Topics tagged with 'Gas'
Cheaper power and lower emissions for Chatham Islands funded by ETS revenue
Wed 26 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has hailed the success of a wind turbine project for the Chatham Islands paid for by Emissions Trading Scheme revenue from a fund the Coalition Government has since canned.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
Fri 21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
The hidden dangers in Canada’s oil and gas ambitions
18 Nov 2025
Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith thinks global demand for oil will grow to 2050, perhaps beyond, and the Alberta industry will be viable for a hundred years.
Act-NZ First split over future of the energy sector
14 Nov 2025
Act leader David Seymour has set out an energy policy platform that diverges sharply from coalition partner NZ First, arguing New Zealand must accept coal-fired backup generation, consider nuclear power, remove political interference from the electricity sector and sell down the government’s majority stakes in the gentailers.
NZ’s shameful new role as ‘international climate pariah’
13 Nov 2025
OPINION: New Zealand has ratcheted up its climate backsliding in the past month – losing any shred of climate credibility we once had and showing the world we’re giving up on a net zero future, writes Kayla Kingdon-Bebb.
Govt gas expansion 'climate vandalism' – Greens
7 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Green Party has labelled the Government’s move to broaden the scope of its $200 million fossil gas investment fund as vandalism, accusing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of breaking trust with New Zealanders.
“Dirty and expensive:” City of Sydney bans gas as it votes to electrify all new big buildings
6 Nov 2025
The City of Sydney has followed the example of the ACT and Victoria governments and voted unanimously to require all newly built residential buildings, medium to large commercial buildings, hotels, and serviced apartment buildings, to be all-electric.
Hutt City Council slashes gas emissions
3 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Hutt City Council is set to cut its gas emissions by 60% by 2026 as it speeds up phasing out fossil fuels from public facilities.
Scrutiny on energy security
3 Nov 2025
A special debate in Parliament put the Government’s energy security agenda under scrutiny, with parties splitting sharply over the role of gas, the place of an LNG import terminal, and how far to push market reform to ease pressure on power bills.
Media round-up
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?
Oil firm TotalEnergies made misleading green statements, court rules
28 Oct 2025
A French oil company engaged in “misleading commercial practices” about the scope of its environmental commitments, a court has ruled.
ExxonMobil sues California over climate disclosure laws
28 Oct 2025
Exxon Mobil Corporation is suing the state of California over a pair of 2023 climate disclosure laws that the company says infringe upon its free speech rights, namely by forcing it to embrace the message that large companies are uniquely to blame for climate change.
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.
Media round-up
24 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The Government planned to gut New Zealand's world-leading climate disclosure law - even as it bragged about it on the world stage; a new Indigenous climate adaptation network launches; and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts admits that the new methane target might breach the global 1.5C goal.
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.
The methane hunters of Melendugno
23 Oct 2025
How Italian activists are fighting to expose the true scale of the climate harm caused by a giant European pipeline.
Trump is pushing allies to buy US gas. It’s bad economics – and a catastrophe for the climate
22 Oct 2025
The price of partnership with the United States has changed. Washington is now using assurances of defence and trade access to pressure allies in Europe and Asia to buy more of its fossil fuels under decades-long contracts.
‘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.
Electricity to remain in ETS
1 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has rejected Frontier Economics' recommendation that electricity should be removed from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Govt opens all of NZ for new oil and gas exploration
26 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Fossil fuel companies can once again apply for new prospecting and exploration permits beyond onshore Taranaki for the first time since the previous government’s 2018 ban, in a move welcomed by the sector but slammed by environmental groups.
Media round-up
26 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Winston Peters drops a "truth bomb" about big emitters at UN function; why fixing our ‘broken’ electricity market is such a formidable challenge; and should New Zealand follow Australia’s lead on responding to its climate risk assessment?
Gas makes a comeback at Climate Week
25 Sep 2025
At a number of events on Tuesday, senior officials made a case for gas as essential for energy security and a buttress to renewables
Nations’ plans to ramp up coal, gas and oil extraction ‘will put climate goals beyond reach’
23 Sep 2025
New data shows governments now planning more fossil fuel production in coming decades than they were in 2023.
Exxon and Shell sue the Netherlands in secret tribunals for closing Europe’s biggest gas field
19 Sep 2025
Following billions in profits and over a thousand gas extraction-related earthquakes, the oil and gas giants filed claims against the Dutch state in four separate investor-state disputes concerning compensation for home damages and the permanent closure of the Groningen gas field.
