Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Growth and greening now go together, says Stern study
22 Sep 2014
Governments and businesses can now improve economic growth and reduce their carbon emissions together, says a major new report by a commission of global leaders.
... but critic says report fails to back up core message
22 Sep 2014
A new report called Better Growth, Better Climate draws the seductive conclusion that “we can create lasting economic growth while also tackling the immense risks of climate change”.
Move over, Queensland, here comes the Great Sydney Reef
22 Sep 2014
Welcome to tropical Sydney, where colourful surgeonfishes and parrotfishes are plentiful, corals have replaced kelp forests, and underwater life seems brighter, more colourful and all-round better. Or is it?
China goes up a gear but still has a lot of work to do
22 Sep 2014
In the lead-up to the UN leaders’ summit on climate change (http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit), China is shifting up a gear in its drive towardsnational emissions trading.
How renewables can lead to prosperity and jobs
22 Sep 2014
A new handbook shows how forward-looking communities around the world are already moving away from reliance on fossil fuels and generating their own power with 100 per cent renewables − while also becoming more prosperous and creating jobs.
LED street lights could be 50% cheaper
22 Sep 2014
Installing LED lights in streets could halve energy consumption from street lighting, the government’s energy efficiency agency says.
Drought now could be drought forever in California
22 Sep 2014
Things could soon get worse for drought-hit California. New research predicts that, by the close of the century, global warming could have reduced the flow of water from the Sierra Nevada mountains by at least a quarter.
Solid Energy needs extension of guarantee
22 Sep 2014
Commercially troubled state coal miner Solid Energy requires an extension of a government guarantee to meet the $103 million future cost of returning mined land to its pre-mined condition in order to maintain positive equity in its balance sheet.
Pumped-up couple win energy award
22 Sep 2014
The switch to a gravity-feed water system has resulted in huge cost-savings for Otago farmers David and Sarah Smith, winners of an energy excellence award in the 2014 Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
It's simple ... either you believe, or you don't
16 Sep 2014
By editor ADELIA HALLETT.- Voters in this weekend’s general election face a simple choice when it comes to climate change – you either believe it is a real and massive problem requiring transformation of the economy, or you don’t.
New York summit could be the turning point
16 Sep 2014
A United Nations chief dismayed at the lack of resolve toward the climate crisis; a daunting deadline for negotiating a new treaty; 125 or so heads of state; a sprawling agenda of fossil fuels, food, forestry and finance; a train of think tanks hauling gigabytes of green data; countless teach-ins, press conferences, art shows - plus tens or even hundreds of thousands of activists marching through midtown Manhattan, demanding action now.
Post-Fukushima, Japan's power plans are all at sea
16 Sep 2014
Two companies in Japan recently announced that they are to begin building two huge solar power islands that will float on reservoirs.
Drain the milk lake and create healthier, happier cows
16 Sep 2014
Milk, a precious resource in many parts of the world, has become a throwaway commodity in wealthy countries.
Drought bites as Amazon’s ‘flying rivers’ dry up
16 Sep 2014
The unprecedented drought affecting São Paulo, South America’s giant metropolis, is believed to be caused by the absence of the “flying rivers” - the vapour clouds from the Amazon that normally bring rain to the centre and south of Brazil.
To make this fuel just add water and sunlight
16 Sep 2014
Australian scientists have successfully replicated one of the crucial steps in photosynthesis, opening the way for biological systems powered by sunlight which could manufacture hydrogen as a fuel.
Fossil-free superannuation is an idea that’s going to snowball
16 Sep 2014
The launch of Future Super, which claims to be the first super fund in Australia to exclude fossil fuels and their major supporting companies from its investment portfolio, has drawn significant attention.
There's more to renewable energy than fighting climate change
16 Sep 2014
With the failure of international agreements to fight climate change, the way is open to viewing the role of renewables as more than agents for reducing carbon emissions. Indeed, is it possible for countries to build their manufacturing industries, enhance their energy security — and contribute to reducing carbon emissions?
Why trade pacts are bad for humankind
16 Sep 2014
The Obama administration has proposed several ad-hoc, multi-country economic agreements, and in doing so has abandoned de facto the World Trade Organisation as insufficiently malleable to its interests.
New-energy groups join up to sell NZ credentials
8 Sep 2014
Renewable energy sectors are joining forces to promote New Zealand’s clean-energy credentials as a new international industry.
Island states celebrate $2 billion conference
8 Sep 2014
With nearly $2 billion pledged in sustainable development partnerships, the United Nations last week wrapped up its small island developing states conference in Samoa and kicked off a drum roll of action on climate change.
