Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Germany and New Zealand partner to support agriculture and tackle global emissions
25 Oct 2024
Media release | New Zealand and Germany have announced the official start of a partnership aimed at supporting the agriculture sector and tackling global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture minister Todd McClay announced today.
China's Q3 economic losses from natural calamities surge
25 Oct 2024
China's third-quarter economic losses due to natural disasters, from super typhoons to floods, more than doubled from the first six months of 2024, reaching $32.3 billion.
Eighty-eight countries to present oral arguments in international court’s climate hearing
25 Oct 2024
The International Court of Justice will determine the existing financial liability of countries for their contribution to climate change, with over 100 countries and organisations presenting over 12 days at the hearing starting in December.
Environmental management failing to hold the line - Upton
24 Oct 2024
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is not confident New Zealand’s efforts are making a difference to environmental quality.
Govt finances still don’t recognise climate liability
17 Oct 2024
Treasury has failed to recognise a liability for New Zealand’s international climate commitments in its latest financial statement, with its position unchanged on the multibillion dollar price tag of purchasing offshore mitigation.
LNG is worse for the climate than coal – new study
17 Oct 2024
A highly-anticipated peer-reviewed study finds that LNG has a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% larger than coal. The data suggests the expansion of LNG is a major threat for the climate.
NZ must work with other countries to reach climate goals: new research
14 Oct 2024
By Liz Kivi | Aotearoa’s international climate targets can only be met through funding significant emissions reductions in other countries. But a lack of public support to spend this money overseas is paralysing New Zealand’s progress towards its goal, according to researchers.
UN carbon trading expert group agrees deal on market framework
14 Oct 2024
A UN expert group has reached a compromise on key elements of a global carbon trading system, in a bid to resolve nearly a decade of talks on what is seen as an important tool for raising climate finance.
Companies that fought climate action now accused of price gouging Hurricane Milton evacuees
14 Oct 2024
For years, United, American, and other airlines have led massive lobbying efforts against regulations to prevent climate change.
Why have hurricanes gone crazy?
10 Oct 2024
While hurricanes occur naturally, human-caused climate change is supercharging them and exacerbating the risk of major damage, writes Kevin Trenberth.
Emissions reductions low priority for dairy farmers: new report
9 Oct 2024
New Zealand dairy farmers continue to prioritise financial viability over emissions reductions, despite generally accepting the threat of human-induced climate change, according to a new study.
Water is ‘canary in the coalmine’ of climate change: WMO
9 Oct 2024
Media release | The year 2023 marked the driest year in over three decades for rivers around the world, according to a new report coordinated by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.
US home insurance rates are rising fast with climate change fuelling more severe weather
9 Oct 2024
Millions of Americans have been watching with growing alarm as their homeowners insurance premiums rise and their coverage shrinks. Nationwide, premiums rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, and they continued to rise in 2024 across much of the country.
Toxic chemical releases during flooding are a silent and growing threat
7 Oct 2024
Hundreds of industrial facilities with toxic pollutants were in Hurricane Helene’s path as the powerful storm flooded communities across the Southeast of the United States.
Cross party consensus needed to prepare NZ for increased climate risk
3 Oct 2024
A parliamentary report on climate adaptation is an important signal of the need to urgently tackle the impact of climate change on communities and protect people lives and property, the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) says.
Climate was a top question at the vice presidential debate
3 Oct 2024
Both candidates actually answered — sort of.
Select committee recommendations on Resource Management Amendment Bill disappoint
1 Oct 2024
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society says proposals enable a full-blown assault on freshwater and indigenous biodiversity and take the country further off-track from meeting future climate goals.
Australia’s ‘immoral’ coalmine decision akin to drowning its Pacific neighbours, Tuvalu’s climate minister declares
1 Oct 2024
Tuvalu’s climate minister says Australia’s decision to approve three coalmine expansions calls into question its claim to be a “member of the Pacific family”, and undermines the Australian case to co-host the 2026 UN climate summit with island nations.
