Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Getting Wellington moving will save 1000 tonnes of CO2 per year
20 Aug 2021
Changes proposed for Wellington’s active and public transport systems are predicted to reduce CO2 emissions by 1000 tonnes a year by significantly increasing the uptake of public and active transport
Judge overturns U.S. approval of Alaska oil project
20 Aug 2021
A federal judge has reversed the U.S. government's approval of ConocoPhillips' planned $6 billion Willow oil development in Alaska, citing problems with its environmental analysis, according to court documents.
Climate change will disrupt supply chains much more than Covid
20 Aug 2021
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic caused unprecedented, worldwide supply-chain disruptions, but experts say that’s a drop in the bucket compared with the disruptions that climate change will cause.
The soaring carbon footprint of wildfires
20 Aug 2021
Devastating wildfires that have ravaged parts of the northern hemisphere this summer have released soaring amounts of carbon, EU data shows.
Mapping wildfires around the world
20 Aug 2021
From Siberia to Algeria, Al Jazeera looks at some of the largest and deadliest wildfires blazing around the world.
Kenyan health experts say climate change fuelling disease burden
20 Aug 2021
Kenya is witnessing a spike in both infectious and non-communicable diseases as the climate crisis escalates in the country, experts said at a virtual forum in Nairobi.
Australia risks international punishment for lagging on climate change: Ban Ki-moon
18 Aug 2021
Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has declared Australia "out of step" with the world on tackling climate change, as international pressure grows on the federal government to do more to limit global warming.
Overwhelming support for regenerating global commons
18 Aug 2021
Three-quarters of people in the world’s wealthiest nations believe humanity is pushing the planet towards a dangerous tipping point and support a shift of priorities away from economic profit, according to a global survey.
Public sector ill-prepared for climate change
17 Aug 2021
Eighty-five percent of public organisations responding to a Ministry for the Environment survey admitted to not documenting how climate change will impact their ability to carry out their functions.
Canterbury offers NZ's first undergraduate sustainability degree
17 Aug 2021
Media Release - Business leaders are welcoming Aotearoa New Zealand’s first undergraduate sustainability degree, saying the sector is crying out for more expertise as it faces new targets and competing goals.
Wildfires take toll on Pacific islands
16 Aug 2021
A metal roof sits atop the burned remains of a homestead on the once-lush slopes of Hawaii's Mauna Kea—a dormant volcano and the state's tallest peak—charred cars and motorcycles strewn about as wind-whipped sand and ash blast the scorched landscape.
Natural catastrophe losses hit $40 billion
13 Aug 2021
A deep winter freeze, hailstorms and wildfires led to natural catastrophe losses of $40 billion in the firsthalf of 2021, Swiss Re Institute’s preliminary estimates showed on Thursday.
Covid suppresses NZ's greenhouse gases
12 Aug 2021
NEW ZEALAND'S greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were down 4.5% in the year ended March 2021, reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and society a year since restrictions began, Stats NZ said today.
Indonesia urged to ban new oil palm plantations forever
12 Aug 2021
Indonesia should make permanent its temporary ban on new permits for oil palm plantations to advance progress on tackling deforestation and meet its climate goals, environmentalists say.
Rich world should pay poor countries' carbon debts
11 Aug 2021
Rich countries should ditch privileged debates over the legacy of colonialism and pay off poorer countries’ carbon instead, an influential investor has told The Independent.
Mother of all climate science reports
10 Aug 2021
It’s here, it’s intensifying, and if the world doesn’t act now, we’re fucked. That in a nutshell is the message of the most comprehensive scientific report on climate change in years.
Time running out to stop catastrophe - Alok Sharma
9 Aug 2021
The world is "dangerously close" to running out of time to stop a climate change catastrophe, the UK government's climate chief Alok Sharma has said.
Global warming could lead to some countries freezing
9 Aug 2021
A large system of ocean currents in the Atlantic – which includes the Gulf Stream – has been disrupted due to human-caused climate change, scientists reported in a new study published last week. If that system collapses, it would lead to dramatic changes in worldwide weather patterns.
Aotearoa on track for warmest winter on record
6 Aug 2021
New Zealand has just experienced its warmest June and July since records began in 1909 and - with one month to go - is on track for its second successive warmest winter on record.
U.N. climate report likely to deliver stark warnings on global warming
6 Aug 2021
Eight years after its last update on climate science, the United Nations is set to publish a report Monday that will likely deliver even starker warnings about how quickly the planet is warming – and how damaging the impacts might get.