China looks like kicking its coal habit
8 Sep 2014
There are still doubts. The statistics might be proved wrong. But it looks as if China might be starting to wean itself off its coal consumption habit.
Worried carmakers force Korea ETS changes
8 Sep 2014
Korea’s booming car industry appears to have won over the government in the country’s latest road map for emissions reduction.
New book exposes Malaysian logging crimes
8 Sep 2014
An explosive new book about logging is about to rock Malaysia’s corridors of power.
Leaders are emerging, says senior scientist
8 Sep 2014
There are prospects of significant progress in the response of world governments to climate change, according to a former British Government chief scientist, Sir David King.
Is the Mosul Dam start of the water wars?
8 Sep 2014
Exactly a year ago, the world was wrestling with the possibility of another US-led military assault on an Arab state, following the horrific gas attacks in Damascus, Syria.
Scientists give Australia the really bad news
8 Sep 2014
The Australian government has just received a vitally important report to guide its decisions on the future of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target.
How we tricked bacteria into making renewable propane
8 Sep 2014
Converting renewable energy into electricity is one thing; converting it into fuel is quite another.
Change the way you wee ... and help to save the world
8 Sep 2014
The energy-water nexus between water, sanitation, and our global consumption of energy – the “energy-water nexus" - are more obvious than ever before. But how many of us will take direction at the most basic level of all?
NZ First backs iwi $600m carbon claim
1 Sep 2014
New Zealand First supports an iwi leaders’ bid to raise carbon prices.
We're going off grid ... surely but slowly
1 Sep 2014
New Zealanders might be slow at adopting alternative electricity generation, but it does threaten the existing centralised model, a new report says.
Policy wobbles could slow renewable energy growth
1 Sep 2014
Power generation from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro grew strongly last year, reaching almost 22 per cent of global generation, says the International Energy Agency.
Worldwide, public shows its support for renewables
1 Sep 2014
Public support for renewable energies across the world continues to grow, particularly in more advanced economies − with solar power being especially popular.
Business gleans ideas at small islands forum
1 Sep 2014
Small island states offer opportunities for genuine and sustainable business partnerships, according to executives and officials at United Nations private sector forum in Samoa.
Australian transport stuck in the energy queue
1 Sep 2014
Australia has scored poorly in the energy efficiency of its land transport, and is well behind other major economies, a recent international scorecard has revealed.
Water levels rank with soccer scores in drying Brazil
1 Sep 2014
Outside the semi-arid area of the north-east, Brazilians have never had to worry about conserving water. Year in, year out, the summer has always brought rain.
The fact is we're making the emissions problem worse
1 Sep 2014
Challenging news for those climate campaigners who believe that renewable sources of energy are on the increase: they may be, but so are carbon dioxide emissions.
Aviation a microcosm of the emissions problem
1 Sep 2014
No matter what the aviation industry does to reduce emissions, it will be outweighed by growth in air travel, according to a new analysis.
Scientists claim fertiliser breakthrough
1 Sep 2014
Researchers in the UK think they may have found a way to produce fertilisers that should cut farmers’ costs and at the same time boost some types of renewable energy.
Labour vows to act on agriculture by 2016
25 Aug 2014
There is bad news for farmers, and good and bad news for industrial emitters under Labour’s climate change policy, released yesterday.
Sustainability council pushes puchasing power
25 Aug 2014
Some of New Zealand’s biggest companies are working out how they can use their purchasing power to drive the new economy.
COMMENT: Jeepers, John, you forgot the environment
25 Aug 2014
Prime Minister John Key launched National’s election campaign yesterday without mentioning the environment.
Watchdog rules ‘clean coal’ advertisement misleading
25 Aug 2014
Britain’s advertising watchdog has ruled that an advertisement for “clean coal” by the world’s largest private sector coal firm, Peabody Energy, was misleading and should not be published again in its current form.
G20 energy brains talk business in Brisbane
25 Aug 2014
This week Brisbane hosts the final meeting of the G20 Energy Sustainability Working Group before the main G20 summit in November, when government officials and energy experts from 20 of the most powerful countries in the world will discuss how the world governs energy.
Media clashes raise questions of news bias
25 Aug 2014
It’s tempting to view The Australian’s latest broadside at the ABC as just another salvo fired between the nation’s two biggest media organisations.
European carbon prices look set to rise
25 Aug 2014
An international energy market watcher is predicting price rises in European carbon.
Economy changes fuel Spain's fire dangers
25 Aug 2014
Climate change is gradually turning Spain into a fire zone – but it’s also the change in the economic climate that is inflaming the situation.
High-altitude winds could help to power the Earth
18 Aug 2014
Researchers have discovered that the world’s energy needs could easily be met by harnessing the power potential of high-altitude winds.
