Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
WAKE UP! The nation must start taking action
19 Apr 2016
By editor ADELIA HALLETT | A climate change report released today by worried scientists should shake all New Zealanders, from the prime minister down, to their core.
Bennett to talk climate change with the big guns
19 Apr 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett will take part in the Major Economies Forum on Climate Change in the United States this week.
Here's a six-point plan for getting Australia on track
19 Apr 2016
The past two years have been the hottest on record globally, yet Australian climate policy is frozen in the past.
Soil could save Earth from overheating
19 Apr 2016
New research shows that changing the way we farm and manage soils so they store carbon rather than lose it would help to avoid dangerous climate change.
CONFIRMED: Over 90% of climate scientists are believers
19 Apr 2016
When the University of Queensland published a paper in 2013 finding 97 per cent scientific consensus on human-caused global warming, what was surpising was how surprised everyone was.
NZ international credits dealing is fraud, says report
18 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s determination to use carried-over international carbon credits to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target make it party to an international fraud, a new report says.
Our man in Tokyo gets top climate-change job
18 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s next Climate Change Ambassador will be career diplomat Mark Sinclair.
Climate-threatened islands now facing the Big Dry
18 Apr 2016
Almost threequarters of a sample of island groups – atolls and archipelagos that are home to more than 18 million people − are expected to become increasingly more arid under a regime of climate change.
Forgetting fossil fuels a turning point in history
18 Apr 2016
The head of a global philanthropic foundation says that the world turning away from fossil fuels is a critical moment in human history, akin to the abolition of slavery.
Why carbon price is key to forestry worth billions
15 Apr 2016
Carbon prices will need to hit $35 a tonne by 2017 or forest owners will quit the Emissions Trading Scheme, leaving New Zealand unable to meet its emissions reductions targets, an expert is warning.
Wasted food places heavy burden on climate
15 Apr 2016
As obesity levels soar, cutting the vast amount of food we waste could have a major impact on reducing the effects of climate change, as well as alleviating world hunger.
Blame burning fossil fuels for most sea-level rise
15 Apr 2016
Global average sea level has risen by about 17 cm between 1900 and 2005. This is a much faster rate than in the previous 3000 years.
Top table invites us to chew over carbon market
14 Apr 2016
New Zealand is to join a select group of countries talking about developing a global carbon market.
Big powers in push for small nuclear reactors
14 Apr 2016
Concerns are being raised about the billions of dollars being spent on research to design and build small nuclear reactors for electricity production.
TASK FORCE: Bennett going public to cut emissions
13 Apr 2016
The Government looks set to establish up a public task force to plan New Zealand’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
Adopting Paris Agreement could be a year away
13 Apr 2016
It could be year or more before New Zealand ratifies the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Planners getting the climate change message
13 Apr 2016
New Zealand’s planners are starting to get their heads around climate change.
Climate minister will sign us up to Paris pact
12 Apr 2016
New Zealand will sign the Paris Agreement in New York on April 22.
Could this be a fair dinkum climate policy for Australia?
12 Apr 2016
An Australian think-tank claims to have done the impossible – come up with an effective climate policy that both sides of the political divide can live with.
If our ecosystems are threatened, let’s move them
12 Apr 2016
Picking up and moving entire ecosystems at risk of being wiped out by climate change is a technique that has already been used to deal with other human impacts - at the Stockton mine on the West Coast.
NZ runs global group setting up trading rules
11 Apr 2016
New Zealand is building a “club of countries” to set the rules for international carbon trading.
PARIS PACT: Will we or won't we join the party?
11 Apr 2016
It’s not yet clear whether New Zealand will be among the nations signing the Paris Agreement on climate change later this month.
Drought-ravaged California is feeling the pressure
11 Apr 2016
Scientists say that storms carrying desperately needed water to California are being diverted by a band of high pressure that coincides with rainfall and temperature extremes.
Major bank sees 2020 Asia-Pacific carbon market
8 Apr 2016
An Asia-Pacific regional carbon market could emerge after 2020, a new report suggests.
Banks threaten to unleash infrastructure tsunami
8 Apr 2016
We are living in the most explosive era of infrastructure expansion in human history. The G20 nations, when they met in Australia in 2014, argued for between US$60 trillion and $70 trillion in new infrastructure investments by 2030, which would more than double the global total value of infrastructure.
Solar energy shines as power business shrinks
7 Apr 2016
The solar energy business was the bright spot in the shrinking global power business last year, a new report says.
INDEFENSIBLE! Scientists slam Key's climate change attitude
6 Apr 2016
Scientists are calling the Government’s lack of leadership on climate change indefensible, after Prime Minister John Key said that science would solve the problem.
