Topics tagged with 'Energy'
Mexico our latest clean-tech partner
5 Nov 2010
New Zealand and Mexico are working together on clean-tech development.
Battle marks new era in environmental politics
5 Nov 2010
Wealthy Californians and conservation groups this week united in a bipartisan campaign to defeat an oil industry-sponsored initiative, Proposition 23, to suspend the state's greenhouse gas law.
Britain aims for 100,000 green-collar workers
5 Nov 2010
The British government's Green Deal initiative to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes could employ up to 100,000 people by 2015 and even more in the long-term, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said this week.
Korea braces for carbon trading system
5 Nov 2010
The Korean government is pushing to introduce a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide as early as next year.
Asia seen as hub of renewable energy
5 Nov 2010
Asia will be at the forefront of the shift to renewable energy, says the organiser of a major industry conference.
Fuel-efficient Mini Cooper hits the market
5 Nov 2010
The car dubbed the most fuel-efficient in last month’s EnergyWise Rally is going on sale in New Zealand.
Judges reward maker of light systems
29 Oct 2010
Making energy-efficient lights has earned a Christchurch company the title of third-fastest growing business in the country.
Norfolk Island first to try out personal carbon trading
29 Oct 2010
An Australian university is set to lead a project testing the world’s first personal carbon trading programme conducted in a “closed system” environment on Norfolk Island.
Big oil eyes free carbon permits in California
29 Oct 2010
Oil refiners including Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips would be among the companies to get free pollution rights under California’s planned cap-and-trade programme for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Australian experts examine carbon farming
29 Oct 2010
A panel of experts has been appointed to examine ways Australian farmers and foresters can earn carbon credits.
Heliostats spell sunny future for solar industry
29 Oct 2010
Work has begun on installing 450 large mirrors, called heliostats, for Australia’s largest solar-thermal tower system at the CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre in Newcastle.
Frankly speaking - Groser addresses Brazil conference
29 Oct 2010
The challenges of life as an international climate change negotiator have been revealed.
EVENT: Carbon Forum Asia 2010 - on now in Singapore
29 Oct 2010
Of the 2414 CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects to date, 77.6 per cent or 1875 are registered in Asia, representing a total of more than 360 million CER (Carbon Emissions Reduction) units.
Southern builder launches sustainable homes
29 Oct 2010
Multi award-winning commercial and residential construction company Rilean Construction is launching a range of energy-efficient, healthy and affordable homes.
Sealord looks at ways to ease ETS costs
22 Oct 2010
Fishing giant Sealord is talking to its quota suppliers about how it can help to ease the financial impact of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Carbon trade transparency key, says manager
22 Oct 2010
The carbon market needs to develop with predictable, transparent practices, says an electricity sector manager involved in buying forward carbon.
NZ wind turbine makes California breakthrough
22 Oct 2010
New Zealand's Windflow Technologies is to build two turbines in California.
Union sparks probe of China's green-tech trade
22 Oct 2010
The United States is investigating China's practices affecting trade and investment in green technologies.
Asian countries high on list of most vulnerable
22 Oct 2010
Some of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies, including India, are facing the greatest climate change risks to their populations, ecosystems and business environments, says a new report.
Whitehall grabs billions from emissions scheme
22 Oct 2010
The British government has carried out a $5.5 billion smash-and-grab on one of its predecessor’s more controversial market-based emissions reduction programmes.
UN okays pioneering Russian carbon project
22 Oct 2010
Russia has been given the green light for its first emissions reductions scheme to be verified under a new UN-backed carbon offset certification procedure.
Voters to speak on California climate law
22 Oct 2010
Californians next month will decide whether to pull back from a landmark anti-pollution law as its economy continues to struggle.
There’s only one thing hotter than China
22 Oct 2010
By Nick Hodge. CRTP!!! That's the instant message I got from my boss last week, just as the stock went ballistic.
