Topics tagged with 'Forestry'
Best by the rest...
9 Sep 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: A proposed 400 megawatt solar power station near Taupō will be pitched for resource consent later this month; experts urge changes in forestry and farming; and wallabies are quickly becoming an invasive species.
Tree planting may not reduce carbon dioxide effectively
9 Sep 2022
According to research from the University of Gothenburg, tree planting may not be the optimal strategy for reducing carbon dioxide.
Agriculture drives more than 90% of tropical deforestation
9 Sep 2022
Media Release - Halting deforestation will require a step-change in approach, and to be effective measures must address underlying and indirect roles of agriculture, says study.
Record carbon prices likely to lead to more planting of pines as experts warn of a “pervasive invasion” of wilding trees
31 Aug 2022
With the price of NZUs hitting an all time high this week the economic case for planting pines has never been stronger, but new research warns of a “pervasive and ongoing invasion of radiata pine outside plantations.”
New satellite will see how much carbon is being stored in forests
23 Aug 2022
In a dust-free cleanroom in Stevenage, the European Space Agency's BIOMASS satellite is finally taking shape.
The big firms snapping up Scottish carbon credits
23 Aug 2022
Weapons manufacturers, the oil giant Shell, and financial institutions which poured billions of pounds into fossil fuels are among firms buying Scottish carbon credits, prompting critics to claim the country is experiencing an era of “rampant carbon capitalism”.
Best by the rest...
19 Aug 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Olivia Wannan’s coverage of the “Polluting 7” hearing; massive insurance cost rises predicted in line with climate risks; and Greater Wellington commits to a stringent climate target.
'Staggering' rate of global tree losses from fires
18 Aug 2022
Around 16 football pitches of trees per minute were lost to forest fires in 2021, a new report says.
European forest fires further increasing the world’s climate footprint
17 Aug 2022
The multiple forest fires that have been raging in France since the beginning of summer have released record amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, according to satellite data, and fires in Spain in mid-July also helped break records for carbon emissions. Fuelled by global warming, the blazes are reducing the number of trees available to absorb carbon, further threatening ecosystems.
Carbon market could offset Australia’s huge fire recovery bill
16 Aug 2022
\Australian scientists have put a dollar figure on the cost of recovery and restoration of native flora and fauna after the 2019-2020 summer bushfires.
Forestry policy juggling competing priorities
8 Aug 2022
By Ian Llewellyn - Energy & Environment | The finance and expenditure committee has reported back the Overseas Investment (Forestry) Amendment Bill, highlighting the Government’s attempt to grapple with competing priorities in the sector.
Kānuka could provide lucrative combined carbon-fixing regime
5 Aug 2022
By Liz Kivi | Kānuka could provide an alternative to pine plantations on marginal land, following a groundbreaking study showing kanuka oil as an effective treatment for eczema.
Best by the rest...
5 Aug 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Former Green Party leader Russel Norman on greenwashing and He Waka Eke Noa; political journalist Branko Marcetic on why the pundits are getting the Green Party leadership stoush all wrong; and land use expert Keith Woodford underlines the significance of recent government announcements for forestry rules and carbon pricing.
Global forest area declined by 60% since 1960, study finds
5 Aug 2022
A new study has found an alarming loss in forest areas globally, including that global forest area per capita has dropped from 1.4 hectares in 1960 to just 0.5 hectares per person by 2019, a 60% decline.
Consultation period on forestry regulations "too short"
4 Aug 2022
Investment group Jarden has criticised the three week consultation period set down by the government as not enough time for stakeholders to process the complexities of the draft Climate Change (Forestry Sector) Regulations.
Consultation open on penalties for small foresters in ETS
4 Aug 2022
The Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry of the Environment are consulting on two options to change the penalty for small foresters in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) who fail to surrender or repay units by the due date.
Government’s decision to delay permanent forestry decision slammed
2 Aug 2022
Beef + Lamb NZ and farming protest group 50 Shades of Green have slammed the government’s move to put off a decision on removing exotics from the permanent forest category of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Best by the rest...