IEA reiterates ‘no new oil and gas needed’ if global warming is limited to 1.5C
18 Sep 2025
The world would not need to invest in new oil and gas projects if demand for the fuels fell in line with the 1.5C limit on global warming, says the International Energy Agency.
Decline in global oil and gas field output accelerating, IEA says
17 Sep 2025
The decline in output from mature global oil and gas fields is accelerating amid greater reliance on shale and deep offshore resources.
Australia’s biggest gas project greenlit to 2070 with ‘partial’ protection for Indigenous rock art
15 Sep 2025
Approval met with fury from conservation groups and the Greens, who called it a ‘betrayal’ of Australians who want climate action.
EU considers faster Russian oil and gas exit after US pressure
15 Sep 2025
The European Union is considering a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels as part of new sanctions.
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.
Vector hits emissions reduction goal five years early
5 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Auckland lines company Vector has met its 2030 emissions reduction reduction target five years early, more than halving its direct emissions, and crediting innovation and a laser-focus for its success in a hard-to-abate sector.
Time for Methanex to go – expert
2 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's looming gas crisis means Methanex should move elsewhere, according to sustainable energy expert Ralph Sims.
UK Conservatives pledge to get all oil and gas out of North Sea
2 Sep 2025
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party will remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies drilling in the North Sea if elected.
Darwin methane leak ‘covered up’ by gas companies and regulators
2 Sep 2025
At the heart of the project that heralded northern Australia’s gas boom — Darwin’s first liquefied natural gas plant — was a storage tank that operators hailed as a major feat of engineering.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Profound shifts in our changing energy system – new data
27 Aug 2025
New Zealand’s energy system is undergoing a profound shift as falling gas production and a dry hydro year reshaped the electricity market in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Energy in New Zealand 2025.
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.”
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
Global oil markets face record supply glut next year, IEA says
15 Aug 2025
Global oil markets are on track for a record surplus next year as demand growth slows and supplies swell, the International Energy Agency said.
Heat pumps could cut household energy bills by $1.5 billion a year
12 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Heat pumps could save Kiwi households hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as well as freeing up energy for industrial users, according to a new report.
Gas pressure intensifies
12 Aug 2025
The pressure from reduced gas supply is pushing industries that rely on cheap gas out of the market in favour of those who can afford to pay more.
Labour vows to reinstate oil and gas ban
6 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party is promising to reinstate a ban on new oil and gas exploration permits, but won’t say if they will go even further and commit to revoking permits if elected.
OPEC+ countries to boost oil production by 547,000 barrels per day
5 Aug 2025
Some believe the boost in production could lower oil and gasoline prices.
Bill to restart oil and gas exploration clears final hurdle
1 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s Crown Minerals Amendment Bill is set to become law after passing its third reading in parliament last night, with critics calling it humiliating for the climate minister and an embarrassment to New Zealand's international reputation.
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 EU’s ‘fantasy’ $750B energy promise to Trump
31 Jul 2025
The EU has narrowly avoided a full-blown trade war with Donald Trump by pledging to buy $750 billion of U.S. oil and gas by the end of his term. But achieving that will be almost impossible.
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.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
GHG emissions up 0.9% in March quarter – Stats NZ
24 Jul 2025
The increase was mainly driven by a rise in industry emissions, particularly from the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry.
Global oil and gas emissions standard put on pause after Shell and others walk away
23 Jul 2025
Shell and other leading energy groups have abandoned a six-year-long attempt to define a net zero emissions strategy after being told that such a standard would require them to stop developing new oil and gas fields.
Govt slashes environmental funding by $1 billion
Tue 25 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Central government funding for the environment is set to fall by a quarter in 2025/26, prompting warnings that hard-won environmental improvements may now stall or reverse.
Marex invests in methane-busting biotech, hopes to kickstart NZ methane credits
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | NASDAQ-listed financial services group Marex has taken a minority stake in Ruminant Biotech, an Auckland-based agritech startup, with a view to kick-starting Marex’s methane-based carbon credits trading business in New Zealand.
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.
Wilding pines threaten Kaikōura ranges in ‘looming catastrophe’
Today 12:15pm
Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter | Wilding pines are threatening to make their way into the Kaikōura ranges, as their rampant spread sparks a renewed call for more central government funding.
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.
Elevated volatility continues for carbon market despite govt reassurances
Wed 26 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | While carbon prices have recovered somewhat from recent lows, the market is still plagued by low prices and volatility, despite soothing words from the government intended to calm rattled participants.
