Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Canberra backs fossil fuel 'growth centre' with $15m
29 Feb 2016
Australia's Industry, Innovation and Science Minister, Christopher Pyne, has launched a new “growth centre” for the fossil fuel industry (and uranium), to be known as National Energy Resources Australia.
WARNING: Why we must slash emissions now
26 Feb 2016
News that the world’s remaining carbon budget is half the size it was thought to be should have us drastically cutting carbon emissions now, says a top New Zealand climate scientist.
Carbon budget is only half as big as we thought
26 Feb 2016
Fossil fuel use will have to fall twice as fast as predicted if global warming is to be kept within the 2deg limit agreed internationally as being the point of no return, researchers say.
Energy efficiency in the spotlight
26 Feb 2016
Energy productivity and climate change will be the focus of this year’s Energy Management Association conference.
Urban sprawl is threatening Sydney’s foodbowl
26 Feb 2016
Sydney loves to talk about food, and the housing market. But rarely does the city talk about the threat that housing poses to the resilience of Sydney’s food system.
NZ and China best friends under carbon pact
25 Feb 2016
New Zealand and China are working together closely on carbon trading, after signing a bilateral agreement on carbon markets.
Z Energy wishlist: Everybody must be in ETS
25 Feb 2016
Fuel retailer Z Energy wants every sector in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a realistic price on carbon, political stability and an end to carbon subsidies.
Stand by for a miracle, says billionaire Bill
25 Feb 2016
The world will have a “miracle” new clean energy within 15 years that will save the planet, Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates is predicting.
Energy markets unlikely ally in the emissions effort
25 Feb 2016
In the aftermath of Paris climate talks, analysts lined up to point out why the celebrated agreement was simply not good enough.
Beehive shows signs of hearing business call
24 Feb 2016
The Government might be about to open the door more widely for business and other groups to have a bigger say in climate change policy.
You talk too much, market expert tells Canberra
24 Feb 2016
The Australian Government could restore certainty to the market if it did a better job of selling its climate change policy.
New study finds Antarctic ice sheets vulnerable
24 Feb 2016
Antarctica’s ice sheets are more sensitive to climate change than previously thought, says a team of scientists from New Zealand, the United States, Italy and Germany.
To meet Paris goals, do we need to engineer the climate?
24 Feb 2016
The climate talks that convened in Paris at the end of 2015 produced a historic agreement, giving negotiators and climate activists good reason to celebrate. Now the task is to ensure that the ambition shown in Paris is matched by action.
Market likes minister's carbon price comment
23 Feb 2016
The market is firming on the back of news that Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett expects carbon prices to rise.
ETS key is clear direction, say officials
23 Feb 2016
Officials have told new Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett that if the Emissions Trading Scheme is going to work it must have a clear, long-term direction.
OPINION: Our forest industry is heading south
23 Feb 2016
New Zealand’s third-largest export industry, forestry, is steadily shrinking.
Climate change is killing off India’s giant bees
23 Feb 2016
A warming climate and the loss of natural areas to meet the demands of tourism are driving Indian bee colonies to the brink, imperilling an essential food source.
New minister pushes for carbon price rise
22 Feb 2016
Carbon prices must rise, says new Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett.
NZ to promote international markets idea at UN
22 Feb 2016
A push by New Zealand to develop credible international carbon markets will take a step forward when United Nations climate change negotiators meet in May.
Why ETS examination should take the long view
22 Feb 2016
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust senior fellow SUZI KERR answers the key question posed in the Emissions Trading Scheme Review – should the carbon price cap and the one-for-two provisional measures be scrapped?
ETS ... we're hitting the target but missing the point
22 Feb 2016
Ministry for the Environment officials have been blunt about the Emissions Trading Scheme’s impact to date: “Research for this evaluation, and evidence from the interviews, found no sector other than forestry made emissions reductions over the Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period One (2008-12) that were directly caused by NZ ETS obligations.”
Carbon capture could be costly and risky
22 Feb 2016
Attempts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it safely are all potentially costly gambles with the current technology, scientists say.
Fund managers could face climate backlash
15 Feb 2016
New Zealand fund managers who fail to take the risks associated with climate change into account when making investments face a real possibility of legal action, says Bell Gully partner and climate change specialist Simon Watt.
We're looking for friends in the carbon market
15 Feb 2016
New Zealand is once again actively pursuing linkages with other carbon markets.
Bill puts the environment in its place
15 Feb 2016
A bill putting the environment back into environmental protection is back before Parliament this week.
Blame climate for stirring up ancient political turmoil
15 Feb 2016
Volcanic eruptions that triggered climatic extremes could have heralded deadly plague and famine in Europe and undermined the Roman empire.
New aviation rules will just delay the heavy lifting
15 Feb 2016
There appeared to be some rare good news this week for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft.
