Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
The editorial that gave world the message …
11 Dec 2009
An editorial calling for action from world leaders on climate change was published by 56 newspapers around the world in 20 languages on the day the Copenhagen conference opened.
Canada receives award of shame
11 Dec 2009
Canada has received an award at the Copenhagen climate conference – but not one to brag about.
UK’s richest man could pocket £1bn from trading
11 Dec 2009
Britain’s richest man, Lakshmi Mittal, majority owner of steel giant ArcelorMittal, could make more than £1 billion over the next two years from the European Union’s emissions trading scheme.
NZ does quick ETS rules patch-up after Aussie collapse
4 Dec 2009
The collapse of Australia’s proposed emissions trading scheme leaves New Zealand without a set of rules for the allocation of free credits to trade-exposed heavy emitters.
Forester: Our credits attracting world interest
4 Dec 2009
A company which has already sold millions of dollars of worth of New Zealand forestry credits says there is strong international interest in the units.
OBITUARY: Kiwi pioneered biochar research
4 Dec 2009
A New Zealander who was a world pioneer in advocating the use of biochar to sequester carbon has died en route to the international climate change talks in Copenhagen.
India comes to the party with emissions cut promise
4 Dec 2009
India has became the last of the ''big four'' polluters to reveal its opening hand in the lead-up to the climate change talks in Copenhagen next week.
Danes are going green for the big summit
4 Dec 2009
Danes will be on their best green behaviour when a much-anticipated climate conference brings thousands of foreign visitors to Copenhagen next week.
Denmark lures e-car owners with $40,000 tax break
4 Dec 2009
Is saving $40,000 at the showroom enough to get drivers behind the wheel of an electric car?
UN suspends approval of China wind farms
4 Dec 2009
The UN body that oversees carbon credit trading has suspended approval of some Chinese wind farms amid questions about how Beijing obtains money through the system.
Don’t trust Indonesia, warns forest report
4 Dec 2009
Indonesia cannot be trusted to lock up its forests as part of future global carbon trading scheme while corruption in the logging industry remains a two-billion-dollars-a-year problem, a human rights group says.
No-go Nicolson: It's best I stay down on the farm
4 Dec 2009
Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson says he’s doing his bit for climate change by not going to international climate change talks in Copenhagen next week.
World news agencies join forces for Copenhagen
4 Dec 2009
Eleven international news agencies have launched a joint Facebook page to interact with news consumers across the globe during the UN climate conference in Copenhagen.
The truth about climate change making you rich
4 Dec 2009
By Jeff Siegel - Last week, Ed Begley Jr was invited to discuss global warming on Fox News with Stuart Varney.
Decision to go to Copenhagen the easy part, says Greenpeace
4 Dec 2009
Greenpeace says John Key has made the right decision to attend the Copenhagen climate talks, but is warning him against relying on New Zealand’s current climate policies as a figleaf.
Event: Southern Alps Climate Forum
4 Dec 2009
Logic Funds Management and Sustainable Wanaka are collaborating to hold the first Southern Alps Climate Forum.
Be warned: ETS is here and businesses must comply
27 Nov 2009
Chief financial officers and boards must come to terms with the emissions trading scheme now or risk exposing their businesses to significant risk, a senior adviser is warning.
Senate shambles as Aussie ETS vote due today
27 Nov 2009
The Australian government is confident the Senate will vote late today on its emissions trading scheme following a day of political turmoil yesterday.
Chinese premier, too, taking cuts promise to Denmark
27 Nov 2009
China says it will trim its "carbon intensity" 40 to 45 per cent by the year 2020 as compared to 2005 levels.
Ban says Obama vital to Copenhagen success
27 Nov 2009
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday welcomed the announcement that US President Barack Obama will attend the Copenhagen climate conference next month.
US and India pledge common action on climate change
27 Nov 2009
The United States and India have pledged common action to fight climate change and to build a new global clean energy economy.
Science update shows it’s getting hotter faster
27 Nov 2009
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - the world's foremost body for weighing and assessing climate science - received a kick in the pants yesterday from members who say the climate situation is much worse than the IPCC has reported.
Hacker scandal sends ripples through science community
27 Nov 2009
The fallout continues over the theft of private e-mails from a server at a world-renowned climate change research unit in Britain.
California takes step to limit emissions
27 Nov 2009
California has taken a major step toward creating a broad-based trading system to limit emissions of pollutants blamed for harmful climate change.
ETS: What Climate Change Minister Nick Smith says
27 Nov 2009
The Government has secured the support of the Maori Party to enable New Zealand to implement an affordable and workable emissions trading scheme next year.
ETS: Forest owners say deal is unjust
27 Nov 2009
Forest owners say pre-1990 forests are likely to be worth next to nothing because of the ETS. Owners have been landed with the massive liabilities of being part of the scheme, but cant earn carbon credits.