Another COP wrecked by fossil fuel interests and our leaders’ cowardice – but there is another way
Today 12:15pm
COMMENT: The fingerprints of Russia and Saudi Arabia are all over the decision text in Brazil. But a group of nations led by Colombia and the Netherlands offer hope.
Mounting emissions due to Government decisions
20 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Coalition Government’s climate policies have added a whopping 26 million tonnes of emissions out to 2030, according to new analysis of Government projections.
Act-NZ First split over future of the energy sector
14 Nov 2025
Act leader David Seymour has set out an energy policy platform that diverges sharply from coalition partner NZ First, arguing New Zealand must accept coal-fired backup generation, consider nuclear power, remove political interference from the electricity sector and sell down the government’s majority stakes in the gentailers.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
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.
$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.
10 years after the Paris Agreement, world leaders are letting go of its most famous goal
Today 12:15pm
This year's U.N. climate negotiations crashed out on a hard truth: It’s all about the money.
Govt must do the work to close gap to NZ’s Paris Agreement goal
Today 12:15pm
OPINION: New Zealand needs to wake up to the fact that under current policies we are not going to meet our international climate target and this comes with commercial and diplomatic consequences: risking our European and UK free trade agreements; risking carbon border charges; and threatening the reputation of our ‘clean and green’ export brand, writes Nigel Brunel.
Cheaper power and lower emissions for Chatham Islands funded by ETS revenue
Wed 26 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has hailed the success of a wind turbine project for the Chatham Islands paid for by Emissions Trading Scheme revenue from a fund the Coalition Government has since canned.
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.
Floods in Thailand, Malaysia kill over 30, displace thousands
Today 12:15pm
Tens of thousands of people in Thailand and neighbouring Malaysia were displaced by widespread flooding, with streets submerged, homes inundated and at least 34 dead.
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.
Foresters warn ETS reforms could fell innovation
17 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Elizabeth Heeg, chief executive officer for the Forest Owners Association, says forestry must not be stripped from the Emissions Trading Scheme, arguing that carbon income underpins forest management and rural resilience.
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.”
European Investment Bank pledges over 2 billion euros for African renewables projects
Wed 26 Nov 2025
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is pledging more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of financing for renewable energy projects on the African continent over the next two years.
Govt’s rejection of CCC’s advice on climate targets undermines independent watchdog’s role, says opposition
Fri 21 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s latest dismissal of Climate Change Commission advice shows they have their heads in the sand about the reality of meeting climate targets, according to the Labour Party, while the Greens say Government decisions were an embarrassment on the world stage at COP30 this week.
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.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
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.
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
Fri 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.
Minister warned over lack of rationale for climate policy
Tue 25 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ formal explanation of why the Government isn’t going to follow the independent Climate Change Commission’s advice on climate targets is still in the pipeline, the Minister has confirmed.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
Mon 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.
Greens put miners ‘on notice’, pledge to revoke fast-track approvals
18 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Greens have pledged to revoke fast-track consents for coal, hard-rock gold, and seabed mining projects if elected to government next year.
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.
‘We must keep 1.5 alive’ – Minister’s statement to climate summit
19 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has delivered New Zealand’s National Statement to this year’s United Nations climate summit, affirming the country’s commitment to international climate targets and saying “we must keep 1.5 alive.”
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.
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.
Local council shakeup will weaken environmental protection, say critics
Wed 26 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s sweeping overhaul of local councils threatens to erode hard-won environmental protections, warning that stripping regional councils of directly elected governance will weaken oversight of freshwater, biodiversity and land-use decisions.
Thousands march outside COP30 summit in call for action
18 Nov 2025
Marching to the beat of pounding sound systems, thousands of climate protesters have been bringing their message to the gates of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
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.
Climate and carbon-removal researcher takes top honours at scientists' awards
Today 12:15pm
Dr Terry Isson has received the prestigious Beatrice Hill Tinsley Medal for research that is reshaping global understanding of Earth’s climate system and driving real-world carbon-removal solutions.
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.
Artificial intelligence sparks debate at COP30 climate talks in Brazil
20 Nov 2025
At the U.N. climate talks in Brazil, artificial intelligence is being cast as both a hero worthy of praise and a villain that needs policing.
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.
Singapore sets course for 'green' methanol ship fuel supplies
Wed 26 Nov 2025
Singapore will start issuing bunkering licences next year to companies supplying methanol as marine fuel, in an effort to help global shipping cut carbon emissions.
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.
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.
Amid the ashes
Wed 26 Nov 2025
This year the LA wildfire came for my hometown. What happened next is a warning for us all.
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
Fri 21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
