Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Finland joins 26-country partnership to curb methane emissions
29 Jul 2008
Finland is the latest country to join the Methane to Markets Partnership, whose 26 members aim to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas and clean energy source.
Australians singing the same old song
29 Jul 2008
New Zealanders watching debate across the Tasman in the wake of the Australian Government's release of its draft emissions trading scheme can be forgiven a sense of deja vu.
New members for GIAB announced
29 Jul 2008
Twelve new members representing some of New Zealand's leading businesses and research organisations have been appointed to the government's Growth and Innovation Advisory Board
We'll fight for our forest rights, owners warn ETS policy-makers
25 Jul 2008
Kyoto Forest Owners say they will wage war if either major political party reneges on promises over carbon credits worth millions of dollars.
ANALYSIS: Heavy emitters and National scoring major own goal
25 Jul 2008
The little-covered press release issued by the Kyoto Forestry Association this week, seeking major-party assurances its members will still get hundreds of millions of dollars worth of carbon credits, speaks of the unspeakable position anti-emissions trading campaigners have got themselves and others into.
Our politicians ignoring peak oil impact, says forum
25 Jul 2008
Politicians are failing to deal with the impact of peak oil, imperilling New Zealand’s economic future says the Sustainable Energy Forum.
Minister stays mum on support for Biofuels bill
25 Jul 2008
The Government says that its Biofuel bill has the backing of industry, but is not saying whether it has the backing of Parliament.
Goldsmith organisation condemns plans for importing biofuels into NZ
25 Jul 2008
The Pacific Institute of Resource Management, headquartered in Wellington, and which has London-based environmentalist Edward Goldsmith as a director, believes that in importing biofuels into New Zealand will revert to the plantations and indentured labour era.
Report details huge climate change cost for US states
25 Jul 2008
Climate change will carry a price tag of billions of dollars for some US states, researchers have said.
Indian businesses reluctant climate change players, says report
25 Jul 2008
Indian corporates are not ready to tackle climate change despite a wide awareness of the issues, says a study just released by global consultancy KPMG.
Kyoto foresters seek assurances on Labour and National's carbon credit promises
25 Jul 2008
The Kyoto Forestry Association (KFA) is seeking assurances from the Labour and National parties that their 2007 promises to post-1989 forest owners, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, can continue to be relied upon.
Public wants help with ETS costs, survey shows
22 Jul 2008
Overwhelming public support for help for households in coping with the costs of an emissions trading scheme could provide the impetus to get the scheme passed before the election.
Local councils doing the best they can with water, says Neilson
22 Jul 2008
Regional councils are doing as good a job of water management as can be expected with the tools and framework available, says the chief executive of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, Peter Neilson.
Canadian PM under pressure as major province signs up with US emissions group
22 Jul 2008
The Canadian government faces new pressure to adopt a more aggressive climate-change plan after its largest province threw its considerable political weight behind a North American initiative to tackle global warming.
BBC TV about to air climate change the thriller
22 Jul 2008
Climate change joins mainstream television this week with the screening in Britain of the environmental thriller Burn Up.
US scientists issue dire new warning on effects of climate change
22 Jul 2008
Climate change threatens the health and well-being of every American but could widen the divide between people who can adapt to a more hostile environment and society's youngest, oldest and poorest, a US government report says.
'Carbon bomb' lies waiting in world's wetlands, warn scientists
22 Jul 2008
New Zealand’s wetlands are part of a world-wide chain that could release a planet-warming "carbon bomb" if they are destroyed, ecological scientists say.
For animals, it might be a case of relocation, relocation, relocation
22 Jul 2008
ANIMALS threatened with extinction because of climate change should be moved to parts of the world where they are more likely to survive, a team of scientists has suggested.
‘Swindle’ doco broke the rules, says UK watchdog
22 Jul 2008
A documentary shown on Prime TV in New Zealand earlier this year which claimed that man-made climate change is a fraud broke strict broadcasting rules on impartiality, the UK media regulator said yesterday.
