Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
COP27: Why is addressing ‘loss and damage’ crucial for climate justice?
30 Sep 2022
The death and destruction that can result from climate change is not evenly distributed around the world
Fiji’s traditional houses more likely to withstand cyclones
29 Sep 2022
Traditional Fijian knowledge could be key to helping the islands adapt to extreme weather caused by climate change, as traditional dwellings are more likely to withstand tropical cyclones, according to Massey University research.
Rising interest rates only a mild snag in climate battle
29 Sep 2022
Rising interest rates present no significant barrier to the world's transition to net zero emissions by 2050 despite the high levels of investment in green energy needed, according to a strong majority of climate economists polled by Reuters.
Reducing beef’s carbon footprint is key to achieving net-zero in Latin America and the Caribbean
28 Sep 2022
In Latin America and the Caribbean, one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in the region — and its best hope for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 — remains the food system.
Young protesters demand climate action worldwide
27 Sep 2022
Young activists staged a coordinated “global climate strike” to highlight the effects of global warming and demand more aid for poor countries hit by weather chaos.
New report reveals organic dairy farming stores carbon, reduces greenhouse gas emissions
27 Sep 2022
A recent study published in the Journal of Cleaner Productions finds greenhouse gas emissions to be 24% lower on organic dairy farms when compared to conventional dairy farms in the United States.
NZ's first refrigerant gas destruction plant planned for Kawerau
23 Sep 2022
Aotearoa New Zealand’s first waste management facility to break down climate-damaging refrigerant gases could be operational as soon as 2024.
Best by the rest...
23 Sep 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: A biofuel mandate prompts economic and environmental criticism; new research in Australia reveals conservative voters care just as much about the environment as climate change activists; and slow lawmaking is making it difficult to act on environmental regulation in time.
Vultures prevent tens of millions of metric tons of carbon emissions each year
22 Sep 2022
New research shows vultures are 'nature’s flying sanitation crew' and play an important part in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
When the EU and US score climate points off China, Africa suffers: comment
22 Sep 2022
Africa’s contribution to climate change is historically negligible. Around 15% of the world’s population lives on the continent but contribute less than 3.8% of greenhouse emissions responsible for global warming.
We owe Pakistan climate reparations
21 Sep 2022
It is almost impossible to comprehend the scale of the crisis Pakistan is facing. A third of the country has been flooded, 1400 people killed, one million homes destroyed, and fifty million people—almost the entire population of England—have been displaced from their homes as a result of this ecological crisis.
Climate in your hands: Extinction Rebellion
19 Sep 2022
Attendees of the Climate Change and Business conference, which kicked off at the Aotea Centre in Auckland this morning, were welcomed with banners declaring “Climate is in your hands.”
Research predicts big climate change impacts on marine mammals
19 Sep 2022
Media release - A new Department of Conservation report predicts that climate change could have a major impact on some of New Zealand’s marine mammals.
The climate-driven health crisis
19 Sep 2022
The world is facing a climate change-fueled health crisis — from increased emergency department visits due to heatstroke, exacerbated asthma and even heart attacks to injuries and illness linked to severe storms.
China lost its Yangtze River dolphin. Climate change is coming for other species next
19 Sep 2022
They called it the "Goddess of the Yangtze" -- a creature so rare that it was believed to bring fortune and protection to local fishermen and all those lucky enough to spot it.
From coffee to codfish: The foods that will get more expensive with climate change
19 Sep 2022
A report released by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES) in May described climate change as an "endemic and widespread" risk to food supplies. This is also exacerbated by rising living costs and the conflict in Ukraine.
Sea-level rise increasing at faster rate around Aotearoa New Zealand
16 Sep 2022
Media Release - Sea levels around Aotearoa New Zealand have risen at a faster rate in recent decades compared with the first half of last century, Stats NZ says.
'The price of our fossil fuel addiction'
16 Sep 2022
Climate impacts are heading into “uncharted territories of destruction”, the head of the UN has warned, as a multi-agency report sets out the scale of the crisis.
US meeting told climate change is major concern for Pacific leaders
16 Sep 2022
Top leaders from across the Pacific are meeting in Honolulu to discuss key issues of mutual concern. Guam is being represented at the high level gathering by Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio, who says climate change and the potentially devastating impact on island nations is the biggest concern.
Tropical wetlands emit more methane than previously thought
15 Sep 2022
Since 2007, the world's atmospheric methane concentration has risen at an accelerated rate, but scientists aren't exactly sure why.
