Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Experts respond to ERP discussion document
14 Oct 2021
The Science Media Centre has compiled some expert reactions to the government's discussion document on its Emissions Reduction Plan.
'Adapt or die': UK Environment Agency
14 Oct 2021
Hundreds of people could die in floods in the UK, the Environment Agency has warned in a hard-hitting report that says the country is not ready for the impact of climate change.
Helsinki's climate moonshot
14 Oct 2021
Helsinki deserves credit for modeling not only how to set an innovative climate goal, but also how to craft a novel process to achieve it, writes MIT's Carlo Ratti.
Govt proposes allowing more emissions in the short-term and steeper cuts in the future
13 Oct 2021
THE government is proposing increasing the emissions budget recommended by the Climate Change Commission for the 2022-25 period by 2 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalents, followed by cuts of 5Mt CO2e for the 2026-30 period, and 11 Mt CO2e in the 2031 – 31 period.
3 degrees warming and Wellington looks like the Venice of the south seas
13 Oct 2021
Wellington and Christchurch look like Venice, and Havana like Atlantis in a new interactive tool showing what some of the world's major cities will look if global warming is allowed to reach 3 degrees.
Handbook aims to empower community to restore the country’s wetlands
12 Oct 2021
Aotearoa lost nearly 5500 hectares of wetlands between 1996 and 2020, that’s one of the more startling facts in a handbook being launched today.
Climate change may already affect 85% of humanity
12 Oct 2021
Climate change could already be affecting 85% of the world’s population, an analysis of tens of thousands of scientific studies found.
Over 20 more countries vow to slash methane emissions
12 Oct 2021
U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry announced Monday that 24 additional countries agreed to a voluntary pledge to cut emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, by one-third by 2030.
A lack of fish faeces is changing the flow of carbon in the ocean
12 Oct 2021
A shortage of fish faeces is contributing to shifts in the ocean’s carbon cycle of an equivalent magnitude to that of the impact of climate change on the ocean.
UN can’t rule on climate case brought by Greta Thunberg
12 Oct 2021
A UN panel said it could not immediately rule on a complaint by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and others that inaction on climate change constitutes a violation of children’s rights.
45,000,000 doctors call for urgent action on climate change
12 Oct 2021
Media Release - Ambitious national climate commitments are crucial for States to sustain a healthy, green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new UN health agency report launched on Monday in the lead-up to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
NZ a laggard in climate change related patents
11 Oct 2021
Only two OECD countries – Latvia and Indonesia – rank behind New Zealand in terms of the percentage of patent applications related to climate change mitigation, according a just released “dashboard” comparing the organisation’s 38 member states on a range of climate change related metrics.
Pentagon plans for warfare in hotter, harsher world
11 Oct 2021
A new Pentagon plan calls for incorporating the realities of a hotter, harsher Earth at every level in the U.S. military, from making worsening climate extremes a mandatory part of strategic planning to training troops how to secure their own water supplies and treat heat injury.
China to set up standards of carbon neutrality
11 Oct 2021
China is planning to set up and improve the standards of carbon peak and neutrality, according to an official outline published last week.
“The fight is on” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees: climate change ambassador
8 Oct 2021
New Zealand’s climate change ambassador Kay Harrison told a webinar this morning that “the fight is on” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees at the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow.
1 degree rise in temperature may shrink India’s GDP by 3%
8 Oct 2021
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) could shrink by three per cent a year if climate change leads to rise in temperature by one degree Celsius, a new study has found.
Is a ‘climate action famine’ inevitable after Cop26?
8 Oct 2021
At-risk African countries must put pressure on those with the most resources to tackle the climate crisis – and they must do it now, argues Hannah Ryder the CEO of Development Reimagined.
Sleeper pests woken up by climate change
7 Oct 2021
Turtles could become the Bay of Plenty's next major pest due to a warming climate.
Maori land-burning practices triggered a major rise in carbon emissions 700 years ago
7 Oct 2021
The arrival of the Maori to New Zealand in the 14th Century led to a major increase in black carbon emissions in the Southern Hemisphere, Antarctic ice core study shows.