In time, Australia and NZ ETS plans can work together, say governments
18 Jul 2008
Australia and New Zealand have developed different emissions trading schemes because their economies are different, but will bring the schemes together over time. That’s the message from Wellington and Canberra this week as the governments of both countries push ahead with plans for emissions trading regimes as key planks of their climate change strategies.
Australia gets ETS agriculture right, say New Zealand farmers
18 Jul 2008
New Zealand farmers say they are sympathetic to Australia’s desire for caution over bringing agriculture into an emissions trading scheme.
Maori Party sticks to polluters-should-pay stance on ETS fuel plans
18 Jul 2008
The Maori Party is unlikely to push for an Australian-style buffer against the effects of increased fuel prices under New Zealand’s proposed emissions trading scheme.
Long-haul airlines to get carbon relief from Europe
18 Jul 2008
Airlines flying long-haul to Europe will get extra allocations of carbon credits under the European emissions trading scheme, says the European Commission to New Zealand.
Biofuel subsidies waste of money, says OECD report
18 Jul 2008
Government subsidies for biofuels are not helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new OECD report.
US power giant will spend $10b to slash gas emissions
18 Jul 2008
The United States’ largest electricity and gas utility, Exelon, has released a $10 billion plan to eliminate or offset its carbon dioxide emissions, positioning itself ahead of expected federal climate change legislation.
Canadian premiers squabble over climate change action
18 Jul 2008
The annual Canadian premiers' conference has opened in Ottawa with rival camps in the climate change debate digging in their heels, reports the Toronto Star.
Pioneering carbon scheme promotes school energy efficiency
18 Jul 2008
Carbon emissions from UK state schools are to be included in a pioneering carbon trading scheme for local authorities from April 2010, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced yesterday.
UN embarks on worldwide survey to assess deforestation
18 Jul 2008
As part of efforts to gain a comprehensive understanding of the world's forests, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation will carry out a global remote sensing survey of the vital ecosystems.
Spending on science and innovation is best for combating climate change
18 Jul 2008
There are technological solutions to the problems created by technology, writes Kim Carr, Australia’s Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research:
Consider Aussie ETS before passing bill, say Nats
18 Jul 2008
New Zealand needs to give careful consideration to the design of the Australian emissions trading scheme before passing the current bill, says National Party Climate Change spokesman Nick Smith.
Parker, Swan meet tomorrow to talk emissions trading
16 Jul 2008
Australia’s proposed emissions trading scheme will be top of the agenda for a meeting between New Zealand Climate Change Minister David Parker and Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan tomorrow.
Australia announces all-gases and almost-all sectors ETS
16 Jul 2008
Australia has announced a proposal for a broad emissions trading scheme that covers all six greenhouse gases and every sector except agriculture.
Acting on climate change: towards an Australian carbon pollution reduction scheme
16 Jul 2008
The following is the official summary of the Australian Government’s green paper on climate change, released today by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.
World won't buy ETS dream, top economist tells Aussies
15 Jul 2008
Australians are being told by one of the world’s leading economists that the world will never support an emissions trading regime.
Air NZ reviewing implications of EU emissions plan
15 Jul 2008
Air New Zealand remains tight-lipped over the possible impact of the European Parliament’s second-reading vote in favour of including aviation in the European Union’s emissions trading scheme in 2012.
‘Missing’ greenhouse gas poses problem for government’s information technology thrust
15 Jul 2008
Nitrogen trifluoride is a little-recognised greenhouse gas with a punch many times that of carbon dioxide. It is sometimes rated as 17,000 times greater, and it is an emissions contaminant deliberately - if unknowingly - being fostered by the government.
Bush administration slams door on climate change
15 Jul 2008
Arguing that it's the wrong tool for the job, the Bush Administration has said that it will not use the nation's leading clean air law to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Garnaut urges big spend on renewable energy and carbon capture
15 Jul 2008
Australia must plough significant research and development dollars into renewable energy sources, including geothermal and solar energy, as well as carbon capture and storage, says the author of the national climate change review, Professor Ross Garnaut.
