Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
We can’t bet on renewable energy to save the world
9 Nov 2016
The Paris climate agreement has now officially come into force most people have hailed it as a huge success and a significant milestone in our quest to limit the effects of global climate change.
Climate change momentum begins today with Marrakech
8 Nov 2016
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech has started - just three days after the Paris Agreement entered into force.
The day the world shut the door on disaster
8 Nov 2016
PATRICIA ESPINOSA, UNFCCC Executive Secretary and SALAHEDDINE MEZOUAR, President of COP22 and Morocco Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation look at the UN climate conference which opened today in Marrakech:
Fossil fuel majors strut their stuff for Marrakech
8 Nov 2016
The oil industry has been in damage limitation mode ahead of this week’s climate change talks in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.
Morgan's party will stand firm on climate
7 Nov 2016
Gareth Morgan’s new political party will have a strong focus on climate.
How will Paris Agreement change your day-to-day life?
7 Nov 2016
What is clear about the Paris Agreement on climate change is that to have a fighting chance of meeting its target it will require large and sustained emissions reductions, starting very, very soon.
Politicians feel the heat from rising temperatures
7 Nov 2016
Voters who feel good about life – whether it is to do with their job, their marriage or even the success of their sports team – are more likely to support their politicians.
NZ wins praise for work in global carbon markets
4 Nov 2016
New Zealand is showing “true leadership” on the development of global carbon markets, a new report says.
EDITORIAL: Welcome to the real world that's Paris
4 Nov 2016
It's Paris Day – the day the Paris Agreement comes into force.
Australia left behind 12 months after Paris
4 Nov 2016
Australia has been left behind as countries and businesses accelerate action on climate change after the historic global agreement one year ago, a new Climate Council report has revealed.
Why geo-engineering is unlikely to save the world
4 Nov 2016
The global watchdog responsible for protecting the world’s wealth of species, the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, has looked at the hopes for reining in climate change through geo-engineering.
EECA names award finalists
2 Nov 2016
THE FINALISTS have been announced for the EECA Business Energy Management Award.
Will US policy push fossil fuels or clean energy?
2 Nov 2016
The United States is blessed with many energy resources: huge fossil fuels reserves and substantial renewable energy potential, from offshore wind to geothermal power.
LETTER: Stern Report 10 years later
2 Nov 2016
INTELLIGENCE for the carbon market, eh? - as you claim in today’s (Carbon News Oct 31) bit headed “Stern Words”.
Govt wants to break new ground for tree planting
1 Nov 2016
The Government says it’s working on new ways to get more native and exotic trees in the ground.
Why aren’t Washington greenies supporting a carbon tax?
1 Nov 2016
Legislation known as Initiative-732 would make Washington the first US state to have a carbon tax. The tax would be levied on refineries and utilities, who would then pass the tax on to consumers in the form of higher gasoline, electricity and natural gas prices.
Changing rainfall patterns threaten food production
1 Nov 2016
Rainfall patterns will have changed so drastically by the end of this century that agriculture, forestry and fishing will all be seriously affected, warns the UN’s latest State of Food and Agriculture report.
Rural capital gains tax could work, says report
31 Oct 2016
A capital gains tax on rural land and letting farmers sell future carbon credits when they plant trees could help New Zealand to cut agricultural emissions, a new paper says.
Electric floor sparks power from footfalls
31 Oct 2016
US scientists have found a new way to generate energy at home: the tribo-electric floor. Tread on it and it will convert the kinetic energy of a footstep into a current of electricity.
SICK SEAS: Our seafood industry under threat
28 Oct 2016
New Zealand's seafood industry is threatened by an increasingly acidic ocean caused by climate change, a new report is warning.
US faces megadroughts and superstorms
27 Oct 2016
Climate change makes it at least three times more likely that tropical superstorms such as Hurricane Sandy will hit north-eastern cities in the US in coming decades.
MEMO INVESTORS: You can't ignore climate change
25 Oct 2016
Investors can no longer ignore climate change, says a global asset-management company.
Energy efficiency makes impact on carbon emissions
25 Oct 2016
Improved energy efficiency is helping New Zealand to cut thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions, as well as saving millions of dollars a year, the Government energy efficiency agency reports.
Corporate climate risk is all about turning a profit
25 Oct 2016
Risk has become a central construct for how businesses should respond to climate change.
The world meets in Quito to discuss the future of cities
25 Oct 2016
As the global population grows from seven billion to nearly 10 billion by 2050, we will need to build the equivalent of a city of one million people every five days to house them.
Border tax could cut emissions, says NZ economist
21 Oct 2016
The US, China and the European Union should bring in border taxes on carbon emissions contained in imported products not already taxed in their countries of origin, according to a former New Zealand cabinet minister.
Secret ingredient lures bees into making more food
20 Oct 2016
A plant virus has developed the trick of attracting bees to the plants it has attacked to make sure they produce plenty of seed.
Why is the US Green Party so irrelevant?
20 Oct 2016
Many Americans value environmental protection and want to see more of it.
Trees do their job much better than we thought
19 Oct 2016
The pre-industrial atmosphere contained more particles, and so brighter clouds, than we previously thought.
Paris promises could cost country $70 billion
18 Oct 2016
MEETING New Zealand’s Paris pledge could cost more than $70 billion and see carbon hit $300 a tonne if the country doesn’t have access to international carbon markets.
