Topics tagged with 'Forestry'
We're worried and pessimistic about climate future
25 Jul 2019
New Zealanders are getting more worried about climate change, and most don’t think we’ll be able to cut our emissions in time to avoid its impacts.
Big Business wants cross-party support for ZCB
24 Jul 2019
Companies responsible for nearly two-thirds of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions are calling for cross-party support of zero-carbon legislation.
RMA overhaul could see planning role for gases
24 Jul 2019
The Government is opening the door to greenhouse gas being considering in planning applications.
Climate Change Commission deadline looms
24 Jul 2019
Nominations for members of the proposed Climate Change Commission close on Sunday.
Major polluter plans to cut emissions
23 Jul 2019
A New Zealand company whose products are responsible for more than a million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year says it is setting emissions reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement.
Easy on methane means hard on other gases
22 Jul 2019
New Zealand is facing a 41 per cent cut in emissions of most greenhouse gases by 2030 to meet its international promises.
Officials examine future of dodgy Russian credits
19 Jul 2019
Officials are calculating the number of dodgy carbon credits New Zealand used in meeting its emissions reduction target, raising the prospect that the country might yet make good on its actions.
Fonterra calls a halt to new coal-fired boilers
18 Jul 2019
FONTERRA is implementing an immediate ban on new coal-fired boilers, but says it is not yet ready to be coal-free.
Pay the farmers now, says bioenergy lobby
17 Jul 2019
The Bioenergy Association wants farmers who cut greenhouse gas emissions to be eligible for carbon credits now.
Government sticks with 100% renewables plan
16 Jul 2019
The Government is pushing ahead with plans to make New Zealand’s electricity generation 100 per cent renewable, despite advice from the Interim Climate Change Committee that it would be better to focus on electrifying the transport and industrial heat sectors.
Zero-carbon submitters back 1.5deg target
16 Jul 2019
Submitters on the zero-carbon bill support a target of limiting warming to 1.5deg being enshrined in legislation.
Think bioenergy for woodlots, farmers told
15 Jul 2019
Farmers facing falling log exports and prices for timber from woodlots are being urged to consider a new market – bioenergy.
Global carbon markets long way off, says Shaw
12 Jul 2019
Functioning international carbon markets are a decade away – probably two, New Zealand’s climate minister says.
Farm methane doing most damage, say scientists
11 Jul 2019
Methane from farm animals in New Zealand is doing more damage to the climate than the combined impacts of all other greenhouse gases, a new analysis says.
Wood industry centre wins more funding
10 Jul 2019
A project to foster the wood industry on East Cape has won another injection of Government funding.
Government pushes plans for cleaner cars
9 Jul 2019
New emissions standards for cars could cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than five million tonnes over 20 years.
Tank-water communities could be at risk
9 Jul 2019
Rural communities relying on rain on their roofs for water could be at more risk of disease as the climate warms, new research shows.
Local governments want climate rules in RMA
8 Jul 2019
Local authorities want to be able to take climate impacts into account when they are considering applications under the Resource Managements Act.
Grant to find answers to native trees questions
8 Jul 2019
The Government is putting $422,000 into finding better ways to grow native trees for forestry.
TEN TEARS AGO ...
8 Jul 2019
Ten years ago, the forestry sector was urging the Government to follow Australia’s lead and allow the Emissions Trading Scheme to recognise carbon stored in harvested wood products.
ZCB might not do the job, Government hears
5 Jul 2019
The zero-carbon bill might not fulfil New Zealand’s international obligations on climate change, the Government is being told.
ProdCom report urges Govt to support councils
4 Jul 2019
The Government is coming under increasing pressure to provide local councils with the skills and resources they need to deal with the impacts of climate change.
BETTER WORLD: There's a lot to do, says Govt
2 Jul 2019
New Zealand can increase wealth and jobs and protect the environment – but it’s going to take work, the Government says.
Nervous farmers eye methane cut obligations
1 Jul 2019
The prospect of having to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent over the next decade is depressing otherwise optimistic farmers.
It's time to file post-89 forestry returns
28 Jun 2019
Carbon forestry returns for post-1989 are due this weekend – and officials are urging people to get them right.
