Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Fiscal forecast: ETS will lose Govt $121m net in first commitment period
23 May 2008
The Government will allocate $2,151 million in emission credits and earn $2,030 million from them in the first Kyoto commitment period, making a net loss of $121 million.
Financiers: Is Kyoto factored into Contact Energy?
23 May 2008
Representatives of several international financial services organisations with operations in New Zealand believe that the value of the climate change regime has not been factored into the value of Contact Energy.
Australia debates leaving petrol out of ETS
23 May 2008
A major debate is underway in Australia on leaving petrol out of its emissions trading scheme.
EU move toward carbon labelling all imports a major wake up call for New Zealand
23 May 2008
An overnight move by the European Parliament to adopt a report which calls for carbon footprint labels on all goods and services could have major implications for New Zealand’s traders.
Cullen quizzed on multi-billion ETS surplus from sale of credits
23 May 2008
The Government will make a net revenue gain from the emissions trading system of up to about $159 million a year between 2013 and 2018 - $795 million over five years - and "perhaps" $1b to $1.5 b a year out to 2030.
Greens get warm, energy-efficient houses in Budget win
23 May 2008
Almost $100 million has been secured in the Budget by the Green Party fore measures which includ increasing the energy-efficiency of New Zealand homes, making it the party’s largest-ever Budget package.
PM visits cutting edge Hyundai research and development centre.
23 May 2008
Prime Minister Helen Clark visited the Hyundai research and development centre in Namyang, South Korea, on Saturday, 16 May.
Food crisis, climate change and influenza main health threats says UN
23 May 2008
The global food crisis, climate change and pandemic influenza are the main threats to human health, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).
Keep your hat on Mam: Queen invests in biggest wind turbine
23 May 2008
The Queen is investing is the world's biggest wind turbine.
BP: We've slashed emissions 24% below 2003 levels
23 May 2008
BP says it has cut its GHG emissions 24% below their 2003 level.
EU Parliament backs report calling for carbon information on imports
22 May 2008
The EU Parliament early this morning NZ time voted 566-61 for a report which says consumers must be given better information about the carbon footprint of goods imported into the 27-nation bloc.
Leadership forum to front select committee on ETS
22 May 2008
The Leadership Forum on Climate Change will be the next group to front-up to the Parliamentary select committee as jockeying continues over who will and will not support the climate change bill that will bring in the emissions trading scheme.
Business-as-usual Budget for climate change
22 May 2008
Today’s Budget will not be the big-bang for the environment that Australians experienced with their Budget last week, but will contain some steady-as-she-goes policy continuation.
Govt's moratorium won't affect electricity supply - Caygill
22 May 2008
A moratorium on new thermal power plants is unlikely to affect security of supply, says the Electricity Commission.
ANALYSIS: National delivers heavy emitting friends into tougher hands
22 May 2008
National’s decision to abandon support for the emissions trading bill has effectively delivered more power to parties wanting a tougher line on heavy emitters.
UN world climate change leaders to address business people at Auckland
22 May 2008
Two of the world’s foremost authorities on managing climate change will be joined by the Prime Minister Helen Clark and New Zealand business leaders at Auckland events to mark World Environment Day on June 4.
UK Minister: carbon trading works, 100% business compliance
22 May 2008
The final UK results for the first phase of the EU Emissions Trading System, which ended in December 2007, demonstrated that carbon trading can work and helped to cement the UK’s role at the centre of the global carbon market, according to Environment Minister Phil Woolas.
New research: Green labels have major impact consumer behaviour
22 May 2008
Certain labels and certifications that garner higher awareness and understanding, in part driven by their longevity in the marketplace, are the most impactful to consumers, according to Natural Marketing Institute’s 2007 LOHAS Consumer Trends Database.
Luxury travel gathering said to be NZ's biggest carbon neutral event
22 May 2008
The countdown is on to New Zealand’s biggest tourism event, which is also New Zealand’s biggest carbon neutral event – TRENZ 2008 – kicking off in Rotorua on Monday 26 May.
The UK carbon label threat and opportunity: 70% of shoppers notice it
22 May 2008
Seven out of 10 consumers in the UK say new carbon labels on food are making them more aware of the environmental impact of the products and services they are buying.
Investment in coastal shipping welcomed
22 May 2008
The Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation (CBAFF) has welcomed Transport Minister Annette King’s announcement of $36 million funding to help revitalise coastal shipping in New Zealand.
Behind Latin America's Food Crisis
22 May 2008
By Laura Carlsen , Americas Program, Center for International Policy (CIP) . -Even a year ago, few people would have predicted that a global food crisis would make headlines as one of the major concerns for the future of the world.
200 local authorities targeted for NZ$150m power bill cut, emissions fall
22 May 2008
The UK's Carbon Trust now working with more than 200 local authorities to cut carbon and slash energy bills.
Ka kite Rio Tinto….kia ora ETS
21 May 2008
The Maori Party has launched a stinging attack on big businesses that it says are trying to bully the Government into transferring the cost of their greenhouse-gas emissions on to taxpayers, suggesting that the party is going to give the Government the numbers to pass the emissions trading scheme into law.
ETS bill vote support scenarios favour bill’s passage
21 May 2008
Labour could carry its emissions trading bill through the House with a maximum of 70 votes to 51 if it gathers the support of its current coalition partners and independent MP Taito Phillip Field.
