Topics tagged with 'Forestry'
OPINION: Coconut oil production threatens five times more species than palm oil
9 Jul 2020
By ERIK MEIJAARD | Born in the Netherlands and brought up in Germany, it wasn’t until I was 21 that I met my first coconut.
Government backs regenerative farming
8 Jul 2020
The Government has unveiled a plan for the primary sector that includes a substantial switch to regenerative agriculture.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
8 Jul 2020
Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee today considers proposals to tighten up regulation of financial markets.
We'll need more building wood, say growers
7 Jul 2020
A push to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the construction sector will inevitably lead to more wood in buildings, forest owners say.
Livestock under pressure for nitrogen pollution
7 Jul 2020
The livestock sector is being singled out in new research for hugely increasing global nitrogen pollution.
Jarden puts pedals under pioneer carbon trader
7 Jul 2020
If you’re looking for pioneering carbon dealer Nigel Brunel outside trading hours, chances are you’ll find him somewhere around Auckland on his bike.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
7 Jul 2020
A petition calling for decisions about spending for the covid-19 pandemic economic recovery to be governed by sustainability principles goes before MPs tomorrow.
ARDERN: Watch this space
6 Jul 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is hinting at a major announcement on renewable energy.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
6 Jul 2020
Parliament is taking a break for the school holidays and will next sit on July 21.
Feds telling their members they can’t sell land for forestry
6 Jul 2020
MEDIA RELEASE - FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION - The Forest Owners Association is startled that the new Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chair is asking the government to restrict the right of farmer members to plant trees or sell their land for forestry.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW...
3 Jul 2020
Parliament is taking a break for the school holidays and will next sit on July 21.
Pundits predict carbon is going higher
2 Jul 2020
New Zealand carbon prices are at record levels, but how high are they going?
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW...
2 Jul 2020
The Government's plan to whizz some covid-19 pandemic economic recovery projects through the resource consenting processing is expected to be passed today.
Ministers advance with shovels at the ready
1 Jul 2020
Infrastructure minister Shane Jones says New Zealand should be focusing its climate-change action on preparing for the impacts of a warming climate.
Refinery rescue not on the agenda, says Jones
30 Jun 2020
The Government is aware of the role the Marsden Point oil refinery could play in the transition to a low-carbon economy, but buying it back is not on the agenda, the infrastructure minister says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
30 Jun 2020
Parliament sits today, with the Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill at number three on the order paper.
Marsden must be maintained, says bio body
29 Jun 2020
The bioenergy industry is calling on the Government to prevent the closure of New Zealand’s only oil refinery, saying its loss will damage the country’s ability to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
29 Jun 2020
The Climate Change and Business Conference will go ahead this year.
Parker whips home third leg of climate trifecta
26 Jun 2020
The third leg of the Government’s climate change legislation trifecta came home this week.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
26 Jun 2020
The Carbon Market Institute holds a webinar today on participating in the Australian carbon market. OMFinancial’s head of commodities, Nigel Brunel, is one of the speakers.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
25 Jun 2020
Changes to the Resource Management Act requiring local councils to consider greenhouse gas emissions when granting resource consents are expected to be confirmed today.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
24 Jun 2020
The Environment Select Committee continues hearing submissions today on the Government’s plans to fast-track some of its covid-19 pandemic recovery projects through the Resource Management Act.
No carbon-zero without new forests
23 Jun 2020
Government suggestions that it will limit forestry conversions to 40,000 hectares a year could prevent the country being carbon-neutral by 2050, forest owners says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
23 Jun 2020
Greater Wellington Regional Council’s climate committee meets today, with ways of implementing the Regional Climate Emergency Plan on the agenda.
Lobby group has work for $2b from ETS
22 Jun 2020
A powerful public-private lobby group – including the head of the Ministry for the Environment – wants money generated by the Emissions Trading Scheme put into a $2 billion fund to help companies to cut their energy emissions.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
22 Jun 2020
The Environment Select Committee meets today to discuss the Government’s covid-19 fast-tracked resource consent bill.