Sustainability wins award for hostel
22 Oct 2010
YHA Wellington City has won the Backpacker Accommodation category in the prestigious Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand awards.
Forest owners get positive ETS message from Government
19 Oct 2010
Land owners planting carbon forests say they have been assured that the Emissions Trading Scheme will survive when the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.
Wind power plays key role in Trade Me cuts
15 Oct 2010
Wind power and a few tonnes of gases given off by a city rubbish dump have allowed Trade Me to go carbon neutral.
Recycling plant starves as glass goes to pave roads
15 Oct 2010
Auckland’s recycling system means that most of the city’s waste glass is becoming aggregate in roads instead of feeding a $84 million expansion of the country’s only glass recycling plant, the industry says.
How the military's green energy transition can make you rich
15 Oct 2010
By Jeff Siegel.- It was all over the news last week ...
China shows the way in wind energy boom
15 Oct 2010
Wind energy could be supplying 22 per cent of the world's power generation by 2030, and 12 per cent as soon as 2020.
Europe claims victory for aviation role in ETS
15 Oct 2010
The European Union claims the way is now clear for its plans to include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 following an agreement at a meeting in Montreal.
Miner vows customers will benefit from free credits
8 Oct 2010
Solid Energy says it will pass the benefits of its free carbon credits on to customers.
Canada's $1b bonus sparks NZ forest interest
8 Oct 2010
The Canadian Government is putting up to $1 billion into forestry and bioenergy – and New Zealand forest owners want to know why.
Judge fines Methven over enviro shower claim
8 Oct 2010
A company that made false claims about “greenness” of its product has been fined $50,000.
Roadshow rams home the sustainability message
8 Oct 2010
A biodiesel-fuelled roadshow to deliver the message that sustainable practice increasingly equals success and to promote the launch of a new qualification hits the road this weekend.
Big banks slammed for backing coal
8 Oct 2010
A report prepared for Greenpeace has found Australia's big four banks are pouring huge amounts of money into the most polluting form of power generation: coal.
Last talks before Cancun bog down in China
8 Oct 2010
Financial assistance from developed countries for projects to combat climate change in the developing world has emerged as a key sticking point at the climate meeting in China, which is the last round of negotiations before the year-end Cancun conference.
UN to list ‘30 Ways in 30 Days’ to combat change
8 Oct 2010
In the run up to next month’s major climate change conference in Cancún, the United Nations will release one case study daily for 30 days to prove that solutions to combat global are available, accessible and replicable.
Solar giant plans huge plant in WA
8 Oct 2010
Perth-based Verve Energy and BP Solar, one of the world’s largest solar companies, have announced plans to build Australia’s largest grid-connected solar photovoltaic plant near Geraldton, Western Australia.
Greenpeace stages protest over oil drilling
8 Oct 2010
"Oil"-smeared people walked through central Wellington on Wednesday to protest Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee’s reckless determination to dig and drill for more dirty fossil fuels while ignoring the impacts on climate change.
Solar returning to the White House
8 Oct 2010
There are to be solar panels on the White House, but not on the Beehive.
Free credits now in the hands of industrial emitters
1 Oct 2010
Free carbon credits have been issued to industrial users.
ETS changes leave Kiwis with $820m Kyoto bill
1 Oct 2010
Changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme will leave the public with an $820 million deficit for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
Wellington puts electric cars to the test
1 Oct 2010
New Zealand has its first fleet of production electric cars.
This emissions business is hard, says China
1 Oct 2010
China's goals to slow greenhouse gas growth will be tough and costly, says the nation's top climate change official.
Garnaut back on the Aussie merry-go-round
1 Oct 2010
The man who wrote the climate change report for former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd will be helping to do it all again for the country's new leader.
Ecuador oil deal shows how it can be done, says UN
1 Oct 2010
An Ecuadorian decision to leave vast amounts of oil in the ground to protect the biodiversity of a national park represents a model of the kind of innovative international partnership that benefits everyone, says a senior United Nations official.
