Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Why climate change matters for pandemic preparedness
31 Oct 2022
Numerous studies over more than two decades have demonstrated a robust relationship between climate and the dynamics of human diseases, such as cholera, malaria and dengue. Changes in climate, including both long-term warming trends and short-term climate variability, might affect patterns of disease.
96% of humans feel global warming: study
31 Oct 2022
Whether they realized it or not, some 7.6 billion people - 96 percent of humanity - felt global warming's impact on temperatures over the last 12 months, researchers have said.
Greenhouse gases reach a new record
28 Oct 2022
The three main greenhouse gases hit record high levels in the atmosphere last year, the U.N. weather agency said Wednesday, calling it an "ominous" sign as war in Ukraine, rising costs of food and fuel, and other worries have elbowed in on longtime concerns about global warming in recent months.
Analysis: Africa’s unreported extreme weather in 2022 and climate change
28 Oct 2022
From deadly floods in Nigeria to devastating drought in Somalia, Africa has faced a run of severe – and sometimes unprecedented – extreme weather events since the start of 2022.
Here's how to make rich countries pay for their climate impact: Mia Motley
28 Oct 2022
Today, the front line of the climate crisis lies between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where 40% of the world lives. This belt around the equator is where temperatures will reach the most intolerable, and sea levels will rise the most. It’s also home to those who have contributed the least to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
UK’s critical infrastructure deemed vulnerable to ‘cascading risks’ from climate change
28 Oct 2022
Urgent action is needed to mitigate the "cascading risks" facing the UK's critical national infrastructure (CNI), according to a new report.
One in 10 Kiwi kids face double threat of high climate risk and poverty
27 Oct 2022
Media Release - Almost 110,000 children - 10% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s child population - are living with the dual impacts of poverty and high climate risk, according to a new report by Save the Children.
Where you live affects your view of climate crisis: survey
26 Oct 2022
A new survey shows where you live could affect your view of the climate crisis, with Wellington City dwellers more likely to be worried about climate change’s local impacts than people living in Dunedin, Hamilton, or Tauranga.
Climate change threatens emperor penguins with extinction: US officials
26 Oct 2022
It is the only animal that dares to breed during the Antarctic winter. It endures gale-force winds and freezing temperatures to lay and protect a single egg.
Heatwaves to impact almost every child on Earth by 2050: UNICEF Report
26 Oct 2022
Media Release - Heatwaves have become an unavoidable health hazard for many nations, but new data indicates that they are set to affect virtually every child on earth by 2050, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, warned on Tuesday.
Weekend of protests in Europe, from energy to Iran
25 Oct 2022
Thousands of protesters gathered across Europe over the weekend to protest over energy prices and climate — and also to show solidarity with antigovernment protesters in Iran.
New fossil fuels ‘incompatible’ with 1.5C goal, comprehensive analysis finds
25 Oct 2022
There is a “large consensus” across all published studies that developing new oil and gas fields is “incompatible” with the 1.5C target, a new report says.
GDP down, emissions up
21 Oct 2022
Decoupling GDP growth and greenhouse gas emissions is the holy grail of climate economists but nobody is going to be celebrating just released figures from Stats NZ, which show the two metrics heading in opposite directions.
$120 million up for grabs to reduce methane emissions
21 Oct 2022
The Ministry for the Environment is offering $120 million over two years for solutions to reduce emissions from organic waste, 94% of which are from biogenic methane.
Best by the rest...
21 Oct 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best local climate coverage: Where is all the funding for climate change agri-tech? Mount Ruapehu goes into voluntary administration as climate change takes its toll; and pacific activists team up ahead of COP27.
Insurers withdraw from fossil fuel projects amid climate change fears
21 Oct 2022
BERLIN (AP) — Insurance companies that have long said they’ll cover anything, at the right price, are increasingly ruling out fossil fuel projects because of climate change — to cheers from environmental campaigners.
Most diseases worsened by climate change, new research reveals. Here’s what we can do about it
21 Oct 2022
The climate crisis will worsen most diseases, experts have warned - and could catalyse the next deadly pandemic
Climate outcomes measurable - unlike most of $2.6 billion environmental spend
20 Oct 2022
Climate change is the only part of the government’s $2.6 billion environmental spend where there is a clear plan and measurable outcomes, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, says in a new report.
Climate change puts a billion children at 'extremely high risk'
20 Oct 2022
Some one billion children are at "extremely high risk" due to climate change harms, a rights group warned on Wednesday, adding that youths' living standards failed to improve in the last decade.
People less concerned about climate change than before: survey
20 Oct 2022
Climate change is a pressing concern for the health of the planet. However, people worldwide appear to have become less concerned about its effect.
The tipping points of climate change: how will our world change?
20 Oct 2022
The IPCC has identified several so-called ‘tipping points of climate change’, critical thresholds in a system that, if exceeded, can lead to irreversible consequences. But when exactly will we reach them, who will bear the brunt, and, most importantly, is there a way to avoid it?