Touring by car ups emissions, says report
27 Jun 2019
Domestic and international tourists driving cars are pushing up New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, counteracting a small drop in emissions from industry.
Government buying power goes green
27 Jun 2019
The Government is using its massive buying power to help to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Storms threaten billions in road-rail damage
26 Jun 2019
Countries are being told to urgently upgrade their road and rail networks in the wake of a report predicting billions of dollars a year in damage from natural disasters.
We might have to step in, warns Reserve Bank
25 Jun 2019
The Reserve Bank says it might have to step in and regulate if companies fail to deal with climate risks.
Farm co-op makes it 100 for climate coalition
24 Jun 2019
Farmer co-operative LIC is the 100th organisation to join the Climate Leaders’ Coalition.
NZ gets another fail mark on climate action
20 Jun 2019
The Government's plan to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2030 is under fire from international scientists.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of climate battle
20 Jun 2019
Morocco, Gambia, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India and the Philippines are the good guys.
Shaw will wait and see on emissions targets
19 Jun 2019
New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions might not peak until 2035 under current policies, the Government says.
It's all about microbes, say scientists
19 Jun 2019
Humans’ ability to survive and adapt to the changing climate might come down to microbes.
Businesses demand action, says UN climate chief
18 Jun 2019
Businesses are demanding the development of international carbon markets as the world battles a climate emergency, negotiators have heard overnight.
Nats vow to fight farm emissions moves
17 Jun 2019
The National Party says it will continue to oppose bringing agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
It's your job to care for the world, directors hear
14 Jun 2019
Directors should bear as much personal responsibility for the environmental damage their companies cause as they now do for the health and safety of their workers, the Government has been told.
Auckland lays out plan to combat climate crisis
12 Jun 2019
Auckland Council has unveiled a plan it says will prepare the city to cope with the impacts of climate change and cut its emissions.
Farmers not alone in methane mix, say Nats
10 Jun 2019
The farming sector isn’t the only industry that should be targeted for methane reductions, the National Party says.
Only one firm signs up to investor guidelines
6 Jun 2019
Just one New Zealand company has signed up to international guidelines on disclosing climate exposure to investors.
Well-managed soils make better carbon stores
4 Jun 2019
Soils could store more carbon if they were managed better, scientists say.
$100 million Green fund ready to invest
30 May 2019
The Government’s $100 million Green Investment Finance fund says it is about to start investing.
OPINION: Plundering the planet
30 May 2019
By BRIAN EASTON | Can we consume limited resources forever? Is economic growth just a Ponzi scheme in which we borrow from the future? Is economic growth as we know it coming to an end?
Why scarred millennials want to punish business
29 May 2019
Years of economic uncertainty, growing inequality and fear of an inhospitable planet have created two generations prepared to punish companies whose motives they suspect, a new survey shows.
Big emitters get together and make a plan
28 May 2019
New Zealand’s trade-exposed industrial emitters – who between them are given more than five million free carbon credits a year – have produced a plan to help to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Protesters again take aim at mining industry
27 May 2019
The mining sector is positioning itself as part of the solution to climate change, as protesters gear up to disrupt the industry’s annual gathering this week.
Could your idea save the world?
27 May 2019
Got an idea to save the world? It might just qualify for support under a new billion-dollar scheme.
Lawmakers eye climate risk disclosure rules
24 May 2019
Companies in New Zealand could face compulsory climate-risk disclosure through new accounting standards.
National MPs chew over zero carbon bill
21 May 2019
National Party MPs are meeting this morning to decide whether they will support the Government’s zero carbon bill.
Pricing delay carries risks, says ETS expert
17 May 2019
The Government is exposing the country to significant risk by delaying changes to the carbon pricing regime, says one of the architects of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Ardern: 'We must not give up on 1.5'
Fri 31 Oct 2025
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
Fri 31 Oct 2025
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
Fri 31 Oct 2025
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
Fri 31 Oct 2025
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
Fri 31 Oct 2025
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
Fri 31 Oct 2025
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
Fri 31 Oct 2025
“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
Fri 31 Oct 2025
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.