Air pollutant trends decrease at most monitoring sites over the last eight years
30 Sep 2024
Media release | Concentrations of air pollutants decreased at many air quality monitoring sites between 2016 and 2023, according to figures released by Stats NZ.
Govt allows only five days for submissions on repeal of oil and gas ban
27 Sep 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government is allowing only five days for the public to make submissions on legislation to restart oil and gas exploration.
Govt fired up for return of fossil fuel exploration
26 Sep 2024
The coalition government’s legislation to reinstate offshore oil and gas exploration has had its first reading in Parliament under urgency, but the Green Party is vowing to revoke permits if it returns to government.
Heat, animal illness, and erosion: climate risks to NZ agriculture
26 Sep 2024
Media release | The effects of climate change on agriculture will vary around NZ, according to modelling of four greenhouse gas emission scenarios.
Countries can transform global energy sector by fully implementing 2030 goals: IEA
26 Sep 2024
A new report from the International Energy Agency shows tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency are possible with the right enabling conditions.
'Why are carbon offsets not dead yet?'
26 Sep 2024
Journalist and environmental activist George Monbiot discusses neoliberalism, nature, and negative consequences with the Australia Institute's Climate and Energy program director.
Ad agency activists ‘name and shame’ fossil fuel promoters
25 Sep 2024
Ad agency climate activist group Comms Declare has launched in New Zealand, calling out 14 local agencies as ignoring the scientific consensus to keep promoting fossil fuel clients.
Hazard mapping has 'chilling effect' on Nelson property market
20 Sep 2024
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Proposed hazard maps for Nelson are allegedly preventing properties across the city from being insured.
NZ’s decision to restart fossil fuel exploration will be ‘hard to explain to future generations’: leading climate scientist
19 Sep 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government’s plan to restart oil and gas exploration is set to lock in higher levels of global warming, according to a leading Australian climate scientist.
Manawa deal: a red rag to a bull
18 Sep 2024
Contact’s proposal to takeover Manawa may make commercial sense, but it is like waving a red rag at a bull when it comes to the politics of the move.
Minister says buying offshore carbon credits ‘unrealistic’
12 Sep 2024
By Liz Kivi | Climate change minister Simon Watts says buying carbon mitigation offshore to meet the country’s international climate obligations is “unrealistic”.
Cyclone Gabrielle was intensified by human-induced climate change
11 Sep 2024
A new study has revealed climate change increased rainfall during Cyclone Gabrielle by 10%, intensifying flooding as the region faces future storm risks.
'The Emissions Trading Scheme is broken': Carr
5 Sep 2024
By Shannon Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme is broken and not fit for purpose, says Climate Change Commission chair Dr Rod Carr.
Lawyers' climate disclosure concerns
30 Aug 2024
Climate-related financial disclosures could be under-reporting companies’ transition risk to investors, exposing them to both commercial and litigation risk.
Climate plan risks high future costs
29 Aug 2024
The government’s ‘least cost approach’ to emissions reductions risks passing on significant costs to future generations, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Deputy prime minister’s climate denial ‘insult to Pacific leaders’ - Labour
28 Aug 2024
Winston Peters’ attempt to downplay climate change at the Pacific Islands Forum is an “embarrassing new low,” according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
UN-backed organisation approves Fonterra’s climate targets
19 Aug 2024
By Jon Rawlinson | The world’s top corporate climate-target verifier, the London-based Science Based Targets initiative, has approved Fonterra’s emissions reductions targets.
Govt keeping options open on international climate targets: Watts
15 Aug 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government is looking at multiple ways to meet New Zealand’s 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), according to climate change minister Simon Watts.
$20 million supercomputer for NIWA
15 Aug 2024
Methane emissions will be subject to more effective monitoring thanks to a new supercomputer.
New map shows coastal erosion hotspots - but scientists warn lack of funding threatens further research
13 Aug 2024
A new map of Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal erosion hotspots shows which areas are most at risk of coastal changes and sea-level rise.