Tracing anthropogenically emitted carbon dioxide into the ocean
19 Oct 2022
Researchers labeled anthropogenically emitted carbon and tracked it with an ocean circulation model to determine whether it winds up in the sky or the sea.
As climate risks intensify in Brazil, election rivals offer few solutions
19 Oct 2022
“People’s post-traumatic stress levels are extremely high,” says Rafaela Facchetti, a researcher at Brazil’s National School of Public Health, or ENSP.
Hydrofluorocarbons import cap lowered
18 Oct 2022
The Environmental Protection Authority has lowered import limits for hydrofluorocarbons, a group of greenhouse gases used in heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration.
Climate crisis could increase African country debts by $1 trillion
18 Oct 2022
Sub-Saharan African countries will have to take on almost $1 trillion in debt over the next 10 years unless wealthy countries provide adequate finance to address the climate crisis, according to a new report published on Monday, October 17, 2022, by Debt Justice and Climate Action Network International.
Climate anxiety is spreading all over the planet
18 Oct 2022
If you’re feeling anxious about climate change, the common wisdom goes, there’s an antidote: Take action. Maybe you can alleviate your worries by doing something positive, like going to a protest, becoming an advocate for mass transit, or trying to get an environmental champion elected.
Future emissions from ‘country of permafrost’ potentially devastating
18 Oct 2022
By the end of this century, permafrost in the rapidly warming Arctic will likely emit as much carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere as a large industrial nation, and potentially more than the U.S. has emitted since the start of the industrial revolution.
World Bank’s president survives climate gaff, but its fossil fuel policy may not
17 Oct 2022
WASHINGTON — David Malpass' job as president of the World Bank appears safe despite calls for his ouster by climate advocates, but the recent controversy over his climate views may have helped ram through changes to help clean energy despite his resistance.
Pakistan suffered climate-induced losses worth $29bn in past three decades: World Bank
17 Oct 2022
Climate-related disasters in Pakistan have resulted in economic losses of $29 billion over the past thirty years, according to a report by the World Bank.
CSIRO abruptly scraps globally recognised climate forecast programme
17 Oct 2022
Australia’s premier science organisation abruptly scrapped a fully-funded, globally recognised programme to predict the climate in coming years without consulting an advisory panel that had praised its “good progress” only weeks earlier.
Mangrove carbon sinks under threat from sea level rise
14 Oct 2022
Whether Aotearoa New Zealand’s wetlands can survive the threat of inevitable sea-level rise is a question NIWA scientists are asking, as they start a new monitoring project looking at Bay of Plenty estuaries.
‘We’re on our own.’ How people with disabilities are left out of climate planning
14 Oct 2022
When the inevitable hurricanes threaten New Orleans, it’s hard for India Scott to figure where to go. In the city where she was born and raised, she’s stayed in hotels, relief shelters and, during Hurricane Katrina, in the famously overcrowded Superdome.
"Sobering" report highlights climate impacts on NZ's marine environment
13 Oct 2022
A “sobering” new report highlighting marine heatwaves, acidifying oceans, sea level rise, and damaging storms, is a warning to reduce emissions faster, according to experts.
Climate and ESG important to tech sector employees
13 Oct 2022
New research reveals that 59% of tech sector candidates looking for new work say a company’s commitment to environmental sustainability influences their decision to accept a job offer.
Greenland's culture shifts as Arctic heats up
13 Oct 2022
Icebergs bigger than city blocks loom through the mist as Kaleeraq Mathaeussen reels in halibut from the frigid waters one by one.
Import limits reduced for potent greenhouse gases
12 Oct 2022
Media Release: Environmental Protection Authority | The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has lowered import limits for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a group of harmful greenhouse gases used in heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration.
50% of Earth’s coral reefs face climate change threat by 2035
12 Oct 2022
Under a worst-case scenario, half of coral reef ecosystems worldwide will permanently face unsuitable conditions in just over a dozen years, if climate change continues unabated. That is one of the findings from new research published on October 11, in PLOS Biology by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers. Unsuitable conditions will likely lead to the corals dying off and other marine life will struggle to survive due to disruptions in the food chain.
Climate change and deforestation may drive tree-dwelling primates to the ground, large-scale study shows
11 Oct 2022
A large-scale study of 47 species of monkeys and lemurs has found that climate change and deforestation are driving these tree-dwelling animals to the ground, where they are at higher risk due to lack of preferred food and shelter, and may experience more negative interaction with humans and domestic animals.
Climate change threat to water infrastructure: experts
10 Oct 2022
Climate change poses a threat to Aotearoa New Zealand’s water infrastructure, with worsening flooding and damage to buried pipes a likely result, according to a civil systems engineering expert.
City partnership a world leader in climate change planning
7 Oct 2022
Media release - University of Canterbury | A partnership between the University of Canterbury (UC) and Christchurch City Council is leading the world in understanding and adapting to risk from climate change.
Best by the rest...
7 Oct 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best local climate coverage: The majority of local election candidates have climate action at front of mind; a new research project aims to forecast risks to New Zealand as the world continues to heat; and while there's government assistance for those switching to EVs, e-bikes are yet to catch up.