Judge throws out family's fracking pollution case
18 Aug 2014
A Texas judge has dismissed a million dollar lawsuit filed by a family who say their lives have been ruined by noxious emissions from oil and gas facilities near their home.
Don't waste your money on oil and gas
18 Aug 2014
If you want a safe bet, don’t invest in some of today’s tempting oil and gas projects. That’s the message from a UK-based financial think-tank that aims to align the global energy market with climate reality.
Norway finds the wells have run dry
18 Aug 2014
Statoil, the Norwegian state-owned company, has announced that it has failed to find commercial quantities of oil and gas in the Barents Sea this year.
‘Pathetic': experts slam govt’s approach to adaptation
Mon 20 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has signalled it will step back from full property buyouts if assets are hit by climate disasters, a move adaptation experts say will condemn hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders to a “dismal” future.
Govt ‘captured by industry’ on methane – Carr
Today 11:00am
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 needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
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.
NZ not 'holding the line' on wilding pine management – experts
Wed 15 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is no longer “holding the line” against invasive threats, with the country’s scale, remoteness and rugged terrain making control costly and complex, one expert has said ahead of this week's Wilding Pines Conference.
Researchers say sealing old oil wells with bio-oil from crop waste is a dual carbon-removal solution
19 Sep 2025
A new analysis shows that oil made from corn husks, wood chips, and other waste could plug greenhouse gas-belching abandoned oil wells while sequestering carbon for about $152 per ton.
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.
States sue to stop Trump cancellation of $7 billion solar grant program
Today 11:00am
Nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7 billion grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers.
Will govt’s light touch approach lead to higher carbon prices?
3 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Carbon market watchers are hoping the government’s plan for the electricity sector will eventually lead to higher carbon prices, with the secondary market still trading sideways for the longest time in its history.
Electricity to remain in ETS
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
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.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
19 Sep 2025
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
Fri 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.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
Today 11:00am
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.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
Thu 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.
World falling far behind deforestation goals with farms and fires driving loss, report says
Wed 15 Oct 2025
The report said the world permanently lost 8.1 million hectares (20 million acres) of forest, an area about the size of England, in 2024 alone.
‘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.
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.”
Climate investment is only growth opportunity of 21st century, says leading economist
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Investment in climate action is the economic growth story of the 21st century, while growth fuelled by fossil fuels is futile because the damage it causes ends in self-destruction, the economist Nicholas Stern has said.
Difficult trade-offs ahead for climate adaptation
Fri 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.
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.
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
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
Deep sea mining threatens sharks, rays and ghost sharks
6 Oct 2025
Mining the world’s deep seas for metals will likely threaten many species of sharks, rays and chimaeras (ghost sharks), according to researchers.
Methane pledge in question following NZ weakening targets
Mon 20 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi New Zealand’s new methane target puts the Global Methane Pledge – and ultimately climate targets – at risk, according to an international expert.
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.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
Today 11:00am
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
‘Weird and sad’ – Tuvalu Climate Minister condemns NZ halving methane target
Wed 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.
Bottom trawling a triple threat to marine environments - new report
9 Oct 2025
Media release | Greenpeace is calling for urgent action to restrict bottom trawling after a new government report highlights the compounding effects this destructive fishing method has on climate change, habitat degradation and biodiversity loss.
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.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
Today 11:00am
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.
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.
How one country’s Russian gas crisis became a green energy boom
Today 11:00am
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Moldova quickly empowered its small towns to produce their own renewable energy so no one could push it around.
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
Fri 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.
Landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions in tatters after US pressure
Mon 20 Oct 2025
A landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions has been abandoned after Saudi Arabia and the US succeeded in ending the talks.
Where’s Watts? Climate Minister no-show at climate conference
Thu 16 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Opposition parties have slammed the Climate Change Minister’s failure to front up to a major international conference in Christchurch, saying it shows that climate adaptation is a low priority for the National Party.
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.
Farmers face heightened solvency risks as climate changes: research
10 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Increasingly volatile weather patterns, higher insurance costs driven by climate change risk and global financial volatility represent risks to New Zealand farmers’ capacity to service debt and remain solvent, according to new research by Christchurch-based research firm Kōmanawa Solutions.
‘Con,’ ‘scam,’ ‘hoax’: Trump’s UN speech on climate
24 Sep 2025
The president used a large chunk of his hour-long speech to world leaders to condemn climate science and clean energy policies.
Trump administration moves to revoke permit for Massachusetts offshore wind project
24 Sep 2025
The Trump administration has moved to block a Massachusetts offshore wind farm, its latest effort to hobble an industry and technology that President Donald Trump has attacked as “ugly” and unreliable compared to fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.