Govt shifts goalposts for key climate target
8 Aug 2024
The government has told the Climate Change Commission to remove consideration of the 1.5 degrees target from a forthcoming report, a move expected to lead to significantly weaker climate ambition.
Water to ashes? Greener approach to funerals
7 Aug 2024
By Jon Rawlinson | When Kiwis face the final curtain, their last wishes can leave a lasting impact on our environment. However a Christchurch funeral director is hoping a new solution will reduce the climate impact of our earthly remains.
Carbon capture – climate plan not clear cut
6 Aug 2024
Capturing carbon is capturing imaginations, but can it live up to the government’s expectations?
How is the draft Emissions Reduction Plan supposed to work?
5 Aug 2024
COMMENT: In its new climate plan, the coalition government seems to be setting New Zealand up to withdraw from the world carbon market before 2035, argues economist Geoff Bertram.
Workshops put climate top of mind for decision makers
5 Aug 2024
More than one thousand Kiwis have now taken part in workshops designed to keep the climate crisis top of mind in decision-making.
Significant risk Aotearoa will not meet climate targets: Climate Commission
31 Jul 2024
There is a significant risk that New Zealand will not meet future emissions reductions targets, according to a new report from the Climate Change Commission.
Trans-Tasman ministers talk climate and finance
31 Jul 2024
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts were in Brisbane yesterday discussing climate and finance with their Australian counterparts.
Govt not ruling out supporting bill to prevent councils considering climate impacts
26 Jul 2024
Climate change minister Simon Watts has not ruled out supporting a controversial private member’s bill to stop regional councils from considering climate change impacts in consenting decisions.
New plan might see climate change minister in court
18 Jul 2024
Lawyers for Climate Action say there are “significant concerns” about whether the government’s new climate plan will achieve its climate targets, and could be in breach of the Climate Change Response Act.
Foresters say govt planting forecasts are wrong
18 Jul 2024
Foresters say the government's planting forecasts in its new climate plan are wrong, with the actual planted areas likely to be about half the government’s projections in 2024, according to the New Zealand Institute of Forestry.
Govt releases emissions reduction plan
17 Jul 2024
Climate change minister Simon Watts has released the second emissions reduction plan for consultation, with proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme including aligning ETS units with emissions budgets and reviewing the free industrial allocation of units.
Reversing oil and gas exploration ban will increase emissions by 50Mt
12 Jul 2024
The coalition government’s plan to lift a ban on oil and gas exploration will lead to an extra 51.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions up to 2050, according to the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment.
NZ urged to grab a slice of burgeoning $35 billion market for nature credits
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand could unlock strong domestic and international demand for high-integrity nature-based credits, if government, investors and restoration groups work together to scale supply, a new report says.
Rod Carr is ‘over’ climate change defeatism
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | If there’s one thing former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr is “over”, it’s people saying there’s nothing they can personally do to address climate change.
Auckland Airport switches on giant heat pump system to cut gas use
6 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While Auckland Airport’s switch from gas to heat pumps is welcome, the emissions savings are dwarfed by ongoing aircraft emissions, which are set to rise, according to a sustainable transport expert.
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.
Carbon markets risk penalising Indigenous stewardship, researchers warn
5 Mar 2026
Carbon markets designed to reward environmental restoration may be unintentionally disadvantaging Indigenous communities who have long protected intact ecosystems, according to new research.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
Kenya’s latest carbon credit crackdown reveals questionable practices
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Some players use sophisticated tactics to inflate the value of credits that may not represent genuine, permanent emissions reductions.
Countries agree to record release of emergency oil reserves as prices surge
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Dozens of countries have agreed to release a record amount of oil from their emergency reserves to try to tackle supply shortages and soaring prices.
