Topics tagged with 'Forestry'
WORTH NOTING ...
10 Aug 2020
Parliament’s Environment Select Committee meets today to hear submissions on the Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular Components, and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.
Hydrogen stations on the way
7 Aug 2020
The Government is putting $20 million into establishing a national network of hydrogen fuelling-stations.
Wood cheaper than electricity for emissions cuts, says Fonterra
5 Aug 2020
Fonterra favours wood over electricity for reducing emissions from its South Island plants.
WORTH NOTING ...
5 Aug 2020
Submissions on proposals to introduce a permitting system for the trade in mercury and to ban mercury from batteries, switches and relays, lamps and other equipment close today.
YOUNG v OLD: The battle goes on in the forest
5 Aug 2020
Are young trees or old forests more important for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it?
WORTH NOTING ...
3 Aug 2020
The 52nd Parliament sits this week for the last time, before being dissolved on August 12.
WORTH NOTING ...
31 Jul 2020
Today is the last day for submissions on new air-quality standards to reduce the amount of small particulate matter New Zealanders breathe.
WORTH NOTING ...
30 Jul 2020
The Environment Committee is sitting today to discuss the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill.
WORTH NOTING ...
28 Jul 2020
Today is the last day to enter the Sustainable Business Awards – get yours in by 5pm.
Big Hydro not the only way, says energy expert
27 Jul 2020
Paying industry not to use electricity during peak demand should be considered as an alternative to a multi-billion-dollar new hydro scheme, an energy expert says.
Big emitters marshall carbon forces in Australia
27 Jul 2020
Companies responsible for 14 per cent of Australia’s industrial emissions are coming together to figure out how to decarbonise the sector.
Kiwi protesters put pressure on Australian banks
24 Jul 2020
Australian banks operating in New Zealand are being urged to follow Kiwibank’s lead and stop lending on fossil-fuel projects.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
23 Jul 2020
Parliament sits today in Wellington, while Environment Canterbury meets in Christchurch.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
22 Jul 2020
Sustainable finance is on the agenda for a Sustainable Business Network/Institute of Finance Professionals session today.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
21 Jul 2020
Parliament sits today for the first time since Judith Collins replaced Todd Muller as Leader of the Opposition.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
17 Jul 2020
Parliament resumes next week with a new-look National Party Front Bench.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
16 Jul 2020
The Government is taking applications to fast-track infrastructure projects through the consenting process, using the recently passed Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act.
OPINION: NZ pellet industry is clean
16 Jul 2020
Bioenergy Association chief executive Brian Cox responds to claims that burning wood pellets is bad for the environment.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
15 Jul 2020
The Pre-Election Fiscal and Economic Update (known affectionately as the Prefu) will be released on August 20 – a month before the country goes to the polls.
Most Kiwis happy with our climate-change stand
14 Jul 2020
The majority of New Zealanders are satisfied with the Government’s climate-change programme, new research suggests.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
14 Jul 2020
The Government is taking applications to fast-track infrastructure projects through the consenting process, using the recently passed Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act.
Booming wood-pellet business is bad for the climate
14 Jul 2020
The United States' Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose a new rule declaring burning biomass to be carbon neutral, as industry looks to expand its domestic markets.
Future of Big Industry uncertain, warns minister
13 Jul 2020
The future of the Marsden Point oil refinery, the Glenbrook steel mill and large-scale wood processing are all at risk as New Zealand decarbonises, infrastructure and regional development minister Shane Jones is warning.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
13 Jul 2020
TODAY, talks for a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom get under way.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
10 Jul 2020
Negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom start on Monday.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
9 Jul 2020
Applications to remove tree-weeds without incurring a carbon liability are now open.
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.
Ardern: 'We must not give up on 1.5'
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern says the world must not abandon the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, warning that a decade on from COP21 “too many of the debates we thought were settled are still being had.”
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
Today 11:30am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
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.
Celebrities slam mining plans
Tue 28 Oct 2025
Actor Sam Neill has slammed plans for a gold mine in Otago, while Denniston Rose author Jenny Pattrick is backing a petition that would stop a coalmine on the West Coast.
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.
Taxonomy seen as key to shaping NZ’s voluntary nature credit market
Thu 30 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Experts say aligning the New Zealand Sustainable Finance Taxonomy with the development of voluntary nature credit markets could strengthen credibility, streamline investment, and support high-integrity environmental outcomes.
Experts say Bill Gates is not a friend to the planet, following recent call to change focus on climate
Today 11:30am
Ahead of COP30, Gates calls for a shift in focus away from near-term emissions goals. Experts say that’s dangerously misguided.
‘Plain old dull’: NZU market continues to limp sideways
24 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The NZU market has been “plain old dull” in recent months, with activity driven mainly by credit opportunities or a specific need to raise cash, according to Lizzie Chambers of trading platform Carbon Match.
Genesis doubles down on Huntly as renewables ramp up
24 Oct 2025
Genesis Energy is doubling down on Huntly’s role as New Zealand’s energy backstop while accelerating one of the country’s largest pipelines of new renewable generation.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
Thu 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.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
Wed 29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Media round-up
Today 11:30am
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Oil firm TotalEnergies made misleading green statements, court rules
Tue 28 Oct 2025
A French oil company engaged in “misleading commercial practices” about the scope of its environmental commitments, a court has ruled.
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.”
Developing countries will need US$310 billion annually for climate adaptation by 2035
Today 11:30am
Media release - UN Environment Programme: Slow climate adaptation is threatening lives and economies.
No major banks have yet committed to stop funding new oil, gas and coal, research finds
24 Oct 2025
‘The objectives of the Paris agreement are slipping further out of reach,’ say researchers.
Look out for these 8 big ag greenwashing terms at COP30
Tue 28 Oct 2025
Food and farming companies will claim agriculture is the solution to the climate crisis at the Brazil summit — even though food drives a third of global warming.
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.
Vero warns losses to rise 26% by 2050 over extreme weather
Wed 29 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Extreme weather could drive a 19–26% spike in annual insurance losses by 2050, fuelled by rising seas and more intense flooding, according to Vero’s latest Climate-Related Disclosures Report.
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 says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
Today 11:30am
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Global oil demand won't peak until 2032, Wood Mackenzie report says
Today 11:30am
“Global oil demand will not peak until 2032, two years later than earlier thought, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report on Wednesday that blames continued momentum in the use of hydrocarbons for transport and petrochemicals.”
Govt ‘captured by industry’ on methane – Carr
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr says that recent moves to weaken methane targets and halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing show the Government has been captured by industry.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
‘Weird and sad’ – Tuvalu Climate Minister condemns NZ halving methane target
15 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Dr Maina Talia, Tuvalu’s Minister for Home Affairs, Climate Change, and Environment, says he’s surprised at New Zealand’s decision to weaken its target for reducing methane emissions – and is planning to take up the issue with his counterpart Climate Minister Simon Watts this week.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
FMA grants temporary 'no action' relief for for firms set to exit climate reporting regime
Wed 29 Oct 2025
The Financial Markets Authority has announced it won't take action against companies expecting to fall out of mandatory climate reporting obligations, if they fail to lodge climate statements while the law changes are pending.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
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 Yangtze River is becoming the world’s largest electrified trade corridor
Thu 30 Oct 2025
The Gezhouba, a new 13,000-ton all-electric bulk carrier launched in Yichang, is more than a technical milestone. It is a sign that the electrification of inland shipping is moving from concept to inevitability.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
Today 11:30am
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
