Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Did 2021 deal a fatal blow to climate change denial?
22 Dec 2021
Data and extreme weather events are making it harder than ever to ignore our warming world. But climate change denial has also taken on a new form.
Papua New Guinea’s tides expose climate risks
21 Dec 2021
Earlier this month, parts of Papua New Guinea experienced a surge in king tides that flooded communities and displaced approximately 53,000 people. For PNG – facing more than double the global average in annual sea level rise – the worst is yet to come.
Billionaire space flights a carbon bomb that will destroy the planet: Jacobin
21 Dec 2021
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are dead set on expanding commercial space flight — even though a single person taking one of their carbon-spewing joy rides will produce more pollution in a few minutes than people belonging to 1/8th of the world population will in their entire lives.
The ‘doomsday’ glacier is on the brink of collapse
20 Dec 2021
One of the ever-looming threats of climate change is sea level rise, which already threatens to displace millions of people worldwide and force them to move inland by the end of the century. A big part of the rising water levels are hotter temperatures at the poles—home to giant glaciers and ice shelves that hold crucial quantities of frozen H2O.
Activists demand Indonesian climate leadership during G20 presidency
20 Dec 2021
Indonesia should use its year-long Group of 20 presidency to lead member countries in the delivery of their climate commitments, youth activists have said.
ETS revenue should be returned to the people: NZ Initiative
17 Dec 2021
The government is missing a chance to make the ETS progressive by not returning its revenues to ordinary New Zealanders in the form of a dividend, NZ Initiative economist Matt Burgess says.
The year in climate: The New Yorker
17 Dec 2021
This year, a lot of the things we’ve come to expect with the climate crisis happened: there were heavy rains (New York City beat its rainfall record twice in eleven days); there was a big global conference (this one in Glasgow) with modest results; the price of renewable energy fell some more; and a record amount of solar power and wind power was produced, but not at a pace fast enough to catch up with climate change.
UN confirms record 38C temperature for the Arctic
15 Dec 2021
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that a temperature of 38 degrees reached in a Siberian town last year was a record for the Arctic.
Climate change likely played a role in deadly US tornadoes
15 Dec 2021
The series of weekend tornadoes that ripped through the parts of the US this weekend adds to another stretch of deadly and potentially unprecedented weather disasters that plagued the planet this year. Meteorologists and climate scientists say the latest outbreak is historic.
Courts around the world have made strong climate rulings – not so in New Zealand
14 Dec 2021
University of Waikato associate professor of law Nathan Cooper says New Zealand courts are lagging behind their international counterparts in forcing stronger action on emission reductions.
Germany approves billions for climate, modernisation fund
14 Dec 2021
The German government on Monday approved 60 billion euros (NZ$114 billion) in funding to be used for combating climate change and modernizing the country, a move that the new finance minister described as a “booster” for Europe's biggest economy.
‘2.4C is a death sentence’: Vanessa Nakate’s fight for the forgotten countries of the climate crisis
14 Dec 2021
She started a youth strike in Uganda – then just kept going. She discusses climate justice, reparations, imperialism and why the global north must take responsibility
Who will be the judge of countries' climate plans?
13 Dec 2021
Countries have until the end of next year to ensure their climate commitments meet the Paris agreement's cap on global warming. But who will check that their promises really do stack up?
Land and water ecosystems, 'stressed to a critical point': FAO
13 Dec 2021
Land and water resources are “stressed to a critical point”, following significant deterioration over the past decade, according to a major new report released on Thursday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Boost for Tuvalu's economic, social and climate resilience
10 Dec 2021
Tuvalu will receive a significant boost with the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approving a US$17.5 million commitment to support its ongoing climate adaptation efforts.
Climate threats are multiplying in the Horn of Africa
10 Dec 2021
Jutting out from the second-largest continent, the Horn of Africa is one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to climate change. The four countries on the peninsula—Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia—are warming more quickly than the global average, with dangerous implications for unrest and conflict within and across their borders.
Canterbury floods more severe due to climate change
10 Dec 2021
Media Release - Researchers studying the effects of climate change on severe weather events in New Zealand have found that the extreme rainfall that brought flooding to Canterbury in May 2021 was 10% to 15% more intense as a result of human influence on the climate system.
Climate change a threat to New Zealand sovereignty: secretary of defence
9 Dec 2021
The challenges of climate change are increasing and unchecked pose a threat to New Zealand’s sovereignty, secretary of defence Andrew Bridgeman says in his forward to the just released He Moana Pukepuke E Ekengia E Te Waka – Defence Assessment 2021.
Unanimous support for sending Auckland climate tax proposal to consultation
9 Dec 2021
Auckland city councillors have voted unanimously to have the proposed Climate Action Targeted Rate go out for consultation as part of the annual budget process due to begin in late February.
Why climate lawsuits are surging
9 Dec 2021
Activists are increasingly suing governments and companies to take action against climate change – and winning. Could this be a turning point?
