Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
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.
Europe's addiction to climate subsidies risks trade war
13 Jul 2021
Former EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard and former WTO director-general Pascal Lamy are warning that the addiction of some of Europe's industries to climate subsidies risks sparking a trade war.
Climate change will affect productivity
13 Jul 2021
A new study has predicted that climate change will significantly affect people’s ability to work effectively if the goals of the UN Paris Agreement are not met.
Billions at risk of malaria if global heating continues
12 Jul 2021
More than 8 billion people could be at risk of malaria and dengue fever by 2080 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise unabated, a new study says.
NZ emissions continue to climb
9 Jul 2021
New Zealand’s emissions have continued their upward trend according to data released by Stats NZ yesterday.
Southland can be net zero and economically successful: report
9 Jul 2021
Media Release - Southland has the potential to both meet the New Zealand Government’s ‘net zero’ emissions target by 2050 and retain a positive economic position, a new report shows.
10 YEARS AGO...
8 Jul 2021
Ten years ago, Australian scientists were warning the increased frequency and intensity of wildfires were likely to drive climate change.
Sami object to geoengineering plans
8 Jul 2021
The Sami people of Northern Sweden say blocking out the sun with reflective particles to cool the earth is the kind of thinking that produced the climate crisis in the first place
Hottest June on record for North America
8 Jul 2021
North America witnessed its hottest June on record battered by a deadly heatwave searing parts of the region, according to the European Union’s climate monitoring service.
French court orders government to act on climate
7 Jul 2021
France’s top administrative court has ordered the government to take “all necessary additional steps” within the next nine months to enable it to reach its climate crisis targets or face possible sanctions, including substantial fines.
Powerful Chinese agency put in charge of climate change
7 Jul 2021
China’s top economic planning body has been put in charge of devising a plan for the world’s biggest polluter to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
EU to funnel hundreds of billions to sustainable finance
7 Jul 2021
The European Union says it will harness banks and markets to funnel hundreds of billions of euros annually into sustainable investments and create the first “climate-neutral continent” by 2050.
Te Ao Maori inspires Netflix nature documentary
6 Jul 2021
The scientists behind a groundbreaking new book and Netflix documentary credit their time in New Zealand with an “awakening” on the importance of indigenous knowledge in preventing environmental catastrophe
Warmest June on record
6 Jul 2021
Winter got off to a very warm start in New Zealand – it was the country’s warmest June on record.
Rebound in gas demand threatens international climate targets: IEA
6 Jul 2021
A rebound in global gas demand to 2024 following a record fall last year is poised to knock the world off track for a climate goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says.
Climate change warnings in 1960s ignored
6 Jul 2021
The effects of ‘weird weather’ were already being felt in the 1960s, but scientists linking fossil fuels with climate change were dismissed as prophets of doom.
Call for free public transport in capital to fight climate change
6 Jul 2021
Media Release - The Victoria University Students Association has come together with 36 local community groups and has launched a petition calling on the government to fund a trial of free public transport for Community Service Card holders and students in the Greater Wellington region.
Data reveals alarming increase in greenhouse gases
5 Jul 2021
More greenhouse gases were produced in 2018 than any previous year, despite more than 20 countries reducing their carbon emissions since 2000, research from UNSW Sydney and their collaborators has shown.
Heatwave deaths could skyrocket in future
5 Jul 2021
Some scientists see a day when heat-related deaths may match those of all infectious diseases.
Lawyers file court proceeding against Climate Change Commission
2 Jul 2021
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ (LCANZI) today filed High Court proceedings seeking judicial review of the Climate Change Commission’s advice to the Minister for Climate Change.
Australia bottom of the climate change pack
2 Jul 2021
Australia has been ranked dead last for climate action in the latest Sustainable Development Report, which assesses the progress of countries towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Bangladesh ditches coal-fired power plant plans
2 Jul 2021
Bangladesh has cancelled plans to build 10 coal-fired power plants, a government official said on Monday, amid rising costs for the fuel and increasing calls from activists to base more of the nation's power on renewable energy.
‘Hot air’ carbon offset scheme undermines Colombia’s climate goal
1 Jul 2021
Colombia stands to lose $62m in carbon tax revenue and underperform its emissions targets due to flawed forest carbon credit projects, investigators claim.
Fact check: Is China the main climate change culprit?
1 Jul 2021
China currently releases more carbon emissions than any other country — leading many to believe it bears the greatest responsibility for climate change. However, the situation is more complex than it seems.
US heatwave is climate change: scientists
30 Jun 2021
Is climate change amping up the US Pacific Northwest heat wave? Yes — and it’s time to stop asking.
An indigenous leader fighting climate change
30 Jun 2021
Indigenous land defender Nemonte Nenquimo discusses how climate change has altered the Amazon, the plant medicines used to help fight COVID-19, and the ancestral knowledge passed down by her elders.
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.