29 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Is the government abandoning its proposal to limit permanent exotic forest in the ETS? Two court cases fighting over further fossil fuel prospecting; and why confronting climate change means sharing power.
How forests lost 8,000 years of stored carbon in a few generations
29 Jul 2022
"Plant a tree" seems to be the go-to answer to climate change concerns these days. Booking a rental car online recently, I was asked to check a box to plant a tree to offset my car's anticipated carbon dioxide emissions.
US to plant a billion trees
27 Jul 2022
The Biden administration says the government will plant more than one billion trees across millions of acres of burned and dead woodlands in the U.S. West, as officials struggle to counter the increasing toll on the nation's forests from wildfires, insects and other manifestations of climate change.
When does planting trees make sense?
27 Jul 2022
Trees can be powerful allies in the fight against global heating because they can trap CO2 and lock it away. But planting billions more of them won't be enough to save the climate.
Corporate carbon offset company accidentally starts devastating wildfire
25 Jul 2022
Last Monday, Dutch reforestation company Land Life started what has become a 35,000 acre forest fire in Spain.
Federated Farmers “devastated” stations sold to offshore forestry interests
22 Jul 2022
By Liz Kivi | Federated Farmers says the sale of 6000 hectares of sheep and beef farming land to an overseas buyer for forestry is “devastating” for the East Coast.
Best by the rest...
22 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: How not to solve the climate crisis; Are carbon markets hurting farming communities? Plus the government’s $9.8 million climate-wrecking stimulus.
MPI calls for submissions on changes to ETS forestry regulations
20 Jul 2022
The Ministry for Primary Industries is calling for submissions on draft changes to forestry regulations in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
The madness of cutting down forests to grow food crops for supersonic aircraft biofuels
15 Jul 2022
In June 2021, United Airlines announced that it intends to purchase 15 “Overture” aircraft from Boom Supersonic, with an option to purchase 35 more. In June 2022, United CEO Scott Kirby reaffirmed that United’s purchase remains “on track”.
Forests are becoming less resilient because of climate change
14 Jul 2022
Climate change has been linked with a widespread decline in the ability of many of the world’s forests to bounce back after events such as drought and logging.
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon hits record for first half of 2022
12 Jul 2022
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest reached a record high for the first six months of the year, as an area five times the size of New York City was destroyed, preliminary government data showes.
CarbonCrop units being traded again but questions remain
8 Jul 2022
CarbonCrop chief executive Jo Blundell and Carbonz founder Finn Ross says an update to their “messaging” was all that was required to re-start the trading of CarbonCrop units (CCUs) this week.
Best by the rest…
8 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Offshore oil and gas exploration goes ahead despite bans; indigenous forests’ carbon sequestration superpowers; and is romanticising New Zealand’s colonial past hindering our climate response?
The downside of corporate reforestation pledges
7 Jul 2022
Many big companies have pledged to offset some of their carbon pollution by investing in tree planting project
ECAN wants exotics removed from ETS permanent settings
6 Jul 2022
A Banks Peninsula case study has convinced Canterbury’s regional council that removing exotics from the permanent settings of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the right move.
Restoring nature is not a silver bullet for global warming, we must cut emissions outright
5 Jul 2022
Restoring degraded environments, such as by planting trees, is often touted as a solution to the climate crisis. But our new research shows this, while important, is no substitute for preventing fossil fuel emissions to limit global warming.
Gabon to sell €275m worth of carbon credits before COP27
5 Jul 2022
For Gabon, forests are rich in with economic opportunity. The country plans to create 187 million carbon credits and sell half of them on the offset market.
CarbonCrop to renew trading next week
1 Jul 2022
The on-again-off-again trading of Native CarbonCrop units (CCUs) will be on again next week.
Trading paused on new voluntary carbon market platform after a single day
30 Jun 2022
Carbonnz - a voluntary carbon credit trading platform launched on Tuesday - has temporarily paused trading.
