Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Accountants the winners as carbon economy grows
10 Jul 2009
As a carbon-trading economy gathers steam in the United States, the accounting industry is expected to profit handsomely.
Let’s get inventing, says climate report
10 Jul 2009
The fight against climate change would not be won unless a “revolution” in the use of existing low-carbon technology, and numerous new inventions took hold, says a new report.
Key’s Pacific tour should prompt rethink of climate change targets
10 Jul 2009
The New Zealand Government needs to take some regional leadership on the climate change crisis which threatens the very existence of some Pacific Island nations, say the Greens.
Big guns open up on 2020 emissions target
7 Jul 2009
Tension is building over the Government’s call for public input on New Zealand’s 2020 emissions reduction target.
Voluntary soil carbon market on the way
7 Jul 2009
New Zealand is on the road to establishing a voluntary soil carbon market.
Avocado growers look for carbon answers
7 Jul 2009
The avocado industry is to use $20,000 awarded by the Sustainable Farming Fund this month to help to prove the carbon sequestration potential of its trees.
NZ climate deniers wed US counterpart
7 Jul 2009
New Zealand’s premier climate change denier site has linked up with its United States counterpart.
G8 leaders could set emissions goal of 80%
7 Jul 2009
Leaders of the G8 nations meeting in Italy this week are to set a target to cut greenhouse gases by 80 per cent by 2050, the BBC understands.
Obama to seek climate deal in Moscow
7 Jul 2009
United States President Barack Obama will move to seal a deal with Russia for joint action on climate change during his summit in Moscow this week.
Could rice possibly be the new concrete?
7 Jul 2009
Concrete is the world's most abundant building material; rice is one of the world's most abundant food crops. Now, one group of researchers is putting the two together to try to make concrete more environmentally friendly.
Un-baa-lievable ... Scottish sheep are shrinking
7 Jul 2009
Along with polar icecaps and sandy beaches, sheep on a remote Scottish island are gradually shrinking as a result of global warming, say reasearchers.
Greenpeace to carry on fight with Rainbow Warrior III
7 Jul 2009
Greenpeace has signed a contract with a German shipyard for construction of a new Rainbow Warrior to help the environmental organisation in its climate change campaigns.
Millions face climate-related hunger, says Oxfam
7 Jul 2009
Shifting seasons are destroying harvests and causing widespread hunger – but this is just one of the multiple climate change impacts taking their toll on the world’s poorest people – says a new report launched from Oxfam.
Security threats from climate change top Pacific agenda
7 Jul 2009
Security threats from climate change must top the agenda of John Key’s tour of Pacific island nations after a recent United Nations Security Council Resolution, says the Green Party.
Split targets on agenda of Nats-Labour ETS talks
3 Jul 2009
Splitting New Zealand’s domestic emissions reduction target is on the table in talks between Labour and National for an emissions trading scheme deal.
Government won't talk about stationary energy
3 Jul 2009
The Government will not say when stationary energy and industrial processes will enter the emissions trading scheme.
Rules change, but forest owners still obligated
3 Jul 2009
Forest owners are still under obligation to surrender emissions units to meet deforestation liabilities – despite Parliament delaying reporting dates.
Goverment needs to wake up, say foresters
3 Jul 2009
The new forestry deadlines established by the Government this week amount to “fiddling while Rome burns,” say foresters.
Sweden: Learn from our climate change miracle
3 Jul 2009
Sweden plans to use its “climate change miracle” to convince China and the United States to sign up to tough cuts in greenhouse gases at the Copenhagen summit to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Democrats gear up for Senate climate bill battle
3 Jul 2009
US Senate Democratic leaders are preparing for what is expected to be a tough fight over climate change legislation, even tougher than it was in the House of Representives.
ExxonMobil still funds climate change sceptics
3 Jul 2009
ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, is continuing to fund researchers who cast doubt on global warming, despite public promises to cut support for climate change sceptics.
Permafrost melt poses major climate change threat
3 Jul 2009
New research shows that the amount of carbon stored in frozen soils at high latitudes is double previous estimates and could, if emitted as carbon dioxide and methane, lead to a significant increase in global temperatures by the end of this century.
Canada hits rock-bottom on emissions scorecard
3 Jul 2009
Canada has fallen to last place in the latest G8 Climate Scorecard by the World Wildlife Fund and insurance giant Allianz.
Nuclear energy key to India’s climate action
3 Jul 2009
The Indian Government has revealed that nuclear energy will be an important component of 24 “critical initiatives” to be taken up by different ministries to combat climate change.
EPA allows California to regulate car gases
3 Jul 2009
The US Environmental Protection Agency has granted California's request to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks as the Obama administration implements measures to increase fuel efficiency and reduce the impact on global warming linked to these gases.
Carbon management is information management
3 Jul 2009
For most businesses today, sophisticated carbon management is simply not possible.
Greens push split-emissions cuts targets
30 Jun 2009
The prospect is emerging of New Zealand setting separate reduction targets for carbon and methane.
