Topics tagged with 'Forestry'
The global warming slowdown is an illusion
21 Sep 2015
Researchers say the world is continuing to warm, and evidence shows claims of a slowdown are unequivocally illusory.
Climate change efforts are hurting Africa’s rural poor
21 Sep 2015
In recent years there has been significant movement toward land acquisition in developing countries to establish forestry plantations for offsetting carbon pollution elsewhere in the. This is often referred to as land grabbing.
Does bioenergy have a green energy future in the US?
21 Sep 2015
Bio-derived sources of energy – wood, grass, dung and alcohol – have a rich history, yet have failed to command the “buzz” of solar, wind or even geothermal in public discussions regarding renewable energy.
Tim Flannery gives us hope ... and we're giving away a of copy of his new book
14 Sep 2015
Tim Flannery says he's more hopeful now than he has been in years, thanks to the carbon-storing potential of technologies being developed by businesses all over the world.
Foresters suggest harvesting bans as solution
14 Sep 2015
Bans on clear-felling highly erodible lands and on harvesting near waterways when native fish are spawning are among provisions in a new set of environmental rules being put forward by forest owners, environmental groups and some local councils.
Greens bend to seek political climate consensus
7 Sep 2015
A strong carbon price, a green investment bank and a climate commission are emerging as the basis of a political consensus on climate change policy – at least on one side of the House.
Global tree census highlights need to restore forests
7 Sep 2015
Mapping the density of forests reveals that there are far more trees on the planet than previously thought – but humans are destroying 15 billion a year.
Businesses make sustainability awards finals
7 Sep 2015
The finalists for this year’s Sustainable Business Network Awards have just been announced.
Emissions are putting species in lethal danger
31 Aug 2015
Scientists warn that lizards, coral reefs and forests are all seriously under threat unless agreement is reached to reduce drastically fossil fuel emissions.
New figures show foresters deserting tree-planting
24 Aug 2015
More of New Zealand’s post-1989 plantation forests are outside the Emissions Trading Scheme than are in it.
Time to tap an underused energy source: wasted heat
24 Aug 2015
Millions of people worldwide can’t afford to keep their homes warm, but few realise the heat wasted in our energy system could provide the answer.
'Myopic focus' costing us climate change progress
17 Aug 2015
New Zealand might have reached the limits of its ability to exploit natural resources, the Labour Party says.
Review ETS after Paris, says climate lawyer
17 Aug 2015
The Emissions Trading Scheme review should be pushed off into next year, a climate change lawyer says.
Why promoting green ways in Africa might be bad
17 Aug 2015
Inadequate infrastructure is widely recognised to be holding back Africa’s development and lowering the quality of life of its citizens.
Why coal commitment will cost Fonterra dearly
10 Aug 2015
Fonterra’s determination to keep using coal is exposing it to future high carbon costs, an international energy expert is warning.
Foresters sidestep Government and go it alone
10 Aug 2015
Establishing a national forestry policy is top of the agenda at a sector meeting in Wellington today.
Wildfire threat spreads across warming world
3 Aug 2015
As climate change warms the world, vegetation dries, rainfall patterns waver and the threat of wildfire spreads.
Good practice makes perfect sense for emissions cuts
3 Aug 2015
European researchers investigating ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the internationally agreed safety level have arrived at the good news that we can just about achieve it – provided all nations show the political will to do so.
You knock it down, we'll pick it up, says recovery firm
27 Jul 2015
New Zealand’s capacity to recycle construction, industrial and demolition material has been boosted.
Australia hit its Kyoto target, but it was more a three-inch putt than a hole in one
20 Jul 2015
In the saga of mendacity that is the climate policy debate, no claim has been more audacious than the one now being told by the federal government about Australia’s “success” in meeting its Kyoto emissions target.
Climate change brings ill winds for airline industry
20 Jul 2015
Scientists say wind patterns altered by climate variability are costing airlines millions of dollars in extra fuel and flying time − and increasing CO2emissions.