Smith: Labour needs to come clean on multi-billion dollar ETS windfall profits
21 May 2008
National yesterday again challenged the Government to release the official papers that reveal just how much the Government is set to profit from the emissions trading scheme, saying it is "apalled" it has been denied leave to table official documents in Parliament.
Get soil recognised as carbon storer, say scientists
21 May 2008
Scientists working on quantifying the carbon-storage potential of New Zealand soils are urging officials to start work now on getting soil recognised in the next round of climate-change protocols.
Major move to shift 30% of inter-regional freight to sea
21 May 2008
The Government has announced a $36 million investment to revitalise coastal shipping, to slash land transport fuel use and emissions.
Deforestation Risk Overstated
21 May 2008
Fears that a temporary delay in the passage of the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill could lead to significant deforestation are unfounded, according to the Flexible Land Use Alliance.
Top climate change academics shun National's bid to delay ETS
21 May 2008
An academic group from Victoria University's Institute of Policy Studies has come out publicly with "several arguments" why the legislation should not be deferred.
Google Earth powers up to show impacts of climate change
21 May 2008
Millions of Google Earth users around the world will be able to see how climate change could affect the planet and its people over the next century, along with viewing the loss of Antarctic ice shelves over the last 50 years, thanks to a new project launched yesterday.
Now its "go vege" and save the planet?
21 May 2008
A vegan group is now proclaiming a link between diet and climate change, and urging New Zealanders to "go vegie" and save the plant.
Unlike Kiwis, four in 10 Tokyo residents won't sacrifice to fight climate change
21 May 2008
More than four in 10 Tokyo residents -- 41.6 percent -- say they "don't want to sacrifice a convenient lifestyle to prevent global warming," according to the poll results published recently by Japanese advertising agency Hakuhodo.
EMA applauds plan to "pause" ETS
21 May 2008
The Employers and Manufacturers Association Northern supports the need for New Zealand to have a robust policy to combat man-made contributions to greenhouse gases.
One, two, tree … big emitter counts on the children
20 May 2008
One of our biggest carbon emitters is launching a campaign to get New Zealanders to reduce energy use – and is using children to do it.
Charles: We've got 18 months to stop climate change disaster
20 May 2008
The Prince of Wales has warned that the world faces a series of natural disasters within 18 months unless urgent action is taken to save the rainforests.
Expert warns climate change will lead to 'barbarisation'
20 May 2008
Climate change will lead to a "fortress world" in which the rich lock themselves away in gated communities and the poor must fend for themselves in shattered environments, unless governments act quickly to curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to the vice-president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Google Earth maps climate change hotspots
20 May 2008
Google Earth is tracking the effects of climate change following a collaboration with the UK government, the Met Office and the British Antarctic Survey.
Changing climate threatens Europe's prized black truffles
20 May 2008
The black truffle, one of the most exclusive and expensive delicacies on the planet, is under threat from climate change.
Brazilian companies announce global warming game plan
20 May 2008
The Brazil Greenhouse Gas Protocol Program has been launched today and its 12 founding corporate members have voluntarily agreed to report their global-warming emissions.
Who pays for climate change?
20 May 2008
OPINION: New Zealand Centre for Political Research.- Last week the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment came out in support of the Government's Emissions Trading Bill as the gateway to a 'carbon-constrained future':
Let’s cool it, says Key, and sends ETS into a spin
19 May 2008
The National Party has kicked the emissions trading scheme into touch, saying it won’t support the bill in its present form and wants to delay passing it until after the election.
Process all above board, says ETS chair Chauvel
19 May 2008
Finance and expenditure select committee chair Charles Chauvel is defending the way in which the committee has dealt with the climate change bill, and says that work is on schedule to report back to Parliament next month.
Nats could be punished, say environment groups
19 May 2008
Environment groups are warning the National Party that it could be punished at the ballot box for failing to take decisive action on climate change.
Brown’s climate aid millions turn out to be loans - with interest
19 May 2008
Britain’s £800 million international project to help the world's poorest countries adapt to climate change is under fire after it emerged almost all the money offered by Prime Minister Gordon Brown will have to be repaid with interest.
Ice cores show greenhouse gases have never been at higher level
19 May 2008
The newest analysis of trace gases trapped in Antarctic ice cores now provide a reasonable view of greenhouse gas concentrations as much as 800,000 years into the past, and are further confirming the link between greenhouse gas levels and global warming, scientists reported the journal Nature.
30-year trial shows organic farming is the way to go
19 May 2008
A 30-year scientific trial shows that organic practices could counteract up to 40 per cent of global greenhouse gas output.
Regulating greenhouse gases will generate a lot of money -- who should get it?
19 May 2008
A US climate-change bill that has widespread support as it heads to the Senate floor will create an estimated $150 billion of new assets in the first year it takes effect.
Research links fertiliser to huge increase in nitrogen emissions
19 May 2008
Agricultural fertilisers washed into the ocean are causing an eightfold increase in emissions of one of the worst greenhouse gases, according to new research published in the journal Science.
ETS will trim Kyoto bill $909 million, pushes Key further out on policy tightrope
16 May 2008
The emissions trading scheme will avoid a 15 to 50 million tonne rise in emissions between 2008 and 2012, Climate Change Issues Minister David Parker has told Parliament, in what appears to a ground preparing statement ahead of National leader John Key’s ETS policy announcement this Sunday.
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.
