Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
The Opportunities Party wants us carbon neutral by 2050
9 Mar 2017
Pressure is mounting for New Zealand to make deep emissions cuts by the second half of the century, despite the country’s official target being to only halve emissions by 2050.
Climate change climbs the party ranks
8 Mar 2017
Climate change has made it to the top echelons of New Zealand’s two major political parties.
Australia's angry summer rewrites the record books
8 Mar 2017
Australians endured another intense summer, with more than 200 record-breaking extreme weather events driven by climate change, a new Climate Council report says.
That was summer ... and that's the way it's going to be
7 Mar 2017
Summer gave New Zealand a taste of life under climate change, according to latest climate records.
Scientists in NZ eye fish and climate world first
7 Mar 2017
The effects of climate change on fish are being studied in a world-first trial at Niwa’s Bream Bay marine science centre.
Let's talk about emissions, fuels firm tells public
6 Mar 2017
A company whose products are responsible for 9 per cent of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions is asking the public what it can do to reduce them.
Water and soil muddy thinking on carbon budgets
6 Mar 2017
Climate scientists, struggling with the enduring problem of the carbon budget, may have to think again as a result of new research findings.
America’s ‘hidden subsidies’ worth $170b a year
6 Mar 2017
Donald Trump wants to restrict or even abolish the US Environmental Protection Agency. In particular, he is proposing to dramatically limit the federal agency’s power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
We need to get wise about our heated cities
3 Mar 2017
New Zealand needs to think about ways to keep its cities cool in the face of climate change – and the answer could be more trees, says an international planning expert due to speak here next month.
Swiss ski resorts are running out of snow
3 Mar 2017
Switzerland, one of Europe’s principal winter sports destinations, expects the impact of climate change will leave many of its mountains short of snow cover by the end of the century.
ENERGY REPORT: Great ideas but they're not happening
2 Mar 2017
New Zealand’s own scientists’ advice – that the country must move urgently to a low-carbon energy system – has been endorsed by the International Energy Agency, albeit in a sanitised way.
Our environment image at risk, says global agency
1 Mar 2017
New Zealand risks damaging its clean-and-green reputation by failing to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, the International Energy Agency warns.
Poison algal blooms in our waterways will worsen
1 Mar 2017
Climate change will mean more poisonous algal blooms in New Zealand’s rivers and lakes, a scientist is warning.
Flight to greener aviation fuel has hit turbulence
1 Mar 2017
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, one of the biggest hurdles is the world’s addiction to flying.
Gardening in the face of a changing climate
28 Feb 2017
Since 1880, the average global temperature has increased by 0.8deg with large changes in rainfall redistribution. With these changing conditions upon us, and set to continue, gardeners will have to alter the way they do things.
CLIMATE CASE: We need to know more ... and urgently
27 Feb 2017
New Zealand urgently needs to understand the likely impacts of climate change on the economy, environment and society, says a new government paper.
Europe takes tough line on shipping emissions
27 Feb 2017
The European Parliament has lost patience with shipping industry inaction over climate change and has outlined plans to include vessels in its Emissions Trading System.
Treasury gives official nod to natural capital
24 Feb 2017
Treasury is, for the first time, including New Zealand’s natural capital in its long-term thinking – including the value of the country’s clean-green brand.
Forget Trump, keep your eyes on China
24 Feb 2017
A leading UK voice in the debate on climate change says more attention should be paid to positive action being taken to tackle CO2 emissions in China rather than worrying about the US and Donald Trump.
Farmers want action on land use and tree planting
23 Feb 2017
Farmers want research into alternative land uses to help them to cope with climate change, and greater incentives to plant carbon-storing trees on their farms.
How conservatives can grow to love carbon pricing
23 Feb 2017
In some political circles, hostility to climate policy has become a way of showing off one’s conservative credentials. But a suggestion for pricing carbon, grounded in classic conservative principles, has now emerged in the United States.
Government eyes land-use changes to cut emissions
22 Feb 2017
The Government is looking at changing some current land uses – including forestry and farming – to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Trump's wall would carry environmental costs
21 Feb 2017
The likely impact on human society of Donald Trump’s Mexico wall has been well-noted, but in the longer-term a barrier across an entire continent will also have severe ecological consequences.
Samba drums up opposition to factory farming
21 Feb 2017
Concern about the environmental impact of industrialised farming through the use of pesticides and the destruction of the rainforest has even spread to Brazil’s famous Rio carnival.
Bennett talks 'range of issues' with China climate envoy
20 Feb 2017
New Zealand and China have held their first ministerial meeting under the bilateral carbon agreement.
Mexico City, parched and sinking, faces a water crisis
20 Feb 2017
Climate change is threatening to push a crowded capital toward a breaking point.
Will blazing a low-carbon path pay off for California?
20 Feb 2017
President Trump has made it clear he intends to dismantle the Obama administration’s policies for reducing US greenhouse gas emissions.
Inaction means public could lose faith in climate leaders
17 Feb 2017
New Zealand’s “limited and largely ineffectual actions” on climate change risk undermining public confidence in our policy makers, say the authors of the latest Public Perceptions of the Environment report to be released today.
Why some of our glaciers are growing
17 Feb 2017
New research explains why some of New Zealand’s glaciers have been growing, despite the impacts of climate change.
How your life could change without fossil fuels
17 Feb 2017
Here is a vision of the future in a warming world without fossil fuels:
Birds caught in climate-change traps
17 Feb 2017
Climate change may be about to set a trap for African penguins and send them foraging for food in places that the fish have departed, according to satellite trackers.
Treasury wants a word about carbon exposure
16 Feb 2017
A little of Treasury’s thinking on how to protect the economy from carbon exposure has been revealed – including a hint that it wants to talk to the business community.