Bioenergy: making money and clean energy
20 Jul 2015
The Australian government’s draft direction to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in “emerging” clean energy over mature sources such as wind and rooftop solar has added yet more uncertainty to the renewable sector in the country.
'Failed' NZ could be walking into trap at Paris climate summit
13 Jul 2015
New Zealand could be in trouble with its post-2020 emissions reduction target if the world doesn’t allow us to continue to use creative accounting to meet our obligations, international scientists are warning.
Foresters see need for big ETS changes
13 Jul 2015
Major changes will need to be made to the Emissions Trading Scheme if New Zealand wants to meet its just-announced post-2020 emissions reduction target.
Don't ignore us, bioenergy lobby tells Government
13 Jul 2015
The Government is ignoring the potential for emissions reduction from renewable heat energy, the Bioenergy Association says.
Prefab revolution? Factory houses are the secret to green building
13 Jul 2015
The building sector globally currently consumes more energy (34%) than the transport sector (27%) or the industry sector (28%). It is also the biggest polluter, with the biggest potential for significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions compared to other sectors, at no cost.
Million-credit tender attracts strong interest
8 Jul 2015
A tender for up to a million credits that came to the market yesterday is drawing strong interest, OMFinancial says.
Is our target ambitious, or just spin?
7 Jul 2015
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser is describing the new target as ambitious and a significant increase on the current target of five per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
Large parcel of NZUs for tender
7 Jul 2015
Two hundred thousand – and potentially a million – spot NZUs have come to the market this morning.
PFSI consultation meeting today
7 Jul 2015
Public meetings to discuss changes to the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative kick off in Northland today.
Is palm oil the scourge of the earth, or a wonder crop?
6 Jul 2015
If you happen to mention palm oil to most people outside of Asia you are unlikely to get a particularly positive reaction.
Australia can halve emissions by 2030, says new analysis
29 Jun 2015
Australia can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, according to analysis by ClimateWorks.
What the Pope said about the trouble we're in
22 Jun 2015
In a document remarkable for its sweep and its depth, Pope Francis last week unveiled his long-awaited encyclical on the environment, in essence calling on humanity to address a climate and environmental crisis that calls for urgent global action.
Desert farms could power flight with sunshine and seawater
15 Jun 2015
The aviation industry is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2011 aviation contributed around 3% of Australia’s emissions. Despite improvements in efficiency, global aviation emissions are expected to grow 70% by 2020 from 2005.
Leadership is what we need, say scientists
8 Jun 2015
New Zealand lacks the leadership to achieve the 40 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions it needs to make by 2030, the country’s top scientists are warning.
Drop free carbon credits, says environment chief
8 Jun 2015
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment wants the Government to stop giving free carbon credits to high-intensity trade-exposed emitters, who, she says, could still be paying for just 5 per cent of their emissions by 2050.
Climate targets not a cost, says bioenergy bloc
8 Jun 2015
The Government should see its climate change targets as an opportunity for New Zealand business and the economy, not a cost, the BioEnergy Association says.
Bio-waste boon for natives on poor pine soils
8 Jun 2015
Bio-waste can be utilised on former pine plantations to generate big economic returns, new research shows.
Japan and Mongolia switch on to planting plan
8 Jun 2015
Panasonic’s international tree-planting project has hit Japan and China.
Coffee drinkers beware, your brew will change with the climate
2 Jun 2015
We have known for some time that coffee is a climate-sensitive crop. Now we have the first global evidence that increasing minimum, or night-time, temperatures are having the hardest impact on your daily brew.
The skyscrapers of the future will be made of wood
25 May 2015
By PETER WILSON.- Vancouver architect Michael Green was unequivocal at a conference at which I heard him speak a while ago: “We grow trees in British Columbia that are 35 storeys tall, so why do our building codes restrict timber buildings to only five storeys?”
Forest policy action pleases timber industry
18 May 2015
The Government appears to be putting in place the ingredients of a national forestry policy, an industry leader says.
