Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Holcim wants access to "hot-air" AAUs
7 Apr 2008
Big-emitting private companies, no less than the Government, should be allowed to source hot-air Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) from eastern Europe to meet their emissions trading scheme (ETS) liabilities, according to the energy and climate change group manager for cement manufacturer Holcim, Michael Rynne.
All but ACT voters back 10 year ban on new thermal generation
7 Apr 2008
New polling due out this morning shows 58% of New Zealanders back the Government’s proposed ban on building new baseload thermal power plants during the next 10 years.
Minister: There's a place for nuclear
7 Apr 2008
The UK’s Trade Minister says he knows New Zealand is a nuclear free society – “and I don’t want to interfere in your affairs” – but Britain sees a balanced approach to future energy sources, including nuclear, as the right solution.
UK Trade Minister: tariffs threat could gain momentum if market doesn’t work
7 Apr 2008
Britain’s Trade and Investment Minister, Lord Digby Jones, has told business executives in Auckland that if the market has not got carbon priced right by 2012, the calls to impose border taxes on goods from countries not paying for emissions could gain momentum.
Study confirms 50% CO2 reduction from use of home-grown biodiesel
7 Apr 2008
High-quality biodiesel from oilseed rape, grown and produced in the South Island by Biodiesel New Zealand, is sustainable, emitting around 50% less carbon dioxide over its life cycle than mineral diesel.
Swiss company says it has clean air solution
7 Apr 2008
Swiss company Clear Air says it has a solution available now to cut carbon dioxide emissions produced from the combusting fossil fuels. .
NCDEX –launching developing world's first CER trading platform
7 Apr 2008
National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd, of India, will launch a futures contract for Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) on April 10.
Hello Auckland? Anyone home on climate change?
7 Apr 2008
The City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz announced on the first of April that the City would join the international organization The °Climate Group.
Energy users' Group: Consumers and business will pay $600m for ETS
7 Apr 2008
New Zealand consumers and businesses will pay nearly $600 million more in 2009 than their Australian counterparts because of the misalignment in timing of the New Zealand and Australian Emissions Trading Schemes, according to the Major Electricity Users’ Group (MEUG).
Simple standard will deliver net bio-fuel gains - Fitzsimons
4 Apr 2008
A single sustainability standard written into the emissions trading scheme (ETS) legislation would ensure bio-fuels sourced from overseas represented a net benefit to the environment, Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said.
Parliamentary Commissioner: Biofuel Bill should not proceed
4 Apr 2008
The Biofuel Bill currently before Parliament should not proceed in its current form, says Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright.
Dunne: slam the brakes on biofuels
4 Apr 2008
UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne has joined the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in urging the Government and all parties to slow down and consider the real effects of the Biofuel Bill currently before Parliament.
Climate change "motorway" to higher value production
4 Apr 2008
The effects of climate change are one of the greatest threats we face, Agriculture Minister Jim Adnerton has told the Large Herds Association conference at New Plymouth. If we handle it the right way, it will also be our motorway to higher value production.
Roundtable: Proceed With Great Care: Emissions Trading
4 Apr 2008
Proceed With Great Care: Emissions Trading Proposal Has Costly, Risky, Far-reaching Consequences
Mallard speech: Sustainable development at a sustainable price
4 Apr 2008
Here is the full keynote speech of Environment Minister Trevor Mallard, presented yesteray to Planning Institute members conferencing in Greymouth.
18 states due EPA to force vehicle emission regulation
4 Apr 2008
Eighteen states are suing the EPA in an attempt to force it to comply with a Supreme Court ruling in April that found the EPA has authority to regulate vehicle emissions, AP reports.
Speculation on MPs’ climate scepticism ‘disgraceful’
3 Apr 2008
It was “disgraceful” that Television New Zealand (TVNZ) should lead a news bulletin on “speculation” that senior National Party MPs Lockwood Smith and Maurice Williamson were climate change sceptics, the party’s climate change spokesperson, Nick Smith, told Carbon News last night.
BILL HEARINGS - NZ ETS "toughest and potentially most expensive" in the world:
3 Apr 2008
New Zealand’s proposed emissions trading scheme is the toughest and potentially most expensive in the world, according to the Greenhouse Policy Coalition.
A slippery sort of "come out of the closet day" of climate change politics
3 Apr 2008
While the select committee opened up its hearings on the climate change bill at Parliament yesterday, senior Ministers launched a fusillade of statements questioning National’s position on climate change, including trying to get some “slippery” mud to stick to John Key.
Consultation on climate change measures continues
3 Apr 2008
Climate Change Minister David Parker has welcomed the start of the next round of public engagement on the Labour-led government's important climate change policy of emissions trading.
GHGPC: Emissions Trading - at what cost?
3 Apr 2008
In a presentation to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee hearing submissions on the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill, the Greenhouse Policy coalition, representing the energy intensive sector, had the following to say.
Professor reviewing forestry offset scheme proposal
3 Apr 2008
The Flexible Land Use Alliance has appointed Professor Lewis Evans to review a draft report by the University of Waikato and Covec on proposed changes to the forestry components of the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill, including the introduction of a Forestry Offset Scheme.