Climate change research gets $2 million boost
14 Feb 2017
The Deep South National Science Challenge has announced funding totalling about $2 million for five new research projects to help New Zealanders to better understand their future climate.
Air conditioning drains US power supply
14 Feb 2017
America’s power supply could one day falter just when customers need it most.
Norway saves skiing with climate-friendly snow
14 Feb 2017
Ski resorts all over the world are increasingly turning to expensive snow-making machines as the climate warms. This method uses so much fuel that it contributes to global warming.
EDITORIAL: Numbers show the game is up
13 Feb 2017
By editor ADELIA HALLETT | Try these numbers: Humans are causing the climate to change at 170 times the natural rate. Our “carbon budget” to keep warming below 1.5deg will be used up in five years. New Zealand’s per person emissions work out to 18 tonnes a year each – nine times higher than the global allowance.
OPINION: Just another attempt to spread confusion
13 Feb 2017
Senior climate scientist PROFESSOR JAMES RENWICK goes looking for the facts in the latest so-called scandal about climate change.
Australia’s energy grid can't handle extreme heat
13 Feb 2017
Australia’s energy system must be overhauled to ensure reliable power in the face of severe heatwaves and other extreme climate change-driven weather, says the Climate Council.
How climate change plays havoc with Pacific weather
10 Feb 2017
Global warming has already increased the risk of major disruptions to Pacific rainfall, according to new research by Australian scientists.
Methane emissions higher than feared, say scientists
10 Feb 2017
Global methane emissions from oil production between 1980 and 2012 were far higher than previously thought – in some cases, as much as double the amount previously estimated, according to a new scientific study.
Relying on foreign credits dangerous, say officials
9 Feb 2017
New Zealand cannot rely on international carbon credits to meet its emissions reductions targets after 2030, officials have told the Government, warning that credits could be expensive and in short supply.
Report explains Australia's worsening weather
9 Feb 2017
Climate change is now influencing all extreme weather events with some of the most severe climate impacts the world has experienced occurring in 2016, a new Climate Council report has found.
Scientists call for unravelling of basic climate change
8 Feb 2017
A group of distinguished climate scientists has called for a massive international co-operation to understand absolutely basic climate change.
Seawater puts a dent in delta rice production
8 Feb 2017
Urgent action is being called for to prevent salt intrusion causing severe damage to rice production and loss of drinking water in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Tourism can make the world cleaner and greener
7 Feb 2017
OPINION | Tourism can be a force for good – depending how you do it, say World Tourism Organisation director-general TALEB RIFAI, United Nations Environment executive-director ERIK SOLHEIM and UNFCCC head PATRICIA ESPINOSA.
UK must not cool stance on global warming
7 Feb 2017
One of Britain’s most senior scientists has expressed concern that action to tackle global warming is sliding down the government’s list of priorities despite its ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Not such a nice day for a walk ... in some places
2 Feb 2017
Thanks to climate change, there will be more perfect days in President Trump’s America.
Small-scale hydro makes a big difference
1 Feb 2017
It’s hard to appreciate the difference electricity makes to your life, unless you’ve ever had to live entirely without it.
UN will reward game-changing climate change ideas
1 Feb 2017
Organisations, cities, industries, governments and others taking a lead on tackling climate change can nominate their game-changing projects for a United Nations award.
Cold war days and the powers are talking climate change
31 Jan 2017
On the agenda at the secret meeting of scientists and the top brass of the US military was the increased melting of Arctic ice and changes in the climate.
Is climate law change a first nail in the coffin for Climate Commission?
Thu 6 Nov 2025
The Government’s sweeping overhaul of New Zealand’s climate laws has drawn sharp condemnation, with one expert predicting it's another step towards 'the beginning of the end' for the Climate Change Commission.
NZ off-track for 2030 methane target
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is no longer on track to meet its 2030 methane target, according to the Ministry for the Environment.
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.
New Indigenous-led Climate Institute opens at Lincoln University
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Media release | Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University proudly announces a pivotal new chapter in climate resilience with the establishment of the Kāika Institute of Climate Resilience.
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.
Carbon market tanks off the back of Govt’s proposed climate law changes
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Secondary market prices dropped 20% in early morning compliance carbon trading yesterday, as the market woke up to Tuesday’s late-breaking government announcement of proposed law changes to climate policy.
Solar geoengineering in wrong hands could wreak climate havoc, scientists warn
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Blocking the sun may reduce global heating – but ‘rogue actor’ could cause drought or more hurricanes, report finds.
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.
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
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.
How the US could shape the COP30 climate summit without even being there
Thu 6 Nov 2025
The Trump administration has recently taken aggressive stances to try to influence other countries’ climate policies, mainly by threatening hostile trade measures.
Govt climate policy set by vested interests to delay emissions cuts - Carr
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Rod Carr, former Climate Change Commission chair, says the Government’s move to unlink the Emissions Trading Scheme from our international climate target to 2030 undermines the credibility of emissions pricing as a tool for climate action – and is yet another Coalition Government policy designed to benefit vested interests rather than ordinary New Zealanders.
“Dirty and expensive:” City of Sydney bans gas as it votes to electrify all new big buildings
Thu 6 Nov 2025
The City of Sydney has followed the example of the ACT and Victoria governments and voted unanimously to require all newly built residential buildings, medium to large commercial buildings, hotels, and serviced apartment buildings, to be all-electric.
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.
How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Many extreme weather events are becoming more common and more intense around the world, fuelled by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Media round-up
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?
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.
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
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.
AgriZero backs first nitrous oxide solution with $1.2m investment
Thu 6 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A Kiwi ag-tech start-up developing a device for cows to wear to drastically cut nitrous oxide emissions has secured $1.2 million in government-industry funding.
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
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.
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.
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.