The case for a carbon tax on airline flight tickets
6 Apr 2016
After years of delay, the international aviation industry is inching its way toward bringing its greenhouse emissions under some form of regulation.
Plants find cool response to warming
6 Apr 2016
Everyone can breathe just a little easier about the future according to research predicting that warming may mean plants expel less carbon dioxide.
Fiscal risk of climate change is in the trillions
5 Apr 2016
Nearly $NZ35 trillion worth of global financial assets could be at risk from climate change, a new report is warning.
GET WISE! We have a real carbon exposure risk
5 Apr 2016
New Zealand has a carbon exposure risk whether it likes it or not, says business commentator Rod Oram.
Labour MP: Leaving overstayers here will help sinking islands
5 Apr 2016
New Zealand should let overstayers from Pacific countries which are becoming uninhabitable stay here, says Labour’s Pacific climate change spokesperson.
Air NZ emissions move wins global support
5 Apr 2016
Air New Zealand’s move to offset greenhouse gas emissions from its aircraft by supporting the restoration of native forests is picking up international momentum.
GM crops can thrive as climate warms
5 Apr 2016
Plants genetically modified to take advantage of hotter temperatures and increased carbon dioxide could cut fertiliser use and raise yields to alleviate global food shortages.
Businesses don't get it, says Bloomberg group
4 Apr 2016
Disclosure of the risks companies face from climate change is fragmented and incomplete, the G20’s Taskforce on Climate-Related Disclosure says in its first report.
SEA-LEVEL WARNING: The Government won't listen
4 Apr 2016
New research suggesting that sea-level rise could be faster and more extreme than currently expected means that a task force to analyse the risk for New Zealand makes even more sense. So why isn’t the Government doing it?
Antarctic melt could be alarming, say scientists
4 Apr 2016
Scientists in the US predict that the alarming rate at which Antarctica’s ice continues to thaw could be enough to double global sea level rise within this century.
Auckland campus looks at sustainability
4 Apr 2016
Sustainability week kicks off at Auckland University today with a discussion on sustainability and innovation in the food system.
You're gambling, Greens tell Government
1 Apr 2016
The Government is gambling with our future by not preparing now for rising seas which threaten up to $20 billion worth of New Zealand homes, the Green Party says.
What does the science really say about sea-level rise?
1 Apr 2016
A recent high-profile study led by US climatologist James Hansen has warned that sea levels could rise by several metres by the end of this century. How realistic is this scenario?
Science grapples with climate conundrums
1 Apr 2016
New research illustrates that reactions of people, plants and animals to the changing climate are a key factor in unravelling the complexities of global warming.
Storing carbon could help to meet climate goals
31 Mar 2016
Australia's agricultural lands help to feed about 60 million people worldwide, and also support tens of thousands of farmers as well as rural communities and industries.
Rising heat brings earlier (and better) vintage
30 Mar 2016
Winegrowers can expect good grape harvests much earlier now, thanks to climate change, but scientists say the effect may not last.
'Unless you make the price of fossil fuels honest, people will just keep burning them'
29 Mar 2016
"They talk like they realise there’s a problem, but they’re not taking the only action that would be effective. Unless you make the price of fossil fuels honest, by including their cost to society, people will just keep burning them." That's retired Nasa scientist Dr James Hansen, talking to Radio New Zealand’s Kim Hill on Saturday morning.
Does doing renewable energy demand the undoable?
29 Mar 2016
Switching to renewable energy as fast as the world needs to will require changes so massive that they are unlikely to happen, scientists say.
It looks like Asia is losing its appetite for coal
29 Mar 2016
Many hundreds of planned coal-fired power plants in Asia will probably be shelved as economies slow and climate change and air pollution worsen.
Labour vows to set new rules around carbon risk
24 Mar 2016
Carbon risk disclosure would be compulsory under a Labour government, says finance spokesman Grant Robertson.
What will Turnbull’s $1b energy fund actually do?
24 Mar 2016
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced the creation of a A$1 billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund, to be jointly managed by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: Labour lays it on the line
23 Mar 2016
Regional clusters, an overhaul of the country’s science system, and encouraging social enterprises could be part of a Labour government’s drive to develop clean-tech, sustainable jobs.
Black-out Bridges keeps us in the dark on e-cars
23 Mar 2016
Transport Minister Simon Bridges is refusing to release advice officials have given him on encouraging New Zealanders to switch to electric vehicles.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
Wed 13 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has been focussed on reducing the Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ and carbon prices should rise soon, according to the Secretary for the Environment.