Climate change will displace millions of people - do we need to rethink attitudes to mass migration?
7 Oct 2022
Mass migration towards the Earth’s poles will help humanity survive the climate crisis, according to a new book.
Climate change made 2022’s northern-hemisphere droughts ‘at least 20 times’ more likely
7 Oct 2022
The droughts seen across the northern hemisphere this summer were made “at least 20 times more likely” by human-caused climate change, according to a new “rapid-attribution” study.
Climate reparations may be ethical, but they aren’t the best fix, climatologist says
6 Oct 2022
Calls for climate reparations for poorer countries hit hard by climate change are growing louder after catastrophic floods in Pakistan. But though they may be ethical, they aren’t the best solution to a complex problem, one climatologist said.
Hawke's Bay to develop emissions reduction plan
5 Oct 2022
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has voted to develop the region’s first emissions reduction plan, aiming to reach net zero by 2050.
Climate crisis will impact lake water quality and colour
5 Oct 2022
Global heating could see Aotearoa New Zealand’s iconic lakes lose their blue hue, as well as reducing fish and water quality, according to new research.
Vatican unveils new documentary on climate change
5 Oct 2022
A new documentary by filmmaker Nicolas Brown “highlights the key concept of dialogue,” Cardinal Michael Czerny explained on Tuesday, at the presentation of the film “The Letter” at the Holy See Press Office.
NIWA predicts strengthening marine heatwave
4 Oct 2022
Climate change is continuing to influence Aotearoa New Zealand’s weather, with NIWA warning the coming marine heatwave could rival last year’s high temperatures, and the marine sector “should monitor the system closely”.
A Nord Stream disaster every day
4 Oct 2022
A half-mile wide maelstrom is swirling in the Baltic Sea as an estimated 300,000 metric tons of gas violently erupts from the sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines. Most of this gas is likely methane, a gas normally invisible to the eye that is over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over 20 years. The swirling froth recalls Hurricane Ian, another catastrophe that’s just devastated Florida.
Insurance Council urges local governments to focus on climate resilience
3 Oct 2022
As Kiwis cast their votes in local elections, the Insurance Council is calling on incoming councils to invest in climate resilience.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
Tue 22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
Greenpeace hails Italy court ruling allowing climate lawsuit against energy company to go ahead
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Italy’s highest court has ruled that a lawsuit brought by climate activists against Italian energy company ENI and its government shareholders can go ahead.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
EU wants to see China take more ambitious climate action
15 Jul 2025
The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal.
Forestry can be a big plus for sheep and beef farmers – but there are caveats
Tue 22 Jul 2025
By Keith Woodford | OPINION: These are good times for sheep and beef farmers with record product prices for meat, which is precisely why now is the time for sheep and beef farmers to be looking again at farm forestry.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Media round-up
Fri 25 Jul 2025
In our round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Dairy conversions surge; Gore is hit with a drinking water crisis; meanwhile farming lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sector.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Extreme weather events are the new frontline of online climate denial – report
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Climate science deniers are flooding social media with false claims during extreme weather events, drowning out reliable information and putting lives at risk.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
Thu 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.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
SBTi releases Net Zero Standard for banks, investors
Thu 24 Jul 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative announced the release of its finalised Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, aimed at enabling banks and investors to set net zero-aligned targets for their lending, investing, insurance and capital markets activities.
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
Wed 23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Elation as Whanganui gets voice in fast-track seabed mining decision
Thu 24 Jul 2025
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | A Whanganui District councillor is “elated” her council has been named a relevant authority in the fast-track application process for a seabed mining project off South Taranaki.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
Fri 25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Markets aren't going to save us – Carr
9 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumerism is reaching its ecological and economic limits, and only systemic change - not market tweaks - can steer us away from climate catastrophe, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Millions of tons of tiny plastic particles are polluting the ocean, study finds
15 Jul 2025
At least 27 million tonnes of nanoplastics are estimated to be floating in the North Atlantic Ocean, weighing more than all wild land mammals combined.
Another offensive launched in the government’s war on nature
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Media release - Environmental Defence Society | Last week the Minister for Resource Management Reform, Chris Bishop, announced that the government would be intervening, yet again, to prevent councils from progressing environmental protections under the Resource Management Act.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
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.
Switching to renewables is ‘smart economics’ - Guterres
Thu 24 Jul 2025
The global energy transition is now “unstoppable” due to “smart economics”, UN secretary-general António Guterres has said in an online speech titled: “A moment of opportunity.”
Root intelligence: How old trees learn to suck more CO2 from the air
Thu 24 Jul 2025
New research finds that centuries-old oaks can dynamically rewire how they absorb nutrients—suggesting forests may be more resilient allies in the climate fight than once believed.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
Wed 23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
UN court's decision could reshape approach to climate commitments
Tue 22 Jul 2025
The International Court of Justice will this week deliver its advisory opinion on what obligations countries have to address the impacts of climate change. It will be a vital step toward climate justice and equity, according to one local expert.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