Costa Rica eyes ban on fossil fuel exploration
5 Aug 2021
Costa Rican lawmakers this week will discuss a bill to permanently ban fossil fuel exploration and extraction, a move that would prevent future governments from pivoting on the issue as the popular eco-tourism destination country aims to decarbonize by 2050.
More countries hike climate pledges
2 Aug 2021
A group of mostly smaller countries submitted new, more ambitious climate pledges to the United Nations this week, raising pressure on big emitters including China to do the same ahead of a major U.N. climate summit in November.
The largest flood flow ever measured
30 Jul 2021
NIWA media release - Flood flows on the Buller River this month were the largest of any river in Aotearoa New Zealand in almost 100 years, NIWA measurements show
Carbon tariffs ‘not a bad thing’: WWF
30 Jul 2021
WWF International president Pavan Sukhde. a former managing director of Deutsche Bank, has expressed support for carbon tariffs in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
Earth overshoot day
29 Jul 2021
Media Release - It's Earth Overshoot Day again. Two years ago it was 26th July, last year, mostly due to Covid, Earth Overshoot Day was 22nd August, so globally the situation has slightly improved.
Scientists back matauranga Maori's role in climate research
28 Jul 2021
Matauranga Maori (traditional Maori knowledge) has a vital part to play in finding solutions to a myriad of urgent problems - including climate change - according to the New Zealand Association of Scientists.
Is Norway the new East India Company?
28 Jul 2021
Economist Branko Milanovic argues that Norway illustrates the hypocrisy of rich countries that demand urgent action on climate change but are unwilling to accept any drop in living standards to achieve it.
Climate scientists meet as fires, floods and heatwaves batter Earth
27 Jul 2021
More than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists will begin meeting this week to finalise a landmark report summarising how Earth's climate has already changed, and what humans can expect for the rest of the century.
New study confirms 'The Limits of Growth' are real
27 Jul 2021
A new study by a director at one of the largest accounting firms in the world has found that a famous, decades-old warning from MIT about the risk of industrial civilisation collapsing appears to be accurate based on new empirical data.
The true cost of the billionaire space race
27 Jul 2021
Scientists worry that growing numbers of rocket flights and the rise of space tourism could harm Earth's atmosphere and contribute to climate change.
Campaign to save urban trees launched
27 Jul 2021
Media Release - A new campaign to stop the cutting down of mature trees in New Zealand’s cities has launched today.
Coal imports hit historical high; methane targets require 'scientific Hail Mary': RNZ
26 Jul 2021
Climate change is making a splash on RNZ this morning. The public broadcaster has published an in-depth report on methane, a report on coal imports hitting and all time high, and a story on a new on-line emissions tracking tool.
India urges rich countries to slash per capita emissions
26 Jul 2021
India has urged the G20 countries to bring down per capita emissions to the global average by 2030 in view of the “fast-depleting available carbon space”.
Firstgas ordered to withdraw misleading advert
23 Jul 2021
Firstgas has been ordered by the Advertising Complaints Authority to withdraw an advert that suggested customers could continue to use gas without contributing carbon to the atmosphere.
Coal not the way forward for Southland: NGOs
23 Jul 2021
Media Release - Environmental NGOs wrote to Southland District Council yesterday expressing deep concern over the Council’s decision to grant an access arrangement to New Brighton Collieries Limited (NBCL), an overseas owned company, for coal exploration in the Ohai forestry area.
Climate change results in flood of insurance claims
22 Jul 2021
Last month's floods in Canterbury resulted in 3538 insurance claims for damage totalling $43.8 million, and the Insurance Council of New Zealand says they are part of a pattern of increasingly disruptive natural events due to climate change.
First ecosystem with its own insurance policy
22 Jul 2021
A 100-mile stretch of coral reef in Mexico is now insured just like any other valuable asset. Is this the future of conservation?
Madagascar famine solely due to climate change
22 Jul 2021
Madagascar's famine is the first in modern history to be solely caused by global warming, according to Time Magazine.
Bezos coverage eclipses climate change
22 Jul 2021
Jeff Bezos got as much morning show coverage in a day as climate change got all last year
Rooting pigs responsible for as much carbon as 1.1 million cars
21 Jul 2021
The rooting of feral pigs globally releases around 4.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of 1.1 cars – a new study has found.
French lawmakers adopt compromise climate bill
21 Jul 2021
France’s parliament yesterday approved a compromise climate bill that was intended to transform travel, housing and industry but which environmental activists said doesn’t go fast or far enough to slash the country’s carbon emissions.
All pua to California's abalone rescuers
21 Jul 2021
In Big Sur, scientists are rescuing the abalone from landslides caused by the Dolan Fire, and moving them to safety in new neighborhoods where “resident abalone” already thrive
Global alliance for Green New Deal launched
20 Jul 2021
People around the world need a “global green deal” that would tackle the climate crisis and restore the natural world as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of politicians from the UK, Europe and developing countries has said.