The ‘idea’: Uncovering the peatlands of the Congo Basin
9 Dec 2021
The notion seemed straightforward: A massive swamp in the Congo Basin relatively unknown to most of the world, apart from a few human communities and a bewildering array of wildlife, could be the ideal spot for a carbon-rich soil known as peat.
2021's weather disasters brought home the reality of climate change
8 Dec 2021
From punishing heat in North America to record-breaking floods in Europe and Asia, this year’s weather showed us what it looks like to live in a world that has warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius over the past century.
A giant 'black box' will gather all climate data for future civilizations to learn from
8 Dec 2021
Every time new climate research is published, news headlines are posted or tweets are shared, a giant steel box perched on a granite plain in the Australian state of Tasmania will be recording it all.
Scientists join Swiss hunger strike to raise climate alarm
8 Dec 2021
In early November, as politicians promised more climate action in their opening speeches at the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow, Guillermo Fernandez started a hunger strike in Switzerland’s Federal Square, saying he wouldn’t eat again until the Swiss Federal Assembly agreed to a climate science briefing.
Wealthy people cause climate change much more than poorer people do: report
8 Dec 2021
The disparity in greenhouse gas emissions between rich and poor countries — and rich and poor people within countries — is just as extreme as economic inequality, a new report finds.
Bluegreens co-chair Scott Simpson returns to climate change role
7 Dec 2021
Scott Simpson, the co-chair of the National Party’s Bluegreen advisory group, is back as the party's climate change spokesperson following the reshuffle by new leader Christopher Luxon.
Biden administration chose incremental change over sweeping climate action
7 Dec 2021
On the Friday after Thanksgiving—a day the federal government notoriously reserves for dropping politically inexpedient information—activists were blindsided by a long-anticipated report from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The document was a review of the agency’s oil and gas leasing program, which manages fossil fuel extraction on federal public lands and waters.
Climate migration will worsen the brutality in the Mediterranean: opinion
7 Dec 2021
In July 2018, an Italian-flagged oil supply ship called the Asso Ventotto that was crossing the Mediterranean Sea encountered a stalled rubber raft carrying 101 desperate migrants.
Free tree for every Welsh household in climate initiative
7 Dec 2021
Some will plant a modest fruit tree in their small back garden while those with more space might plump for a sapling that will, hopefully, grow into a mighty oak.
James Hansen calls bullshit on contemporary climate change claims
6 Dec 2021
Scientist James Hansen is often credited with alerting the world to the dangers of climate change, now he's calling bullshit on much of what's being said on the topic.
4 new myths about climate change—and how to debunk them
6 Dec 2021
Ten years ago, it may have seemed like climate change denial was an ordinary, if not misinformed, opinion shared among loads of people. Nowadays, with climate disasters plaguing most everywhere in the world, it’s not so practical to live in denial. As of September 2021, only one in every 10 Americans thinks climate change isn’t happening, but around three out of every four believes it is.
These 11 countries could face extreme instability from climate change: U.S. intelligence
2 Dec 2021
The nation’s collective intelligence community identified 11 countries vulnerable to geopolitical instability due to climate change in its first-ever National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change report.
Is colonial history repeating itself with Sabah forest carbon deal?
2 Dec 2021
To the surprise of Indigenous and local communities, a huge forest carbon conservation agreement was recently signed in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo.
Australia's emissions down but not by enough: Climate Council
1 Dec 2021
THE RACE IS ON to respond to accelerating climate change with rapid and deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions this decade, but the latest federal government data shows Australia’s pollution is only creeping down
A way to reduce air pollution deaths as climate change mitigation goals are set
1 Dec 2021
A team of researchers from China and the U.S. has found that it should be possible to dramatically reduce deaths due to air pollution over the coming decades if climate mitigation strategies are designed with short-term health improvements in mind.
James Shaw's response to Newsweek article
30 Nov 2021
Climate change minister James Shaw has responded to a Newsweek ranking that placed New Zealand 16th on a list of the 20 least ambitious countries in tackling the climate crises.
Newsweek ranks New Zealand among the 20 least ambitious countries on climate
29 Nov 2021
New Zealand has been ranked 16th worst – one place above Saudi Arabia – in a list of the 20 least ambitious countries on climate published by Newsweek yesterday.
Film of polar bear eating reindeer seen as evidence of climate change
29 Nov 2021
Rare footage of a polar bear chasing a reindeer into the water and killing it could be another stark indication of climate change.
To win the new climate war, we need a new strategy: book review
29 Nov 2021
The well-known US climatologist Michael E. Mann is no pussyfooter. He likes to provoke, which makes his new book downright entertaining.
No accountability for US carbon bootprint
29 Nov 2021
Why are some emissions entirely absent in climate negotiations? This is not simply a matter of whether to address them — but whether they are accounted for at all.