Bidders no-show at carbon auction – again
3 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | As predicted, today’s carbon auction yet again failed to attract any bidders, with NZUs currently trading hands on the secondary market at a 35% discount on this year’s auction floor price.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
25 Feb 2026
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
Tue 10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Unusual scarcity drives early 2026 NZU rally
5 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The New Zealand carbon price has recovered since its late 2025 collapse, although the rally is driven by scarcity rather than confidence in market settings.
Renewables surge cuts power emissions, but oil dominates fossil fuel use
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s fossil fuel emissions fell in 2025 as strong renewable electricity generation reduced the need for gas-fired power, but oil consumption is rising and now accounts for a record share of fossil emissions.
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.
Climate Commission called to Waitangi inquiry over alleged breaches
Tue 10 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Climate Change Commission is being called to front up to the Waitangi Tribunal and give evidence over alleged legal breaches of its obligations to Māori.
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.
From forest to flatpack, IKEA faces timber traceability test
Wed 11 Mar 2026
As the EU’s Deforestation Regulation nears implementation this year, furniture giant IKEA may need stronger traceability systems to prove its timber isn’t linked to post-2020 deforestation.
Greenpeace slams Govt climate policies amid rising petrol prices
Thu 12 Mar 2026
As petrol prices climb to $3 a litre, Greenpeace is blaming Government decisions for leaving Kiwis harder hit by the oil price spike.
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.”
Gaps in adaptation taxonomies hinder climate finance in Asia: report
5 Mar 2026
Without clearer criteria and metrics in adaptation taxonomies, Asia risks widening its climate financing gap, warns a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
Mon 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.
Japan eyes New Zealand as green hydrogen export hub
Thu 12 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A new partnership between major Japanese companies aims to explore exporting green hydrogen from New Zealand – but the economics of producing the energy-hungry fuel remain the biggest hurdle.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
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.
EDS puts environmental lawmaking under the spotlight
26 Feb 2026
Media Release |The Environmental Defence Society has launched the first in a series of investigative pieces into how environmental laws are being made in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Climate 'dream team' launches foundation targeting 100 million tonnes in emissions cuts
25 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The New Zealand Climate Foundation, which has the ambitious aim of cutting 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, had its official launch on Monday.
Expert Panel invites EDS to comment on Bendigo goldmine
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society has been invited to provide comment on the Bendigo-Ophir gold mine by the expert Panel tasked with deciding the fast-track project.
If the government is set on an LNG terminal, gas users, not electricity users, should pay
Wed 11 Mar 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: It's increasingly clear that the government's narrative of LNG as ‘dry year electricity insurance’ really doesn't stack up.
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.
Tiny, lost and constipated: what a baby turtle told Australian scientists about warming seas
6 Mar 2026
The arrival of loggerheads in New South Wales shows these ‘sentinels of climate change’ are being forced into unknown territory.
The world’s largest climate finance deal was built to flounder: why funding fails to reach the front‑line
6 Mar 2026
Adopted in December 2015, the Paris Agreement commits countries to keeping global temperature rise below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
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?
Todd gets nod to drill first super-critical geothermal well
Thu 12 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Todd Energy is to make its sole oil drilling rig available to drill the first exploration well under the government’s $60 million super-critical geothermal resource exploration programme under a ‘preferred supplier’ agreement announced yesterday.
Media round-up
20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
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.
How falling battery costs are igniting race for round-the-clock solar power
Fri 13 Mar 2026
By combining the solar array with a massive amount of battery capacity, the aim is to store enough power generated during daylight hours so that a minimum of 1 GW of electricity – enough to power between 500,000 and one million homes – is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Native plant shows promise for tackling `forever chemicals’
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | One of Aotearoa New Zealand’s taonga plants, harakeke, shows promise as a treatment for removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water.
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.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
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.
NZ EV owners sticking with electric – survey
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Nearly all New Zealand EV owners say they would buy another electric vehicle, according to new research from Consumer NZ.
Summit aims to revive stalled UN talks on phasing out fossil fuels
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Colombia and the Netherlands have set out three priorities for a conference on phasing out fossil fuels they will co-host in Colombia in April.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
6 Mar 2026
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