Climate change disasters will cost Australia billions each year
7 Oct 2021
Climate change-related disasters will cost Australia $73bn a year by 2060, even if action to curb emissions is taken now, a report has found.
NZ tops list of highest CO2 emissions per capita since 1850
6 Oct 2021
New Zealand is arguably responsible for the highest per capita emissions of carbon dioxide emissions since the beginning of the industrial revolution, according to a just released report by Carbon Brief.
Global citizens’ assembly to be chosen for UN climate talks
6 Oct 2021
One hundred people from around the world are to take part in a citizens’ assembly to discuss the climate crisis over the next month, before presenting their findings at the UN Cop26 climate summit.
Climate change kills 14% of coral reefs in under a decade
6 Oct 2021
Rising ocean temperatures killed about 14% of the world's coral reefs in just under a decade, according to a new analysis from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
The Tongan island using canoes to tackle climate change
6 Oct 2021
A job creation scheme on the Tongan island of 'Eua is not only teaching local youth traditional boat building skills it's helping combat climate change.
Water scarcity poised to exact an increasingly heavy toll
5 Oct 2021
Water scarcity will be the biggest climate-related threat to corporate assets like factories within the next few decades, according to a recent report.
Look beyond carbon credits to put a price on nature’s services: experts
5 Oct 2021
Putting a value on nature could be the key to getting the trillions of dollars in investments nature-based solutions need to successfully tackle the climate crisis, experts said at a recent sustainability conference in Singapore.
Environmental outlook for Oceania rated severe: Caritas
5 Oct 2021
Media Release - Caritas has shifted the dial to 'severe' for four of its five environmental indicators, while climate finance for the poor has remained stubbornly at 'woefully inadequate' for seven years.
Marine heatwaves could have dire impact on NZ fisheries
4 Oct 2021
The ocean around New Zealand is getting warmer, and extreme warming events have become more frequent over the past years. New research shows these marine heatwaves could have devastating impacts on ocean ecosystems.
PM urged to go hard and go early against climate change
4 Oct 2021
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern is being urged to go hard and go early against climate change in an open letter being promoted by activist group Extinction Rebellion
Climate change is making Earth dimmer
4 Oct 2021
Earth is reflecting less light as its climate continues to change, new research suggests.
What scientists can teach us about dealing with climate doom
4 Oct 2021
"It's a kind of hopelessness I guess. Helplessness," says Ross Simpson, 22, from Glasgow. He's telling me how he and his friends feel about stopping the worst effects of climate change.
Irish environmentalists call for phasing out of €2bn fossil fuel subsidies
4 Oct 2021
The Irish government must set out a plan in the forthcoming Budget for the removal of over €2 billion in fossil fuels subsidies a year, the climate change umbrella group the Environmental Pillar says.
Climate change concerns influenced German election but will it make a difference to policy?
4 Oct 2021
The impacts of global warming motivated voters, but the results won’t deliver the swift policy changes needed to stop them, writes Inside Climate News' Bob Berwyn.
NZ should commit to regenerative agriculture at COP26: Greenpeace
1 Oct 2021
The National and ACT parties weren't the only ones, last week, criticising climate minister James Shaw's decision to travel to COP26 in November. Former Green Party co-leader, and current Greenpeace executive director, Russel Norman took to Twitter saying New Zealand had nothing to offer at the talks.
Otago-led study calls for change to Building Code
1 Oct 2021
Changing the Building Code to enforce construction of highly energy-efficient housing could help New Zealand reach its 100 per cent renewable energy goal, a University of Otago-led study shows.
Climate change: Money on the agenda at Milan talks
1 Oct 2021
With the jeers of Greta Thunberg ringing in their ears, climate ministers are holding final talks before a key UN conference in Glasgow.
The net zero trap
1 Oct 2021
As more countries pledge to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to zero by midcentury, one could be forgiven for thinking that the world is finally making real progress on climate change.
Interactive climate atlas allows you to travel in time
1 Oct 2021
The IPCC just made it easy to access and visualize a ton of data.