New voluntary carbon unit will incentivise landowners to preserve regenerating native bush
28 Jun 2022
A new voluntary carbon unit, launched today, will incentivise landowners to protect areas of regenerating native bush currently ineligible for NZUs under the ETS.
Greenpeace, Green Party call for stronger action on deforestation imports
23 Jun 2022
Greenpeace says a bill aimed at preventing unsustainable timber imports will do little to save the world’s rainforests or end human rights abuses.
In Ecuador's Amazon, indigenous forest defense gains legal ground
23 Jun 2022
Deep in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, indigenous leader Marcelo Lucitante deftly climbs a tree and attaches a camera trap, camouflaged among thick jungle foliage, to record footage of trespassing illegal gold miners.
Parliamentary questions often a let down
21 Jun 2022
There is a climate crisis, but deflating people’s tyres is not okay, that in a nutshell was climate change minister James Shaw’s response to a written question from ACT’s climate change spokesperson Simon Court.
Best by the rest...
17 Jun 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: The leaky logic of the farming sector's climate plan; analysis of how effective government policies will be at slashing carbon; and can governments boost defence spending while cutting emissions at the same time?
New biodiversity market launched
17 Jun 2022
Media Release - A new biodiversity market has been launched with the first transaction of biodiversity units between Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari (the seller) and Profile Group Limited (the buyer). The mainland ecological island is now able to raise funds for conservation management from the sale of biodiversity units through the newly minted Ekos Sustainable Development Units Programme.
Mapping carbon reserves to fight climate change
16 Jun 2022
Carbon storage capacity in forests across the globe is only at 88% of its potential, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which sets out to help prioritize locations for increasing reserves.
Tasmania's native forest logging sector the state's highest carbon emitting industry: report
15 Jun 2022
Based in Tasmania's Derwent Valley, Fiona Weaver's adventure tourism business trades on the reputation of Tasmania's pristine wilderness.
He Waka Eke Noa all talk no action: NZIEF
13 Jun 2022
The NZ Institute of Forestry has declared last week’s He Waka Eke Noa emissions pricing proposal all talk and no action.
Climate change looms large over indigenous biodiversity discussion document
10 Jun 2022
Climate change is repeatedly identified as one of the major threats to indigenous biodiversity in a government discussion document launched yesterday.
Post-1989 forest ETS registrations skyrocket
3 Jun 2022
Applications to register post-1989 forest grew by more than 400% from 296 in the last quarter of 2021 to 1304 in the first quarter of 2022.
Yes, you can save lives by planting trees, a new study says
1 Jun 2022
It’s hard not to love trees. They provide us with shade during the scorching heat of summer, help clean the air and water, and improve our physical and mental well-being. Now, a recent study has found that boosting urban greenery — including trees, shrubs, and other plants — could also save tens of thousands of lives in cities across the USA.
In Tanzania, carbon offsets preserve forests and a way of life
26 May 2022
Carbon offsets have been criticised for failing to provide carbon savings and ignoring the needs of local communities. But in Tanzania, hunter-gatherer tribes are earning a good return for their carbon credits and protecting their forests from poachers and encroaching agriculture.
Redwood could help NZ reach net-zero: Scion
24 May 2022
Redwood could be a carbon capture hero for New Zealand, sequestering double the amount of CO2 captured by pine in some areas, according to new research.
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.
‘Cali Fund’ aiming to raise billions for nature receives first donation – of just $1,000
Today 11:15am
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.
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.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
Today 11:15am
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.
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.
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.
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.
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'.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
Today 11:15am
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.
The deep ocean is fixing carbon in ways no one expected
Today 11:15am
A new study reveals that unexpected microbes are quietly fixing carbon in the dark depths of the ocean.
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
Today 11:15am
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable.
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.
NZ could lose nearly all glaciers this century without stronger climate action
Today 11:15am
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.
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.
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.