Why the Government's forestry policies are not working
18 May 2015
Labour Party climate changes spokesperson MEGAN WOODS on why the Government’s forestry policies are failing:
A tale of two futures: Australia’s economy under climate change
18 May 2015
Economic modelling and its associated forecasts are always open to criticism, particularly when the results align with the predisposition of the modellers or their paymasters.
No green shoots for sustainability in this Budget
18 May 2015
Last week’s Australian Budget is very disappointing in the broad area of environmental protection.
At last, Government reveals cost of gases reduction
11 May 2015
The Government has revealed how much it thinks cutting greenhouse gases might cost the country.
We've got the chance to turn green into gold
11 May 2015
New Zealand could turn “green into gold” by capitalising on emerging clean technologies and showing leadership on climate change.
Farming our forests could be the answer to green-world prayers
11 May 2015
Forests may be the green investment with the richest returns for humankind, according to new research.
It's simple, says action group, coal's day is done
4 May 2015
Just five solar-power installation companies could create as many jobs as the Rotowaru coal mine, a new analysis says.
Southern project shows way with wood-fired boilers
4 May 2015
A pilot project to encourage industrial users to switch to wood-fired boilers could cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 200,000 tonnes.
Farm-level emissions cuts possible, but almost everything stands in the way
Thu 18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Progress to slash farming emissions is being blocked by limited farmer confidence in mitigation tools, inconsistent engagement, misinformation and a lack of clear policy signals, according to a new report.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
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.
‘Cali Fund’ aiming to raise billions for nature receives first donation – of just $1,000
Tue 16 Dec 2025
A major biodiversity fund – which could, in theory, generate billions of dollars annually for conservation – received its first donation of just $1,000 in November.
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.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Seven quiet wins for climate and nature in 2025
Fri 19 Dec 2025
This year's environmental backdrop is familiar: emissions are rising and nature is continuing to decline. But there have nevertheless been bright spots in 2025.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
Thu 18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Global coal demand hit record high this year but is set to decline by 2030
Thu 18 Dec 2025
Global coal demand reached a record high in 2025 but is expected to decline by 2030 as renewables, nuclear power and abundant natural gas squeeze its dominance in power generation.
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.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
Wed 17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
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
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.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
Thu 18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
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.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
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.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
Fri 19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
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.”
Westpac NZ announces partnership to form Blue Economy hub in Nelson
Wed 17 Dec 2025
Media release | Westpac NZ has announced a new three-year partnership with the Nelson Regional Development Agency and Kernohan Engineering to help accelerate the development of a sustainable marine economy – also known as the blue economy.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
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.
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.
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.
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.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
Wed 17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
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.
Wetlands and biodiversity at risk as mining rules loosen: Greenpeace
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greenpeace says Government changes to national direction instruments under the RMA paves the way for mining in wetlands and biodiversity hotspots and will expose some of Aotearoa’s most fragile ecosystems to irreversible damage.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
Tue 16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
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.
Offshore windfarms enhance function of coastal waters and diversity of aquatic life
Fri 19 Dec 2025
Media release | A study conducted by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia and Dalian Ocean University in China has found that offshore windfarms can improve marine ecosystems and diversify aquatic food chains.
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
Tue 16 Dec 2025
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
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 green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
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.
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.
Could tidal energy one day power NZ?
Thu 18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests Aotearoa holds some of the world’s strongest tidal-stream energy potential – enough to generate up to 93% of today’s electricity use – but one expert cautions that extracting energy at such a scale could have significant impacts and remains highly uncertain.
NZ could lose nearly all glaciers this century without stronger climate action
Tue 16 Dec 2025
New Zealand could see 97% of its glaciers vanish by 2100, with new international modelling projecting a rapid acceleration in glacier extinction from the 2030s onward – even under lower-warming scenarios.
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.
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.
The surprisingly convincing case against cars
Fri 19 Dec 2025
Life After Cars dares to imagine how different, and enriching, a car-free world could be.
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.
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.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
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.
Media round-up
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'.