Russia’s first climate lawsuit filed over greenhouse emissions
15 Sep 2022
Russia’s first climate lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday by activists who demanded Russia take urgent steps to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet its obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Kenya’s new president promises ambitious climate plan
15 Sep 2022
Kenya's newly elected president William Ruto said that climate change will be key to the government's agenda and made an ambitious pledge to ramp up clean energy and phase out fossil fuels for electricity by 2030.
UN warns world is entering ‘uncharted territories of destruction’ from climate crisis
14 Sep 2022
The United Nations is warning that the impacts of global climate change are entering “uncharted territories of destruction” as countries fail to set adequate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
50 million trapped in modern slavery due to pandemic, war, climate crisis, report finds
13 Sep 2022
From the pandemic to the climate crisis, disasters of the past five years have upended daily life, and a new report shows that in many countries the ensuing economic uncertainty has pushed millions into modern slavery.
Bhutan - 'carbon negative"
13 Sep 2022
As the world’s richest countries fail to meet emissions reductions targets year after year, the small kingdom of Bhutan, tucked away in the Himalayas with a population of less than one million people, became the first country to reach carbon neutrality.
How climate change is tweaking the taste of wine
13 Sep 2022
Warming, wildfires and unpredictable weather threaten to disrupt the delicate processes that underlie treasured wines, putting the fine distinctions between grapes at risk.
Global drought saps hydropower, complicating clean-energy push
12 Sep 2022
Dry conditions in the U.S, Europe and China have raised questions about how hydropower fits into changing energy mix.
African nations demand climate change financing ahead of COP27
12 Sep 2022
The African continent emits only some 3% of global CO2 emissions, yet is among the most exposed to climate change.
Global pact sought to preserve 80% of Amazon forest
12 Sep 2022
Scientists warn that the Amazon is close to a tipping point
Forests make a comeback as African governments look to grow their carbon market
12 Sep 2022
In villages dotted across the African continent, locals living in once-heavily forested regions are starting to find their land in high demand.
Be an environmental jihadist to protect the planet
12 Sep 2022
Muslim eco-activists and scientists released an Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change at a symposium in Istanbul, Turkey, shortly before the Paris climate summit. Seven years on journalist Rohiman Haroon calls on Muslims to take up the cause of climate change.
Europe records hottest summer ever in 2022, says climate monitor
9 Sep 2022
The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe's recorded history, the European Commission's climate monitor said on Thursday. It is the second summer in a row of record-breaking temperatures in Europe.
Greenhouse gases, sea sevels hit record highs in 2021
7 Sep 2022
Greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, and ocean heat all hit record highs in 2021, according to an international science report.
Pakistan is bearing the brunt of the climate crisis despite ‘small carbon footprint,’ minister says
7 Sep 2022
Pakistan is facing the worst consequences of the climate crisis thanks in part to the actions of the developed world, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said, as the country battles the worst floods in its history.
Residential green spaces protect growing cities against climate change
7 Sep 2022
The urban population of Canada is growing by more than 400,000 annually, and these new urban residents need housing.
Greenhouse gases down in most regions in 2021 compared with pre-COVID 2019
6 Sep 2022
Media Release - Greenhouse gas emissions decreased in 10 out of 16 regions between 2019 and 2021, with Taranaki showing the biggest drop in emissions during this period, Stats NZ said today.
Why defusing 'carbon bombs' offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change
6 Sep 2022
A carbon bomb is a fossil fuel extraction project, such as a coal mine, that can cause over a metric gigaton of CO₂ emissions during its lifetime. That's a billion tons—more than twice the UK's annual emissions from a single project.
Zombie ice from Greenland will raise sea level 27 centimetres
1 Sep 2022
Greenland’s rapidly melting ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 27 centimeters -- more than twice as much as previously forecast — according to a recent study.
The flooding in Pakistan is a climate catastrophe with political roots
31 Aug 2022
Flash floods over the weekend left one-third of Pakistan submerged from weeks of heavy rains, compounding an already difficult set of political and economic crises in the country.
Drought threatening Dutch dikes
31 Aug 2022
Authorities in the Netherlands are on high alert as drought conditions could threaten the stability of the country's network of 19th century peat dikes.
Climate Club aims to inspire achievable action
30 Aug 2022
By Liz Kivi | Three climate activists looking to engage others have come up with a weekly newsletter of climate actions, which has now reached 500 subscribers through word-of-mouth alone.
What’s the chance of meeting Paris climate goal? Just 0.1%: study
30 Aug 2022
Climate scientists say there’s a 0.1% chance of keeping warming below 1.5° Celsius by 2100, as called for in the Paris Agreement.
Fact check: What role does climate change play in extreme weather events?