Parker: Full trans-Tasman ETS harmonisation only one option
2 Apr 2008
EXCLUSIVE - New Zealand does not need to integrate its emissions trading scheme (ETS) with Australia’s for it to work efficiently, Climate Change Minister David Parker told Carbon News yesterday.
Greens won't back off ban on new thermal baseload power
2 Apr 2008
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has told Carbon News she will not back off a proposed 10 year ban on new baseload thermal power generation.
Treasury report suggests thermal ban will increases costs
2 Apr 2008
The New Zealand Business Roundtable has released a 15 February 2008 Treasury Report , discovered under the Official Information Act, which it and other business groups say shows the proposed ban on new baseload thermal power will impose uncessary costs.
Who's first up at ETS and thermal power ban bill hearings today
2 Apr 2008
Hearings into the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill begin today before the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.
New ceramics slash fuel costs, emissions
2 Apr 2008
New ceramic technology could cut commercial vehicle fuel costs and carbon emissions by as much as 20%, according to a study by Australia’s Murdoch University.
No timeframe on exploiting southern lignite fields
2 Apr 2008
Solid Energy (SE) is going to use its huge Otago-Southland lignite coal resource eventually – it’s just not sure when, according to the state-owned collier’s chairman, John Palmer.
Trans-tasman biotech projects receive $3.8 million
2 Apr 2008
Three trans-Tasman biotechnology projects will receive a total of $3.8 million in grants under the Australia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership Fund.
Bangkok talks warned little time remains for climate change solution
2 Apr 2008
UN Climate Change Talks began Monday in Bangkok with warnings that little time remains for international community to negotiate 2009 Copenhagen agreement.
Clark, Rudd to jointly address Auckland climate change conference
2 Apr 2008
Both Helen Clark and Kevin Rudd are to address a major trans-Tasman climate change business conference to be held in Auckland.
Air NZ backs ETS - but wants carbon price cap
1 Apr 2008
Air New Zealand chairman John Palmer can understand the opposition of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to aviation being included in global emissions trading schemes (ETSs), but agrees New Zealand’s should cover as much of the economy as possible.
Aquaflow makes crucial algae biofuel breakthroughs
1 Apr 2008
Two further major breakthroughs have been achieved by Blenheim-based Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation which has been working on world-leading technology to convert wild algae to biofuel.
Ex KPMG parnters launch certification company in New Zealand Market
1 Apr 2008
An alleged inability of many of New Zealand's primary industries to provide independent information about their business practices is behind the London-based GoodCorporation's anno8uncement yesterday that it will launch in this market.
No need for NZ to drag feet on biofuels
1 Apr 2008
New Zealand shouldn’t delay bringing in biofuel sales obligations and miss out on cutting greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels says a major potential investor.
Solar industries welcome National subsidy boost
1 Apr 2008
The Solar Industries Association welcomes the possibility of increased support for solar water heating as announced by the Hon Dr Nick Smith MP, National Party Climate Change Spokesman.
Skids under government’s bio-fuels mandate
31 Mar 2008
It looks increasingly likely that the Labour-led Government’s mandate for petrol and diesel to contain 3.4% of bio-ingredients from July 1 will be shelved – possibly for as long as it takes to develop second-generation bio-fuels.
Air miles, buy-local campaigns “insidious, sinister”
31 Mar 2008
Air miles and buy-local campaigns are “insidious, even sinister” trade protectionist barriers set up under cover of the battle against climate change, former World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Mike Moore told Carbon News.
Parker pooh-poohs 50% power hike report
31 Mar 2008
Self-interest is behind warnings that the Government’s 10-year ban on the construction of thermal power stations will hike power prices 50%, Climate Change Minister David Parker says.
Bio-fuels threaten food catastrophe
31 Mar 2008
The world is now just two years away from a food catastrophe caused in part by diversion of land-use to feed cars rather than people, according to a leading Indian academic.
Australia leads way in sea-bed carbon storage
31 Mar 2008
Australia, a new convert to climate change environmentalism, hopes to lead the world in establishing a regulated carbon capture and storage regime, with the sea-bed being the key storage site.
Wind farmers tilt at gas power for pushing up prices
31 Mar 2008
To say the 90% renewable energy target will be directly responsible for increased electricity prices ignores current electricity price trends, say Fraser Clark, CEO of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association.
Solar water heating grant to double under National
31 Mar 2008
A future National Government would introduce a $1,000 per household solar water heating grant and simplify the complex building consent rules for solar water heating in order to double the number of systems, says National's Climate Change spokesman, Nick Smith.
Forum explores low-carbon futures for local government
31 Mar 2008
“Innovative and forward-thinking councils committed to working on climate change will come together to discuss low-carbon futures for local government at the Communities for Climate Protection®- New Zealand 2008 Forum,” said Diana Shand, National Programme Manager for ICLEI’s Communities for Climate Protection - New Zealand (CCP-NZ) Programme.