Green investment fund spreads its wings
19 Jun 2020
By GAVIN EVANS | New funding deals New Zealand Green Investment Finance is working up will show a variety of low-carbon benefits from a range of sectors, chief executive Craig Weise says.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
19 Jun 2020
Sunday is the last day for submissions on the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-Track Consenting) Bill – to grant resource consent in months rather than the usual years for projects likely to help the country’s economic recovery from the covid-19 pandemic.
Parliament does major job on ETS
17 Jun 2020
Parliament has passed major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme, bringing agricultural emissions into the scheme and, for the first time, setting a cap on emissions.
New consent panels to OK fast-track jobs
17 Jun 2020
The Climate Change Commission will be consulted about projects being fast-tracked through resource consent as part of the covic-19 pandemic economic recovery.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
17 Jun 2020
Anyone wanting to have a say on the Government’s resource consent fast-tracking legislation has got until the end of the week to do it.
NZ must rein in Fonterra, says US watchdog
16 Jun 2020
Fonterra is among 13 global dairy companies criticised for continuing to increase greenhouse gas emissions despite their climate damage.
Rail comes out top of fast-consent work
16 Jun 2020
A sea-level-rise-proof Cook Strait ferry terminal and a host of improvements to the country’s rail service are among infrastructure projects the Government plans to give fast-track consent in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.
Unilever lines up $2 billion to go low-carbon
16 Jun 2020
Climate Leaders’ Coalition member Unilever says it will spend nearly $2 billion globally over the next decade on low-carbon projects ranging from regenerative agriculture to carbon sequestration.
EDITORIAL: Into the red
15 Jun 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | A rapid rise in the price of carbon could leave some of us facing winter without fresh tomatoes. But that’s as it should be.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
15 Jun 2020
The overhaul of the Emissions Trading Scheme is due to have its third reading in Parliament this week.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
12 Jun 2020
The Environment Select Committee discusses the Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill again today.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
11 Jun 2020
The Environment Select Committee discusses the Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill today.
Farms shoulder biggest share of gas emissions
10 Jun 2020
Primary industries are responsible for the largest share of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions while making the smallest contribution to the country’s wealth, the latest environmental/economic accounts show.
Carbon prices stick to the upward trail
10 Jun 2020
Carbon prices are pushing on towards $31 today as the New Zealand market continues a bull run.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
10 Jun 2020
Transport and urban development minister Phil Twyford discusses low-carbon transport networks for our cities in an online session for the Sustainable Business Network today.
Capital chops into burgeoning emissions record
9 Jun 2020
The amount of greenhouse gases being released in the Wellington region has fallen over the past two decades, in contrast to the country’s performance as a whole, a new report shows.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
9 Jun 2020
Wellington’s regional transport plan is scheduled for debate at a meeting of the Greater Wellington transport committee today.
Forest owners stay with carbon wait-and-see
8 Jun 2020
Forest owners are adopting a wait-and-see approach to selling units as carbon prices head into record territory.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
8 Jun 2020
The Sustainable Business Network holds a host of events this week – from a discussion on urban transport with transport minister Phil Twyford, to sessions on how the textiles sector is embracing the circular economy and on flexiworking and making sustainable business the new normal.
POLITICS: Caution and confusion rules
5 Jun 2020
By ADELIA HALLETT | This week’s political action has seen carbon prices surging forward again.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW >
5 Jun 2020
Today, the Bioenergy Association holds a webinar on switching heating in schools from boilers burning fossil fuels to wood pellets, while the Sustainable Business Council has a session on preparing for the “new normal”.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW >>
4 Jun 2020
Parliament takes a break today from discussing climate change, with the third reading of the Emissions Trading Scheme reform bill and the committee stage of the Resource Management Act reform too low on the order paper to get an airing.
Govt opposed ClimCom in cash-or-credits case
3 Jun 2020
The Government went against the advice of its own Climate Change Commission in allowing companies to continue to pay money instead of surrendering carbon credits to atone for their greenhouse gas emissions.
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
Wed 20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
Media round-up
Fri 22 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The climate advice the government didn't want you to see; New Zealand's groundbreaking climate law has become ‘a shell’; and could the Electricity Authority be about to inadvertently increase power prices?