International scientists slam NZ govt's proposed approach to methane
Wed 13 Aug 2025
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by international climate scientists, with a new study saying the attempt to redefine climate target-setting by livestock-exporting countries undermines the transition to a sustainable and equitable food system
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
'Cali Fund’ for nature still empty as emails show industry hesitation
Fri 8 Aug 2025
A major fund for biodiversity remains starved of resources more than five months after its launch – with no money yet put forward by the large companies who could contribute.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Carbon offsets market set for revival as high-quality removal solutions gain traction, says GlobalData
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Media release - GlobalData | The carbon offsets market has experienced a significant slowdown since 2021, primarily due to scandals surrounding project quality and overstated impacts.
Climate scientists criticise Ireland over new ‘temperature neutrality’ proposal
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Climate scientists have criticised Ireland over proposed measures that would weaken the country’s commitments to reducing methane emissions.
Carbon prices slide as market awaits ETS decision
1 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Volatility has returned to the secondary carbon market, with prices sliding again after plateauing in recent weeks, as the market waits for government decisions on Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
Govt rejects Te Kuha coal mine fast-track bid
Wed 13 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The controversial Te Kuha coal mine on the West Coast has had its application for fast-track approval declined, after failing to meet seven of the application criteria.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Gas pressure intensifies
Tue 12 Aug 2025
The pressure from reduced gas supply is pushing industries that rely on cheap gas out of the market in favour of those who can afford to pay more.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Extreme rainfall from future cyclones could rise by up to 35% in NZ
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Rainfall from tropical cyclones will significantly increase under global warming, according to the latest modelling.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Media round-up
Fri 8 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Former minister of forestry Stuart Nash condemns "lock and leave" carbon farming; Fonterra's convenient omission about its switch from coal; and KiwiRail’s bold electrification plans.
Heat pumps could cut household energy bills by $1.5 billion a year
Tue 12 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Heat pumps could save Kiwi households hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as well as freeing up energy for industrial users, according to a new report.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
NZ signs up to UK initiative to boost renewable energy in the Pacific
Fri 8 Aug 2025
New Zealand has joined the United Kingdom's TIDES initiative, which aims to support renewable energy developments in the Pacific Islands.
How the meat industry uses environmental groups to make beef seem climate-friendly
Mon 11 Aug 2025
The meat industry may have enlisted environmental groups to persuade people to “feel better” about eating beef, despite the sector’s ballooning emissions of climate-heating pollution.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
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.
Why insurers worry the world could soon become uninsurable
Mon 11 Aug 2025
Top insurers fear the climate crisis could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable.
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.
First-of-a-kind US class-action lawsuit would force EPA to reinstate $3bn climate program
7 Aug 2025
Coalition of non-profits, tribes and local governments sued EPA chief for halting climate justice grants.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
A mineral mining boom is not ‘critical’ for the green transition
Wed 13 Aug 2025
New research shows renewable energy goals could largely be met with the amount of minerals produced today – but the military industry wants more.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Oil states accused of using scare tactics in bid to sink green shipping deal
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oil-reliant countries are campaigning to stop the adoption of the IMO’s Net-zero Framework in October.
Labour vows to reinstate oil and gas ban
6 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party is promising to reinstate a ban on new oil and gas exploration permits, but won’t say if they will go even further and commit to revoking permits if elected.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Momentum sagging at UN plastic pollution treaty talks
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Talks on forging a landmark treaty to combat the scourge of plastic pollution were stumbling Saturday, with progress slow and countries wildly at odds on how far the proposed agreement should go.
New resource management bill an 'unprecedented power grab' by ministers
Wed 13 Aug 2025
Media release – Environmental Defence Society | The changes proposed in the Amendment Paper represent an "egregious aggregation of power" by Minister Bishop, aimed at disempowering councils who protect the environment.
A new report shows how local climate activism leads to ‘remarkable’ gains
7 Aug 2025
Efforts to pass laws and advance clean energy projects can significantly reduce emissions, and at a low cost.
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.
Govt's hazards briefing hypocritical – Greenpeace
Mon 11 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s new briefing document on building resilience to hazards – including climate change – is “deeply ironic” and “deplorable”, according to Greenpeace.
US: Experts will review science on fossil fuel harm
Tue 12 Aug 2025
With the Trump administration raising doubts about climate science, the country’s premier science advisory group will fast-track a consensus document with an eye to weighing in on the administration’s planned repeal of a 2009 determination that greenhouse gas emissions harm human health and the environment.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
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.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
Tue 12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