ETS: Shark swallows the Maori minnow
27 Nov 2009
There is a famous story in Te Ao Mâori. It is about a kahawai, not unlike the Mâori Party, and the great white shark. The great white shark said to the kahawai
Maori win ETS voice ... and trip to Copenhagen
23 Nov 2009
The Government has done a deal with the Maori Party over the emissions trading scheme that will see iwi consulted over the rules for the allocation of free carbon credits in agriculture and fishing, and taking a seat at the Copenhagen climate change talks.
Opposition gets ready to mount counter-offensive
23 Nov 2009
A carbon price cap of $100, transparency over heavy emitters making donations to political parties, and bringing agriculture into the ETS in 2013 as originally planned are among counter proposals the Labour Party will put up against the National-Maori Party deal to change the scheme.
Smith: Agreement enables progress on climate change
23 Nov 2009
The Government has secured the support of the Maori Party to enable New Zealand to implement an affordable and workable emissions trading scheme next year, Minister for Climate Change Issues Nick Smith says.
Maori Party: Deal to benefit all
23 Nov 2009
New Zealand's role in global warming and its financial commitments are set to be lowered as a result of the afforestation provision the Maori Party has negotiated with the Government.
Maori quiet on ETS small print till Monday
20 Nov 2009
Details of a deal between the Maori Party and the Government for support for changes to the emissions trading scheme could be revealed on Monday.
IN THE HOUSE: Maori Party ETS deal
20 Nov 2009
Parliament yesterday discussed the potential impacts of the emissions trading scheme on Maori.
Forum: Taking agriculture forward with the Emissions Trading Scheme
20 Nov 2009
Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith speaks to the Federated Farmers National Council Meeting in Wellington yesterday.
‘Human’ CO2 emissions continue to rise
20 Nov 2009
Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities rose 2 per cent in 2008 to an all-time high of 1.3 tonnes of carbon per capita per year, according to a paper published yesterday.
Obama and Hu shake hands on climate deal
20 Nov 2009
China and the United States, the largest producers of greenhouse gases, will team up to fight climate change and create clean energy, say their leaders.
Climate officials cling to hope for Copenhagen
20 Nov 2009
Senior climate change negotiators are optimistic about the Copenhagen talks next month after climate, energy and environment ministers gathered for a meeting in the Danish capital this week.
South Korea, Brazil set carbon emissions targets
20 Nov 2009
South Korea and Brazil are the latest countries to announced greenhouse gas reduction targets as the world heads for key climate change talks in Copenhagen.
Survey reveals Aussies’ climate change doubts
20 Nov 2009
Millions of Australians are having trouble coming to grips with the fact that climate change is caused by humans, a new survey suggests.
Fight climate change with free condoms, says UN
20 Nov 2009
Free condoms and family planning advice are seen as two important weapons in the climate change battle, according to the United Nations.
Jaguar sinks teeth into climate change
20 Nov 2009
The world’s fastest computer, the Jaguar XT5, is hot on the trail of climate change.
Maori health will be hit hard, say MPs
20 Nov 2009
Lower income Maori households will be amongst the hardest hit by the emissions trading scheme deal, because they will be forced to pay more taxes to subsidise big polluters while much- needed social spending is slashed, say Labour MPs Charles Chauvel and Mita Ririnui.
Time for a cup of tea, says veteran Nat
20 Nov 2009
A life-long National Party member is criticising the Government’s “headlong rush” into changes to the emissions trading scheme.
Arrested activists criticise Fonterra
20 Nov 2009
The four Greenpeace activists arrested this week after closing down a Southland lignite coalmine say they succeeded in drawing attention to Fonterra’s expanding use of coal for milk processing.
Smith's Treaury reaction a worry, says Chauvel
20 Nov 2009
National is in complete denial with its rejection this week of Treasury's estimate that the government's ETS scheme will cost the Kiwi taxpayer a "staggering" $110 billion dollars, Labour says.
ETS debate might still be a week away
16 Nov 2009
Parliament might not debate changes to the emissions trading scheme until next week.
Greens: ETS something worth swearing about
16 Nov 2009
Revelations that Climate Change Minister Nick Smith's proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme are going to cost taxpayers an extra $105 billion is something really worth swearing about, Dr Russel Norman, Green Party Co-Leader, said today.
Aussie farmers out of ETS ‘faster than a rat up a drainpipe’
16 Nov 2009
As predicted by Federated Farmers two weeks ago, Australia’s Federal Government yesterday opted to permanently exclude farmers from its emissions trading scheme.
Aussie agriculture backflip could be first of many
16 Nov 2009
The Australian government’s sudden backflip on agriculture yesterday could lead to even more concessions being made to try to get the country’s proposed emissions trading scheme through the Senate in the next couple of weeks.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
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.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
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.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Fri 13 Feb 2026
The world is closer than thought to a “point of no return” after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
NZ still lacking coherent energy strategy
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Rod Carr | COMMENT: The government’s levy-funded foreign gas proposal for an LNG terminal shows New Zealand’s politicians being outmanoeuvred yet again by the multi-trillion dollar energy industry.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
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.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
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 Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
Fri 13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Thu 12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
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”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
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.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
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.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Climate change linked to decline in southern right whale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
Climate ambassador moves on
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
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.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
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.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