ETS in full swing as last bits tidied
1 Oct 2010
With the passing of eight sets of regulations to bring in remaining sectors, the Emissions Trading Scheme is effectively now fully implemented, says Buddle Findlay senior associate Alastair Camereon.
Delays frustrate Kaipara tidal energy developer
24 Sep 2010
Endless planning delays are hindering investment in marine energy in New Zealand, says the man behind plans for a tidal energy plant on the Kaipara Harbour.
Peak Oil: We've been lying to you
24 Sep 2010
By Ian Cooper.- Peak oil isn't real. Anyone with half a brain knows that.
Country needs clean-tech skills, says innovator
24 Sep 2010
New Zealand has a shortage of the people needed to turn clean-tech ideas into profitable businesses.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
Fri 12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
Mon 15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
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.
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.
Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds
Mon 15 Dec 2025
Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjust.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
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.
Minister not concerned about potential economic impacts of ruling out offshore mitigation
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts isn’t worried that ruling out using offshore mitigation is effectively reneging from the Paris Agreement with potential to damage New Zealand’s economy and access to export markets.
Australian Government wants EV, PHEV owners to start sending power to the grid
Mon 15 Dec 2025
The newly announced Vehicle-Grid Network is part of a plan to establish Australia as a leader in vehicle-to-grid technology.
Is Govt rushing through changes to climate framework to avoid litigation?
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says the Government’s motivation for proposed changes to the country’s climate framework law are unclear: “The only reason I can think of is one grounded in potential litigation risk.”
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
Thu 11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
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.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
Mon 15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
Wed 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.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
Mon 15 Dec 2025
A new study finds that Africa’s forests, responsible for one-fifth of global carbon removal, are beginning to generate carbon as the result of human activity.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
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.”
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
Fri 12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Shell facing first UK legal claim over climate impacts of fossil fuels
Fri 12 Dec 2025
Victims of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a legal claim against oil and gas company Shell in the UK courts, seeking compensation for what they say is the company's role in making the storm more severe.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Media round-up
Fri 12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
Govt rushes to pass climate law changes under urgency
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legislation to amend the Climate Change Response Act was introduced to Parliament on Monday, and the government intends to rush the changes through under urgency in the next two weeks, avoiding the usual public consultation.
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.
South Island marine reserves get the go ahead
Mon 15 Dec 2025
Media release: Environmental Defence Society | A new network of marine reserves off the Otago and south-Canterbury coast is being finalised after years of effort.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Weak carbon policy misses ‘exponential’ NZ growth opportunity: KiC
Mon 15 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Ambitious climate change policy is a route to a faster-growing New Zealand economy because of the potential for “exponential” growth in decarbonising technologies,” says KiwisinClimate, a global lobby group of New Zealanders working on climate change policy.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
2 Dec 2025
NSW police have arrested 141 people who attempted to block the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour during Rising Tide protests, which began on Thursday.
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.
Mission for ancient climate clues beneath 500m of antarctic ice gets underway
Mon 15 Dec 2025
Media release: Antarctica New Zealand | An international team has set up a remote camp on the ice 700 km from the nearest base (New Zealand’s Scott Base) to attempt to drill for mud and rocks holding critical insights about the fate of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in our warming world.
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.
More than $2m up for grabs for low-emissions farming innovation
Wed 10 Dec 2025
The Ag Emissions Centre and AgriZeroNZ yesterday opened their 2026 innovation investment round.
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.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
9 Dec 2025
Pressure from EU countries, lawmakers and the automotive industry is likely pushing the European Commission to delay the revision of the bloc's ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Australian market operator slashes wind farm predictions amid falling costs for solar and batteries
Thu 11 Dec 2025
The body that runs Australia's biggest power market has scaled back its plans for high-voltage power lines and wind farms to meet the country's green energy targets.