Saving our ecosystems step in the right direction
15 Feb 2016
When we think about adapting humanity to the challenges of climate change, it’s tempting to reach for technological solutions. We talk about seeding our oceans and clouds with compounds designed to trigger rain or increasing carbon uptake. We talk about building grand structures to protect our coastlines from rising sea levels and storm surges.
Govt's ETS stand has dangers, say economists
9 Feb 2016
Excluding agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme might be economically inefficient, say Westpac economists.
It's time to rethink what we want from farming
9 Feb 2016
Scientists say nature conservation and protecting the planet from global warming can both be achieved if land is used sustainably, not just for immediate profit.
CSIRO boss' logic could waste billions in taxes
9 Feb 2016
CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall offered the following justification for his decision to cut 110 jobs from the agency’s climate science staff: "We have spent probably a decade trying to answer the question 'is the climate changing?' After the Paris climate summit that question has been answered. The next question now is what do we do about it? The people that were so brilliant at measuring and modelling climate change might not be the right people to figure out how to adapt to it."
Useful waste offers win-win energy benefits
9 Feb 2016
An unsung success story in the switch to renewable energy is the use of waste to produce gas – and a valuable by-product.
Disease threatens to kill off bananas ... but there's a way we might save them
9 Feb 2016
Catastrophe is looming for the banana industry. A new strain has emerged of a soil-borne fungus known as “Panama disease” which can wipe out entire plantations – and it is rapidly spreading around the world.
Investors tip balance toward renewables
9 Feb 2016
With investment in renewable electricity sources now outstripping polluting fossil fuels, a new study sees signs of change in global attitudes towards climate risks.
Oceans are heating up ... at the double
9 Feb 2016
Records from a sailing ship’s round-the-world research voyage almost 150 years ago provide further evidence that the Earth is continuing to warm unchecked.
Giant blades snatch energy from the air
9 Feb 2016
Science can now make energy by building immense wind turbine blades and filtering carbon from the air, but the challenge is commercial viability.
How human impacts fuel weather extremes
9 Feb 2016
Researchers show that floods and droughts often happen at least in part because of human-induced influences on the climate, and not just from natural causes.
Many Brits can't be bothered, survey shows
9 Feb 2016
Half the people worried about climate change are not willing to make any changes to their lives to prevent it, a new study suggests.
Why post-Paris businesses must get moving
2 Feb 2016
Emissions Trading Scheme measures protecting industries from the full impact of carbon pricing have had their day, says an organisation representing a trillion dollars worth of investments.
Carbon questions lie in wait at Waitangi
2 Feb 2016
The Government is likely to face tough questioning at Waitangi this weekend over carbon prices.
Stakeholders next up in ETS review
2 Feb 2016
The Emissions Trading Scheme review moves into stakeholder meetings this week.
Our leaders suddenly silent on climate change
2 Feb 2016
The world’s leaders might have been talking big on climate change in Paris in December, but our local versions have been remarkably quiet on the subject in their state-of-the-nation speeches.
Labour setting sail to test the waters of the Pacific
2 Feb 2016
Labour is sending a task force to the Pacific to investigate the impact of climate change on fresh water supplies.
SBC chief off to work for the Government
2 Feb 2016
Sustainable Business Council executive director Penny Nelson is leaving to work for the Government.
Canberra pulls plug on emissions funding
2 Feb 2016
Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund is expected to run out of money by the end of the year, after the Government said it won’t put in any more.
Sick seas paint picture of how our future could be
2 Feb 2016
For billions of years, life on Earth remained relatively simple. Only single-celled organisms that could live with little or no oxygen were able to survive in the seas.
Solar club builds up powerful alliance
2 Feb 2016
The foundation stone of a new solar power club of 122 nations has been laid in Gurgaon, India, by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President François Hollande − cementing an agreement the two leaders made at the Paris climate talks last December.
How planning helps these farmers to beat the climate
2 Feb 2016
South Africa’s Western Cape plays an important role in the agricultural economy, but is particularly vulnerable to a changing climate.
New oil and gas wells will wait for price rise
2 Feb 2016
Billions of gallons of oil and huge quantities of gas, already discovered and which companies were about to extract, are currently being left unexploited because of the plunge in oil prices.
Ancient plankton give up secrets to science
2 Feb 2016
Scientists have for the first time determined how and when more than 2000 species of ancient marine plankton became extinct, and a potential indicator for which current species might be vulnerable to rapid climate change.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
Today 12:00pm
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
Today 12:00pm
New Zealand's proposed approach to methane emissions has again been attacked by internationals 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
Today 12:00pm
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
Today 12:00pm
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
Thu 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
Today 12:00pm
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
Today 12:00pm
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
Thu 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
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.