Parker says Smith wrong on grand-parenting phase-out
28 Mar 2008
Climate Change Minister David Parker says National spokesperson Nick Smith is wrong to suggest that the European Union (EU) is going to continue grand-parenting its high-emitting industries after 2020.
Ballance: Nitrification inhibitor use tracked by software
28 Mar 2008
Ballance Agri-Nutrient’s nitrification inhibitor science is now recognised by the wider agricultural industry.
Right-Wing Council's Agenda is to Deny Climate Change
28 Mar 2008
City Vision-Labour Councillors are dismayed but unsurprised that Auckland's right-wing Citizens and Ratepayers (C&R) Council has done a U-turn on climate change by systematically removing progressive actions and programmes initiated by the last Council from Dick Hubbard's Mayoral Taskforce on Sustainability.
Massive emission savings possible with supply chain changes
27 Mar 2008
As New Zealand businesses start measuring emissions and prepare to face a price on carbon, and new whole-of-supply chain carbon footprint concept could save big companies millions.
Top business speakers appearing at carbon market workshop
27 Mar 2008
Experienced carbon market taders will feature at a Ministry for the Environment and Emissions Trading Group Carbon Markets Workshop in Wellington on April 4.
Fifty years of observations, no reversal of glacier climate damage
Tue 31 Mar 2026
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Fifty years on from the first aerial survey of our Southern Alps glaciers, late snow and variable summer weather delivered a temporary reprieve from rapid ice loss, says Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
Mon 30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
Fri 27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
What does India’s new Paris Agreement pledge mean for climate action?
Tue 31 Mar 2026
India has set a new target to reduce its “emissions intensity” – greenhouse gas emissions per unit of economic output – to 47% below 2005 levels by 2035.
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
Thu 26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
Japan considers switch from LNG to coal
Tue 31 Mar 2026
Japan is considering ramping up coal-fired power generation amid a liquefied natural gas crunch that has led to significantly higher prices.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
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.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Europe’s energy illusion: Why a €1 trillion green bet hasn’t broken the import habit
Tue 31 Mar 2026
The war with Iran is exposing a hard truth – Europe’s green push has left it no less dependent on imported energy.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
‘Stop burning fossil fuels’ pleads scientist as extreme rain causes floods yet again
Fri 27 Mar 2026
Northland and Auckland have again been lashed by heavy rain, with hundreds of people evacuated last night because of extensive flooding in the Far North, and some areas hit by more than a month's average rainfall in just 24 hours.
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.
MfE forecasts suggest diminishing NZU stockpile
19 Mar 2026
By Clive Bradbury | ANALYSIS: The Ministry for the Environment has updated its NZ ETS forecasts of emissions, removals and entitlements from the Crown's financial forecasting, with predictions pointing to a significant drop in the ‘stockpile’ this year.
Open letter: NZ needs an essential use allocation plan for fuel – now
Mon 30 Mar 2026
Wise Response Society | We are writing to make one demand: the government must publish a quantified, ranked essential use allocation plan for fuel - with litres-per-day allocations, tied to actual onshore stock levels and realistic resupply assumptions.
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.”
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
Tue 31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
9 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
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.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
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.
Govt process to change climate plan ‘fundamentally flawed’, says judge
18 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government’s 2024 changes to New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan was “as fundamentally flawed a process as I think I have ever seen”, the judge presiding in a case challenging climate change decision-making has said.
Cleantech expo coming to Auckland
Thu 26 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s first national cleantech expo is set to bring together 30 innovators, in what organisers say is the country’s fastest growing area in the tech sector.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
Mon 30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Close questioning over ‘ministerial latitude’ at climate hearing
17 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Lawyers challenging the legality of the government’s emissions reduction plans faced close questioning on the limits of ministerial foresight in the first of three days of hearings at the Wellington High Court yesterday.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Cost of living dominates Kiwis’ concerns – but sustainability still shapes trust, choices and expectations of business
Mon 30 Mar 2026
Media release: Sustainable Business Council | The cost of living continues to emerge as New Zealanders’ top concern - yet sustainability continues to play a decisive role in how people judge businesses, according to new research.
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Balcony solar is spreading across the US
Tue 31 Mar 2026
The balcony solar movement is running hot in Germany, and now it is spreading into the US like gangbusters, just in time for US President Donald Trump’s war in Iran to send the cost of coal through the roof alongside oil and natural gas.
World-leading plasma torch takes aim at NZ's most potent greenhouse gases
24 Mar 2026
Media release | A high-tech plasma torch was lit up today as Minister of Conservation, Hon Tama Potaka, officially opened the $10 million National Refrigerant Destruction Facility – signalling a new era in addressing the environmental impact of New Zealand’s most potent greenhouse gases.
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.
Why the Iran war may have just killed the AI boom
Thu 26 Mar 2026
The $1.5 trillion in committed AI infrastructure spending by major tech companies is built on an assumption of a functional global supply chain, which the Iran conflict has fundamentally broken.
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.
Two Australian states offer free public transport as war pushes up fuel prices
Mon 30 Mar 2026
Public transport in two Australian states will be made free to incentivise people not to drive as fuel prices soar due to the war in the Middle East.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
6 Mar 2026
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