An international carbon market key to COP26 success: ACT
30 Sep 2021
The ACT Party says New Zealand should push for an international carbon trading market, which includes the largest emitters the EU, USA, Russian, India and China, at November’s COP26 talks.
Climate change will add to Aotearoa’s debt burden: Treasury
30 Sep 2021
Climate change is likely to see net debt increase by at least 4% of GDP over the next 40 years, according to just released Treasury modelling.
COP26 billboard campaign takes aim at Australia
30 Sep 2021
When world leaders like Joe Biden and Boris Johnson descend on Glasgow for the world's most significant meeting on climate in years, they could well come face to face with a billboard designed by an Australian comedian.
Plastic and climate crises are linked
30 Sep 2021
For the first time, an interdisciplinary team of scientists collected evidence on how both global problems exacerbate one another, creating a dangerous cycle. The researchers identified three significant ways that the climate change crisis and marine plastic pollution are connected.
Commonwealth youth demand climate action
30 Sep 2021
Media Release - More than 2,000 young leaders and youth-led organisations from across the Commonwealth are urging governments to respect the needs and contributions of the world’s most vulnerable groups, in the lead up to global climate talks in Glasgow in November.
Greenhouse gas emissions up by 2.1% in 2019
29 Sep 2021
Greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2.1% in 2019 according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
What would a net zero emissions policy mean for Australian agriculture?
29 Sep 2021
As the warring parties in the Coalition debate the idea of a net zero carbon emissions policy, a number of questions remain unanswered. What would such a policy mean for Australian agriculture?
Students take over their classrooms to demand teaching on climate change
29 Sep 2021
Students have become the teachers in a global lesson takeover, designed to highlight the importance of climate education.
Food waste feeds climate change
29 Sep 2021
Media Release - NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3 are calling on the Government to reduce food waste as a climate change solution. On 29 September, it is International Food Waste Awareness Day.
Removing one tonne of methane from atmosphere could be worth up to $US2700
28 Sep 2021
A scientific paper published by the Royal Society has estimated that removing a tonne of methane from the atmosphere could be worth as much as $US2700 a tonne.
Climate change to loom large in talks to form new German government
28 Sep 2021
Climate and energy policies are expected to loom large in talks to determine which parties will form Germany's next government, following a much-anticipated federal election on 26 September.
China's belt and road policies could hurt environment and indigenous communities
28 Sep 2021
A new study has found that up to 60% of China's development projects pose a threat to indigenous communities and the environment.
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.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
$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.
Economic contraction will impact carbon market
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | While higher fossil fuel prices strengthen the long-run economics of decarbonisation, the current fuel crisis won’t inspire near-term confidence in the carbon market, according to Lizzie Chambers of Carbon Match.
Why the real oil crisis hasn’t started yet
Today 11:45am
If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed much longer, things will get really bad, really fast.
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.
Labour mulls GIDI 2.0 as factory closures mount
Today 11:45am
By Pattrick Smellie | Factory closures across the country could have been prevented if the last Labour-led government’s GIDI fund to assist companies with the cost of electrification hadn't been scrapped, Labour energy spokesperson, Megan Woods, says.
Death toll in Afghanistan flooding increases to 28, authorities say
Today 11:45am
Afghan authorities said Monday that the death toll from severe weather that has struck swathes of the country over the past four days has increased to 28, with 49 people injured. Dozens of people have died from extreme weather in the country so far this year.
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.
‘Even more bonkers now’ – energy expert on LNG terminal
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | An energy consultant says the Government’s plan to back an LNG import facility is a “non-starter” in the face of rising gas prices due to the Middle East conflict.
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.
Double danger? Climate change, El Niño push Earth 'beyond its limits'
Today 11:45am
A freakish March heat wave has already pushed temperatures to summertime levels throughout much of the western and central United States, but a new report comes with a dire warning: This is just the beginning.
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.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
‘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.
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.
Record wind output helps shield the UK from worst of Iran war fallout
Today 11:45am
Record output from wind farms has helped boost total clean power supplies in the United Kingdom to new highs so far in 2026, and allowed power firms to pare use of fossil fuels to multi-year lows.
