wind farm project.