Emissions Reduction Plan falls well short: Wise Response Society
29 Nov 2021
The overall emissions budget proposed by the Ministry for the Environment is not nearly ambitious enough,’ says Chair of the Wise Response Society, Prof. Liz Slooten. ‘The IPCC requirement to keep global warming to 1.5C by 2030 means a median reduction of 45%. New Zealand should have an emissions reduction budget of 60%.’
The Arctic Ocean began warming decades earlier than previously thought
26 Nov 2021
The Arctic Ocean has been warming since the onset of the 20th century, decades earlier than instrument observations would suggest, according to new research.
How to cope in a world of climate disasters, trauma and anxiety: Yale psychologist
26 Nov 2021
Climate change is changing how human beings live on the earth as floods, wildfires and extreme weather change the land and destroy property.
China's carbon emissions fall for first time since COVID lockdowns: report
26 Nov 2021
China's CO2 emissions fell in the third quarter for the first time since the country reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns, research published Thursday showed, in what experts said could mark a carbon "turning point" for the country.
Is Norway a climate hypocrite?
26 Nov 2021
In many ways, Norway is exceptionally green. About 95% of its electricity comes from hydropower, and nearly all the rest from other renewables such as thermal and wind.
More ambition needed: green business leaders
25 Nov 2021
The Sustainable Business Council and Climate Leaders Coalition say urgent action is required to convert the country’s climate ambition to concrete action.
Pledges not enough to keep warming below 2 degrees
25 Nov 2021
In the aftermath of the United Nations’ annual climate conference earlier this month, scientists have a sobering message: The world still is not on track to meet its international climate goals.
New Zealand’s climate change regulation is messy and complex – here’s how to improve it
24 Nov 2021
Waikato University associate professor of law Nathan Cooper says the Emissions Reduction Plan provides the perfect opportunity to align New Zealand's national and international climate targets.
Corporate net zero targets: Greenwashing or genuine climate action?
24 Nov 2021
From Big Oil to Big Tech, major companies are promising to go net zero and wash away their carbon sins. But critics say the corporate climate pledges are a smokescreen.
Canada’s tar sands challenge the existence of land and people
24 Nov 2021
The first mine opened when Jean L’Hommecourt was a young girl, an open pit where an oil company had begun digging in the sandy soil for a black, viscous form of crude called bitumen.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
Tue 22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
Greenpeace hails Italy court ruling allowing climate lawsuit against energy company to go ahead
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Italy’s highest court has ruled that a lawsuit brought by climate activists against Italian energy company ENI and its government shareholders can go ahead.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
EU wants to see China take more ambitious climate action
15 Jul 2025
The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal.
Forestry can be a big plus for sheep and beef farmers – but there are caveats
Tue 22 Jul 2025
By Keith Woodford | OPINION: These are good times for sheep and beef farmers with record product prices for meat, which is precisely why now is the time for sheep and beef farmers to be looking again at farm forestry.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Media round-up
Fri 25 Jul 2025
In our round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Dairy conversions surge; Gore is hit with a drinking water crisis; meanwhile farming lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sector.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Extreme weather events are the new frontline of online climate denial – report
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Climate science deniers are flooding social media with false claims during extreme weather events, drowning out reliable information and putting lives at risk.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
Thu 24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
SBTi releases Net Zero Standard for banks, investors
Thu 24 Jul 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative announced the release of its finalised Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, aimed at enabling banks and investors to set net zero-aligned targets for their lending, investing, insurance and capital markets activities.
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
Wed 23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Elation as Whanganui gets voice in fast-track seabed mining decision
Thu 24 Jul 2025
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | A Whanganui District councillor is “elated” her council has been named a relevant authority in the fast-track application process for a seabed mining project off South Taranaki.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
Fri 25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Markets aren't going to save us – Carr
9 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumerism is reaching its ecological and economic limits, and only systemic change - not market tweaks - can steer us away from climate catastrophe, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Millions of tons of tiny plastic particles are polluting the ocean, study finds
15 Jul 2025
At least 27 million tonnes of nanoplastics are estimated to be floating in the North Atlantic Ocean, weighing more than all wild land mammals combined.
Another offensive launched in the government’s war on nature
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Media release - Environmental Defence Society | Last week the Minister for Resource Management Reform, Chris Bishop, announced that the government would be intervening, yet again, to prevent councils from progressing environmental protections under the Resource Management Act.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
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.
Switching to renewables is ‘smart economics’ - Guterres
Thu 24 Jul 2025
The global energy transition is now “unstoppable” due to “smart economics”, UN secretary-general António Guterres has said in an online speech titled: “A moment of opportunity.”
Root intelligence: How old trees learn to suck more CO2 from the air
Thu 24 Jul 2025
New research finds that centuries-old oaks can dynamically rewire how they absorb nutrients—suggesting forests may be more resilient allies in the climate fight than once believed.
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’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
Wed 23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
UN court's decision could reshape approach to climate commitments
Tue 22 Jul 2025
The International Court of Justice will this week deliver its advisory opinion on what obligations countries have to address the impacts of climate change. It will be a vital step toward climate justice and equity, according to one local expert.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