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
Bolivia will choose a new president but environmental activists see little hope of progress
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Many Indigenous and environmental leaders doubt the election will bring progress in stopping deforestation, wildfires or pollution in the Amazon.
Media round-up
15 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Australia could be about to leapfrog New Zealand on climate targets; 'strangled' rivers are fighting back; and 10 rangatahi will join Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation at the United Nations' major climate conference in Brazil.
‘Problems looming’ for Govt's key climate tool
Fri 22 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | There are serious unresolved issues for the Emissions Trading Scheme which mean it could become unstable and ineffective at driving emissions reductions, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Record solar growth keeps China’s CO2 falling in first half of 2025
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Clean-energy growth helped China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fall by 1% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, extending a declining trend that started in March 2024.
Govt opts for status quo for ETS auctions
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has chosen not to increase auction volumes in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a decision applauded by carbon market insiders and climate campaigners alike, despite it contradicting the Climate Change Commission’s advice.
Coal mining company continuing with fast-track plans despite costly protest
Fri 22 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A marathon 23-day coal bucket occupation protesting Bathurst Resources' plan to mine the Denniston Plateau ended on Tuesday, when Climate Liberation Aotearoa activists Rachel Andrews and Tāmati Taptiklis climbed down from the 80-metre high Stockton mine ropeway and were taken into custody.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
Mon 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.”
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
Wed 20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Why helping customers electrify is a growth opportunity for energy retailers
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Media release – Cogo | The global shift to a low-carbon economy is transforming the energy market. For energy retailers, this shift brings both pressure and possibility.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Nearly half of Kiwi in the dark about risks facing their homes
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Media release – Tower | As weather events become more frequent and extreme its important people have information about the risks that could affect their property.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Governments in Global South get dedicated support to tap into carbon markets
Thu 21 Aug 2025
Media release – VCMI | A new toolkit will help emerging markets and developing economies decide how best to generate and sell carbon credits to access climate finance, accelerate innovation and help close the $1.3 trillion climate finance gap.
How the meat industry uses environmental groups to make beef seem climate-friendly
11 Aug 2025
The meat industry may have enlisted environmental groups to persuade people to “feel better” about eating beef, despite the sector’s ballooning emissions of climate-heating pollution.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
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.
Forestry sector could take legal action over ETS changes
14 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The forestry sector is threatening legal action against the Government over changes to legislation intended to limit whole farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Forestry the source of all ETS risk, says top economist
15 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Forestry is the source of all of the risk in New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme and it's inevitable that the scheme has to be reformed, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment chief economist Geoff Simmons.
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.
Oil states accused of using scare tactics in bid to sink green shipping deal
12 Aug 2025
Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oil-reliant countries are campaigning to stop the adoption of the IMO’s Net-zero Framework in October.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Failed plastic treaty 'significant disappointment'
Mon 18 Aug 2025
The failure of negotiations on a legally-binding global plastics treaty is a "significant disappointment," but no treaty is still better than a weak one, according to a New Zealand expert.
Strong NZ representation in upcoming global climate report
Thu 21 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Eighteen New Zealanders are among more than 600 experts appointed by the IPCC for its next painstaking scientific deep dive into the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
Activists facing intimidation tactics at Bathurst mine
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Liberation Aotearoa activists suspended 80m high in a coal bucket at a the Stockton mine on the West Coast say coal mining company Bathurst Resources is using ‘hostile’ tactics to try and remove them.
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.
The US Department of Agriculture bans support for renewables, a lifeline for farmers
Thu 21 Aug 2025
The agency said it’s concerned that farmland is being consumed by wind and solar facilities – which occupy a tiny fraction of the country’s productive acres.
Will reflective roofs help beat the heat?
15 Aug 2025
Media release - University of Auckland | About 500 roofs across four continents have been painted with a reflective coating, as part of research into tackling the health impacts of climate change.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
13 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has been focussed on reducing the Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ and carbon prices should rise soon, according to the Secretary for the Environment.
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.
African $60 billion high-speed rail project takes shape
15 Aug 2025
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Africa has received a new update that could see construction begin soon.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