Australian businesses keen to join global carbon trade
18 Oct 2016
AUSTRALIA'S conservative government might have ditched the country’s emissions trading scheme, but businesses across the Tasman still want to get involved in international carbon trading, a survey shows.
Scientists' revolutionary plan can save the rainforest
18 Oct 2016
Brazilian scientists, alarmed at the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest, have proposed a radical plan to save it.
Fracking pumps up public’s climate fears
18 Oct 2016
Public opposition to pumping water and chemicals into the ground to extract gas from shale − the technique known as fracking − is growing even in the countries whose governments are most in favour.
BLOOM GLOOM: Climate causing plankton problem
18 Oct 2016
Large white plankton blooms growing east of New Zealand are further evident that the ocean is being affected by climate change, scientists say.
Climate change could crunch Auckland housing market
17 Oct 2016
Auckland’s soaring house prices could be brought down to earth by climate change, the insurance industry is warning.
Global ‘bright spots’ offer climate change hope
17 Oct 2016
We are constantly bombarded with bad news about climate change and the state of the planet – to the point where problems can seem so great that we feel powerless to do anything about them.
Do we need an independent climate body?
14 Oct 2016
Should New Zealand follow the UK model of an independent, statutory climate committee?
Seaweed could cut methane emissions from cows
14 Oct 2016
When Canadian farmer Joe Dorgan noticed about 11 years ago that cattle in a paddock by the sea were more productive than his other cows, he didn't just rediscover an Ancient Greek and Icelandic practice.
Investors tell car industry to get a move on
13 Oct 2016
Major investors have warned the automotive industry it needs to accelerate its readiness for a low-carbon world if it is to retain their support and prosper.
Climate impacts double number of forest fires
13 Oct 2016
Climate change has already doubled the number of forest fires in the western US since the 1980s − and it is a trend that will continue to increase, according to new research.
Minister hints at setting minimum carbon price
12 Oct 2016
New Zealand could impose a minimum price on carbon.
Australian firms accept role of carbon prices
12 Oct 2016
Most major Australian companies are factoring carbon prices into their budgets, despite the fact the country no longer has a carbon tax or emissions trading scheme.
Fossil fuel industry must halt expansion
12 Oct 2016
Governments need to call an immediate halt to new coal, oil and gas projects if the world is to meet its climate change targets, a new report concludes.
Climate leaders eye challenges and a 'big idea'
11 Oct 2016
A who’s who in the world of climate change gathers in Auckland this morning.
Agroforestry can help the planet (and profits)
11 Oct 2016
Feeding the world’s growing population in a rapidly warming world will not be possible with modern intensive agriculture that relies on cutting down more forests to plant crops, according to new research.
Climate change worsens Brazil’s drought
11 Oct 2016
A recently published study suggests that the droughts which have traditionally affected Brazil's semi-arid northeast are being worsened by the effects of climate change.
Govt knew use of hot-air credits would draw fire
10 Oct 2016
The Government was warned last year that New Zealand could face criticism for using hot-air credits to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, documents show.
We're not doing enough, warn global energy leaders
10 Oct 2016
Current market signals are not strong enough to drive the decarbonisation the world needs to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, say energy leaders meeting in Istanbul.
10 things you should know about climate change
10 Oct 2016
No 10. New Zealand must adapt because some impacts of climate change – especially sea-level rise and flooding - are already unavoidable.
It's our age, but we've lost control of the planet
10 Oct 2016
It’s becoming increasingly commonplace to suggest that humans now dominate the planet.
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.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
$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
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.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New international protections for migratory species, including several found in New Zealand, are a positive step – but global protections won’t halt the decline of migratory species on their own, experts say.
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
Wed 1 Apr 2026
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.
Asia ramps up use of dirty fuels to cover energy shortfall triggered by Iran war
Today 11:45am
South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plants
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
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
Wed 1 Apr 2026
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
Wed 1 Apr 2026
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.
Watts’s last stand: Simeon Brown takes energy portfolio
Today 11:45am
By Pattrick Smellie | Energy Minister Simon Watts has lost the portfolio to Cabinet fixer Simeon Brown in a reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this morning.
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.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
Wed 1 Apr 2026
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.
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.
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.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
Wed 1 Apr 2026
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.
Cleantech expo coming to Auckland
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.
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.
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?
Media round-up
Today 11:45am
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The widening political gap is deepening cracks in NZ's climate consensus, Christchurch recorded more than 30,000 extra cycling trips over two weeks, and is the energy crisis a renewable inflection point?
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.
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
Today 11:45am
Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists | The Prioritisation Report released yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system.
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.
AI’s arrival complicates Big Tech climate goals, and some worry it’s locking in more fossil fuels
Today 11:45am
Six years ago, Google was confident that by 2030 it would power all operations with electricity generated from clean sources, including wind and solar power, and remove as much pollution as it produced. Today it calls those goals a “moonshot.” Microsoft says it’s still aiming to remove more carbon than it creates by 2030 but now describes the effort as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
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.
Momentum speeds up for low-emissions heavy transport
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s heavy vehicle sector is starting to move toward lower-emissions alternatives, with electric vehicles now delivering cost savings as well as lower emissions.
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
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
Wed 1 Apr 2026
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.