Poor nations demand action at COP26
16 Jul 2021
More than 100 developing countries have set out their key negotiating demands ahead of the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow.
US drawing up carbon tax plans
16 Jul 2021
US legislators are drawing up plans for a tax on imports from carbon-polluting countries to help pay for a $US3.5 trillion ($4.7 trillion) package in new government spending on everything from universal childcare to an expansion of public healthcare benefits.
Moscow heatwave changes Putin's tune
16 Jul 2021
As Moscow bakes in record heat, Vladimir Putin changes tune on climate change.
Canberra attacks Europe's carbon plans
16 Jul 2021
Australia's ruling Coalition lashed out yesterday at the European Union's proposed carbon border tariff as a new climate plan from Brussels added to growing international pressure on Canberra to do more to tackle climate change.
'Greta Thunberg Effect' belies challenges for autistic community in going green
16 Jul 2021
Autistic people need extra help in going green say researchers behind a new study which argues for a more inclusive environmental agenda.
EU unveils sweeping climate change plan
15 Jul 2021
The European Union has announced a raft of climate change proposals aimed at pushing it towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Parliament investigating cryptocurrencies' environmental impact
14 Jul 2021
Bitcoin consumes significantly more electricity each year than New Zealand, leading many environmentalists to say the cryptocurrency is unsustainable. Now the New Zealand Parliament is investigating.
Govt weakens climate legislation, strips CCC’s powers
Wed 5 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced sweeping changes to key climate legislation, including stripping the independent Climate Change Commission of one of its core roles, and removing the requirement that Emissions Trading Scheme settings align with international climate targets.
Govt delays will damage carbon market confidence, experts warn
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Emissions Trading Scheme experts have warned the Government that its move to delay decisions on the country’s emissions budgets will further undermine confidence in an already weak carbon market.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
Celebrities slam mining plans
28 Oct 2025
Actor Sam Neill has slammed plans for a gold mine in Otago, while Denniston Rose author Jenny Pattrick is backing a petition that would stop a coalmine on the West Coast.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
Another hit to market as Govt uncouples ETS from international climate target
Wed 5 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s surprise move to break the connection between the Emissions Trading Scheme and New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target is a brutal hit to confidence in an already moribund market.
UNEP: New country climate plans ‘barely move needle’ on expected warming
Wed 5 Nov 2025
Executive director Inger Anderson made the comments as UNEP published its 16th annual assessment of the global “emissions gap”.
Carbon price drops, now trading 30% below auction floor
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Secondary carbon market prices took a sharp downward turn last week, with traders blaming a continued lack of interest from buyers.
Scrutiny on energy security
Mon 3 Nov 2025
A special debate in Parliament put the Government’s energy security agenda under scrutiny, with parties splitting sharply over the role of gas, the place of an LNG import terminal, and how far to push market reform to ease pressure on power bills.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
Fri 31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
Brazil opens three weeks of COP30-linked climate events
Tue 4 Nov 2025
Brazil on Monday opens three weeks of events linked to the COP30 climate summit, hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming
Hutt City Council slashes gas emissions
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Hutt City Council is set to cut its gas emissions by 60% by 2026 as it speeds up phasing out fossil fuels from public facilities.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Auckland Council toughens up on building in flood risk areas
Wed 5 Nov 2025
Media release: Auckland Council | From Monday 3 November 2025, stronger planning rules take effect in Auckland to better protect people and property from natural hazards.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Media round-up
Fri 31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
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.”
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
Tue 4 Nov 2025
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
Wed 5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
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.
Vero warns losses to rise 26% by 2050 over extreme weather
29 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Extreme weather could drive a 19–26% spike in annual insurance losses by 2050, fuelled by rising seas and more intense flooding, according to Vero’s latest Climate-Related Disclosures Report.
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.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
Wed 5 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
Boost for voluntary carbon markets in Watts’ surprise package
Wed 5 Nov 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Voluntary carbon market development gets a solid push in the package of climate change legislative reforms dropped by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts early last evening.
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.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
Fri 31 Oct 2025
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
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.
Here comes the sun: solar surge gathers pace
Tue 4 Nov 2025
More than $700 million of new solar investment advanced last week, underscoring the pace of the renewable buildout.
Experts warn new science curriculum sidelines climate urgency
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Climate change education has been pushed too late and too lightly in the Government’s draft science curriculum, experts say, with students not formally learning about climate change until Year 10.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
Fri 31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