Corporate 'greening' wasted on consumers, report says
15 Jul 2008
Consumers are showing an increasing willingness to adjust their habits in ways they believe will help to address the problem of climate change, but at the same time, they aren’t recognising the efforts of major corporations trying to do the same thing, according to the results of a new international market survey.
Queensland looks at transforming cattle land with trees
15 Jul 2008
CSIRO research under way in Central Queensland’s cattle country is investigating whether the integration of trees, pasture and livestock into a single agricultural system will produce greater net returns for producers and the environment.
Campaign highlights climate-change plight of women
15 Jul 2008
The international aid agency Oxfam is highlighting how women around the world are hardest hit by storms, floods and droughts caused by global warming.
Petrol shock: $8 a litre within 10 years, says Aussie report
11 Jul 2008
Petrol prices could hit $A8 a litre within 10 years, adding 31 cents to the price of a loaf of bread and pushing weekly household fuel bills as high as $220 a week, the Australian research institute CSIRO is warning in a report out today.
Poll shows most of us want action on climate change
11 Jul 2008
Another poll has confirmed that most New Zealanders believe that climate change is human-induced and want to take action.
NZIER-funded polling shows coalition deal may have to deliver ETS policy
11 Jul 2008
Emissions trading is an issue of great concern to Maori and Green party voters - and the major parties might need them to form a coalition after this year's election.
NZ, Australia emissions schemes sit happily together, says Parker
11 Jul 2008
New Zealand and Australia’s emissions-trading schemes are compatible and line-up on the basics, says Climate Change Minister David Parker.
Frustrated scientists hammer home the climate change message
11 Jul 2008
New Zealand scientists have gone on the offensive over climate change, issuing a 1700-word statement setting out the evidence that the climate is changing because of human activity.
ANALYSIS: The NZIER and friends' poll slip is showing
11 Jul 2008
A close-call election result is probably not what the NZIER and its major emitter study funders would have most liked in the results of their June TNS Conversa poll.
G8 good start but fast action needed to tackle global crises, says UN chief
11 Jul 2008
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Group of Eight’s statement on climate change, food security and development as a good start for addressing the three interrelated global crises, while stressing the need for speedier action in the days ahead.
Green cars - Honda's Civic GX pick of the bunch
11 Jul 2008
Honda’s Civic GX comes out on top of an American list of what’s hot in the world of environmentally friendly cars.
Roundtable: NZIER survey confirms ETS proposals lack support
11 Jul 2008
“The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research survey confirms what the Business Roundtable has been saying: that the government has failed to make a robust case to the public that further action against climate change is in New Zealand’s interests, and that without public support any action is likely to be politically unsustainable”, Roger Kerr, executive director of the New Zealand Business Roundtable said.
New courses focus on climate action, activism and creating vision
Fri 12 Sep 2025
Media release | Dark Times Academy’s final lineup of courses for 2025, launching in mid-September, will focus on taking action on climate, learning about practical activism, and creating visions for the future.
A revolution is sweeping Europe’s farms: Can it save agriculture?
Fri 12 Sep 2025
Momentum is building for regenerative agriculture, a set of approaches that could help farms to weather the changing climate and make them more profitable.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
Thu 11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
'Reframe' climate conversations - focus on thriving together, says advisor
Thu 11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand must mirror its Covid-19 response if it wants to get buy-in from the public on climate action, according to Ministry for the Environment chief advisor Heather Peacocke.
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
No bidders front to carbon auction - again
Wed 10 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Today’s quarterly carbon auction was a non-event yet again, making it the third consecutive auction this year with no bidders, with the secondary market price still limping along at nearly 20% below the auction floor.
Australia’s biggest gas project greenlit to 2070 with ‘partial’ protection for Indigenous rock art
Today 11:30am
Approval met with fury from conservation groups and the Greens, who called it a ‘betrayal’ of Australians who want climate action.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
Today 11:30am
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
Wed 10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
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.”