30 Aug 2022
After scorching heat waves withered crops and dried up mighty rivers in the Northern Hemisphere, catastrophic super flooding in Pakistan has so far killed more than a 1,000 people, displacing millions more.
The six reckonings of Europe’s energy crisis: gas, nuclear, war and inflation
30 Aug 2022
With European wholesale natural gas, coal, and electricity as well as CO2 prices near to all-time highs, Europeans are facing a winter of discontent, one which may in fact last for many years.
Pakistan pins deadly floods on climate change
29 Aug 2022
Deaths from widespread flooding in Pakistan topped 1,000 since mid-June, officials said Sunday, as the country's climate minister called the deadly monsoon season "a serious climate catastrophe."
Paleoclimate study shows warming oceans could lead to a spike in seabed methane emissionsC
29 Aug 2022
The slowdown of a key ocean current could release methane that is frozen in layers of organic seabed sediments along some of the world’s coastlines, a new study shows.
64% of Kiwis think it’s “unfair” to build on flood prone land
26 Aug 2022
A survey of more than 1000 New Zealanders has found that 64% of them believe it is “unfair” to continue to build on flood prone land.
Best by the rest...
26 Aug 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: two academics ask whether electric planes are really all they're cracked up to be; an inventor who claims steam engines have a green future; and, three academics on what the Nelson floods mean for our future.
Climate change comes for the rich: The world’s wealthiest nations are feeling this summer’s extreme impacts
26 Aug 2022
Climate change doesn’t care about a country’s GDP. Melting glaciers at expensive ski resorts, deadly flooding in some of the world’s richest cities and wildfires across heavily touristed regions of Europe this summer have made clear that while the developing world and the poorest people are the most vulnerable to climate impacts, the rich world is far from immune.
China's unprecedented 70-day heatwave is breaking multiple records
24 Aug 2022
China's more than two-month long heatwave has dried up as many as 66 rivers, including the critical Yangtze River, the world's third longest waterway.
Govt weakens climate legislation, strips CCC’s powers
Today 12:00pm
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced sweeping changes to key climate legislation, including stripping the independent Climate Change Commission of one of its core roles, and removing the requirement that Emissions Trading Scheme settings align with international climate targets.
Govt delays will damage carbon market confidence, experts warn
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Emissions Trading Scheme experts have warned the Government that its move to delay decisions on the country’s emissions budgets will further undermine confidence in an already weak carbon market.
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.
Celebrities slam mining plans
28 Oct 2025
Actor Sam Neill has slammed plans for a gold mine in Otago, while Denniston Rose author Jenny Pattrick is backing a petition that would stop a coalmine on the West Coast.
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.
Another hit to market as Govt uncouples ETS from international climate target
Today 12:00pm
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s surprise move to break the connection between the Emissions Trading Scheme and New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target is a brutal hit to confidence in an already moribund market.
UNEP: New country climate plans ‘barely move needle’ on expected warming
Today 12:00pm
Executive director Inger Anderson made the comments as UNEP published its 16th annual assessment of the global “emissions gap”.
Carbon price drops, now trading 30% below auction floor
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Secondary carbon market prices took a sharp downward turn last week, with traders blaming a continued lack of interest from buyers.
Scrutiny on energy security
Mon 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.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
Fri 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
Thu 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.
Brazil opens three weeks of COP30-linked climate events
Tue 4 Nov 2025
Brazil on Monday opens three weeks of events linked to the COP30 climate summit, hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming
Hutt City Council slashes gas emissions
Mon 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.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Auckland Council toughens up on building in flood risk areas
Today 12:00pm
Media release: Auckland Council | From Monday 3 November 2025, stronger planning rules take effect in Auckland to better protect people and property from natural hazards.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 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?
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.”
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
Tue 4 Nov 2025
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
Today 12:00pm
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.
Vero warns losses to rise 26% by 2050 over extreme weather
29 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Extreme weather could drive a 19–26% spike in annual insurance losses by 2050, fuelled by rising seas and more intense flooding, according to Vero’s latest Climate-Related Disclosures Report.
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.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
Today 12:00pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
Boost for voluntary carbon markets in Watts’ surprise package
Today 12:00pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Voluntary carbon market development gets a solid push in the package of climate change legislative reforms dropped by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts early last evening.
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 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.
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.
Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
Fri 31 Oct 2025
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
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.
Here comes the sun: solar surge gathers pace
Tue 4 Nov 2025
More than $700 million of new solar investment advanced last week, underscoring the pace of the renewable buildout.
Experts warn new science curriculum sidelines climate urgency
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Climate change education has been pushed too late and too lightly in the Government’s draft science curriculum, experts say, with students not formally learning about climate change until Year 10.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
Fri 31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘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.