Energy sector wants firm emissions targets now
30 Jun 2009
The renewables sector is waiting to see whether the Government intends to present firm policy or a proposed strategy when it begins a series of public meetings in nine cities around the country next Monday to discuss New Zealand’s 2020 emissions target.
Farmers deserve reward, not tax, says scientist
30 Jun 2009
Farmers should be compensated for their work in tending the eco system instead of being taxed for climate change, says Professor Robert Watson, chief scientific adviser for Britain’s department of environment, food, and rural affairs.
'Green capital' to show off zero-emissions vehicle
30 Jun 2009
Palmerston North is consolidating its reputation as New Zealand’s green capital with the pending roll out of a locally designed and built zero-emissions vehicle.
Climate summit has benefits for NZ businesses
30 Jun 2009
New Zealand businesses and organisations can benefit directly from next month’s Climate Project summit in Melbourne, says BusinessLAB director Simon Harvey.
Bill positive, says China, but more action needed
30 Jun 2009
China’s chief climate change official says the United States climate change bill is a key step forward but much more action will be needed to reach an agreement during talks on global warming at the end of the year.
UK wants billions in climate fund for poor countries
30 Jun 2009
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has tried to break the deadlock over climate change by proposing the creation of a £60 billion international fund to help poorer countries adapt to the situation.
Ford gets $6 billion loan for green vehicles
30 Jun 2009
The United States Energy Department will lend $5.9 billion to Ford and $2.1 billion to Nissan and Tesla, making the three automakers the first beneficiaries of a $25 billion fund to develop fuel-efficient vehicles.
California cracks down on windscreens
30 Jun 2009
Climate-conscious California is increasing pressure on the automobile by getting tough on windscreens and upping its incentives for owners of clunker cars to get them off the road.
Industry counts cost of government's ETS delay
26 Jun 2009
Government moves to postpone the entry of the heavy industrial emitters into the emissions trading scheme will cost forest owners money and delay the establishment of a carbon market in New Zealand.
Labour: Government had enough time
26 Jun 2009
The Labour Party is rejecting Government claims that there was never enough time to bring the stationary energy and industrial processes sector into the emissions trading scheme.
Parties stay quiet on ETS cooperation deal
26 Jun 2009
The Government and the Labour Party are refusing to comment on progress for an emissions trading scheme deal.
Forest owners notch Copenhagen victory
26 Jun 2009
New Zealand forest owners have managed to get offsetting and recognition of the capacity of wood products to store carbon into a key document leading up to December’s climate change talks in Copenhagen.
Australia delays vote on carbon trading
26 Jun 2009
The Australian government failed to get its carbon trading scheme through the Senate yesterday after the opposition Coalition and crossbench senators criticised the scheme’s economic and environmental analysis as being inadequate.
Government inaction worries foresters
26 Jun 2009
Foresters are anxious about the Government’s refusal to comment on its plans to develop market access for forestry credits.
Europe keen to show us how to insulate
26 Jun 2009
The European Commission is keen to acquaint New Zealanders with its new portal designed to share information on building insulation and other methods of reducing energy demands in buildings of any size.
Ban calls leaders to ‘unprecedented’ climate summit
26 Jun 2009
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has extended an invitation to heads of state and governments to attend an “unprecedented” global summit at the United Nations to spur action towards reaching an ambitious climate change pact later this year.
Myths … and the making of a climate bill
26 Jun 2009
No bill is perfect …certainly not one that contains a thousand pages and seeks to overhaul the way a nation uses energy, says the respected US science watchdog, the Pew Centre.
Scotland sets emissions cut target at 42%
26 Jun 2009
Scotland’s Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson has lodged an amendment to the Climate Change Bill that will set the interim target for greenhouse gas emissions at 42 per cent.
Russia not ready for climate battle, says bank
26 Jun 2009
Russia is ill-prepared to cope with climate change because of the legacy of Soviet environmental mismanagement and crumbling infrastructure, the World Bank says.
Welcome to Hopenhagen …
26 Jun 2009
The United Nations and an international coalition of advertising agencies has launched a global marketing campaign for the climate change treaty to be ratified in Copenhagen later this year.
Greens fear impact of Ukraine connection
23 Jun 2009
Green Party climate change spokesperson Jeanette Fitzisimons is calling for tough and transparent rules on the type of international carbon credits admitted to the New Zealand emissions trading scheme in the wake of reports that a huge number of Ukrainian units are coming our way.
Kiwi climate system takes Manhatten
23 Jun 2009
Climate change modelling software developed in Hamilton is taking on the world, but it has taken winning a contract in New York City for New Zealand to sit up and take notice.
Top UK scientist here to see NZ toes the line
23 Jun 2009
The appearance at a public seminar in New Zealand of a top British government scientist this week underlines the importance that the British authorities are placing on whipping New Zealand into line on emissions trading.
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.