Wind and solar power fuel over one-third of Brazil's electricity for first time
Today 11:30am
Wind and solar power generated more than a third of Brazil’s electricity in August.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
Thu 11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Study links world’s top oil and gas firms to 200 ‘more intense’ heatwaves
Today 11:30am
Global warming linked to the world’s biggest oil and gas companies made all “major” 21st century heatwaves more intense and frequent.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Indigenous forest 'islands' could help transition exotic plantations to native bush
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Native forest 'islands' within exotic plantations might be the key to transitioning plantations from exotic to Indigenous, according to new research.
EU considers faster Russian oil and gas exit after US pressure
Today 11:30am
The European Union is considering a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels as part of new sanctions.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Why mega-polluters have little to fear from the European Central Bank and its new climate policy
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The European Central Bank plans to raise borrowing costs for climate offenders – but a new FTM analysis shows that big polluters such as Shell will barely feel it.
Media round-up
5 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The great methane debate; law change scuppers legal challenge to irrigation scheme consent; and what are the energy and climate implications of the $7.5 billion Amazon Web Services data centre deal?
Coal imports up 650%
Fri 12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
Media round-up
29 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Changes to road user charges will increase New Zealand's emissions; Climate Change Minister Simon Watts promises better access to hazard data for homeowners; and Kiwis borrow over $1 billion in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars.
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.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
28 Aug 2025
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
Invites-only fast-track for seabed mine slammed as 'rushed, awful'
Fri 12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With the wider public shut out of submissions, critics including Te Pāti Māori, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Greenpeace say the process strips away robust scrutiny and risks setting a dangerous precedent.
‘Pick up the phone’ on climate change action, Hipkins urges Luxon
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should reach out to the Labour Party if he wants get a political deal on methane reductions and the Paris agreement rather than his two coalition partners, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says.
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.
Endeavour Fund research to shape NZ’s future
5 Sep 2025
Media release - New Zealand Government | A project that looks to harness the potential of supercritical geothermal energy is amongst 19 ambitious science programmes the Government is backing, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.
Watts full-throated in National’s support for Paris
Wed 10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts came to this week’s Climate Change and Business Conference with nothing to announce.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
‘Plastic Cup’ competitions are cleaning up rivers in Hungary
1 Sep 2025
Afloat on DIY boats, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube and its tributaries.
Trump sends fracking CEO to Europe to sell climate denial—and gas
Today 11:30am
Debunking some of Chris Wright's most egregious lies.
Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says
8 Sep 2025
Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 12 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Climate adaptation discussions descended into political squabbling at a recent conference; New Zealand may find itself no longer trusted by allies if it ditches climate goals; and are we living through the fastest energy transformation in human history?
Polar geoengineering ideas 'dangerous'
Wed 10 Sep 2025
Geoengineering will not save the polar regions from catastrophic meltdown, according to an expert.
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’.
Ara Ake backs 13 projects to unlock NZ’s energy flexibility
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Media release | Ara Ake has approved over $600,000 in funding from the National Flex Discovery Fund for 13 flexibility service providers (FSPs).
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.
Most EU carmakers on track to meet emission targets: study
Wed 10 Sep 2025
Almost all European carmakers are on track to meet EU emission targets after winning a reprieve this year as electric vehicles (EV) sales pick up, a study showed.
Hotter, longer, more frequent: NZ’s escalating heat risk
26 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Heat extremes in New Zealand will intensify faster than previously thought, according to a new study.
Echo Tech secures growth investment to tackle NZ's e-waste crisis
Today 11:30am
Media release | Echo Tech Limited, New Zealand’s leading provider of e-waste recycling and IT asset recovery services, is proud to announce a strategic investment from growth equity firm Altered Capital.
La Niña set to prolong NZ hydro shortfall
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With La Niña favouring a drier-than-normal spring across much of the South Island, hydro lakes are unlikely to recover without substantial rain and late snowmelt – keeping national storage levels below average.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Which countries are scaling solar and wind the fastest?
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The leaderboard is quite different depending on what metric you look at.
