Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Best by the rest...
6 Apr 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: The finance minister seeks advice on the ETS as carbon prices plummet; National’s climate policy is under scrutiny; and kaitiakitanga as climate action.
Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions and energy transition targets
5 Apr 2023
Germany aims to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2045. It has set the preliminary targets of cutting emissions by at least 65% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and 88% by 2040.
Rich countries could learn from Bangladesh
5 Apr 2023
For anyone who has sweated through record-high temperatures or waded through floodwater, it will come as no surprise that Britain is “strikingly unprepared" for the effects of climate change. That’s the conclusion of a recent report published by the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s independent advisory body on climate policy to the government.
Here's what you need to know about positive climate tipping points
4 Apr 2023
A recent landmark report on the climate crisis pointed out some near-term tipping points that could mean the difference between a habitable planet and an uninhabitable one.
Further ice loss for NZ’s glaciers
3 Apr 2023
Media release | NIWA’s annual end-of-summer snowline survey has revealed continued loss of snow and ice for New Zealand’s famous glaciers.
Torrents of Antarctic meltwater are slowing the currents that drive our vital ocean ‘overturning’ – and threaten its collapse
31 Mar 2023
The Conversation - Off the coast of Antarctica, trillions of tonnes of cold salty water sink to great depths. As the water sinks, it drives the deepest flows of the “overturning” circulation – a network of strong currents spanning the world’s oceans.
Govt announces new waste strategy will cut emissions
30 Mar 2023
The government announced a new waste strategy yesterday that it says will cut tens of thousands of CO2-equivalent emissions with kerbside food scrap collection.
Reserve Bank seeks feedback on managing climate-related risks
30 Mar 2023
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is seeking feedback on proposed new guidance for the financial sector on managing climate-related risks.
Is climate change to blame for the 8,000km long seaweed blob floating toward Florida and Mexico?
28 Mar 2023
A massive 8,000km long blob of seaweed is floating towards Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Brazilian Govt eyes permanent climate emergency for over 1000 cities
28 Mar 2023
Brazil's Minister of Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva Sunday admitted that President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva's administration was considering the possibility of declaring a state of climate emergency in 1,038 municipalities mapped as most vulnerable, Agencia Brasil reported.
Best by the rest...
24 Mar 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: the Climate Change Commision wants the Government to explain why it rejected advice; meanwhile, the commission failed to win legal costs from Lawyers for Climate Action NZ; and the Labour-Green coalition is under pressure as Labour dumps climate policies.
Dramatic changes in New Zealand river flows, research finds
24 Mar 2023
Media release | River flows in New Zealand have changed dramatically over the past 50 to 90 years as the climate has varied, a new study has found.
Climate freeloaders are destroying the planet
24 Mar 2023
Alaska isn't supposed to be an inferno—but its summers are now so warm that apocalyptic wildfires are almost inevitable.
Slave to energy
23 Mar 2023
Carbon News editor Jeremy Rose wrote his first climate story close to to quarter of a century ago. Many of the issues remain the same today. Today we republish the story to accompany Jeremy's piece on the dilemmas of whether to travel as a climate journalist.
Climate change: “It’s here, it's now, it’s us” - local experts on IPCC report
21 Mar 2023
The IPCC's latest report pulls no punches: “Climate change is here, it’s now, it’s us,” says Nick Cradock-Henry, GNS Science and IPCC contributing author.
Weathering the storm: How Japan is factoring climate change into defence policy
20 Mar 2023
Storm surges, flooding, more powerful typhoons and scorching temperatures — climate change will bring more of all to Japan, endangering military sites, personnel and gear, but also putting Tokyo and the Indo-Pacific at greater risk of geopolitical shocks.
Why countries shouldn’t rely on forests and soils to reach net zero
20 Mar 2023
Countries are betting on forests and soils to mop up their remaining “difficult-to-decarbonize” emissions to achieve their climate targets. More forests and better soils are good for nature and for adapting to climate change, but this strategy may prove a risk to the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate crisis worsens health disparities
17 Mar 2023
Climate change is already exacerbating health disparities for isolated communities and rural Māori - and we must prepare now for future disasters, rural doctors say.
As climate woes worsen, Africa's ecconomies suffer: UN
17 Mar 2023
From devastating cyclones and floods to an unrelenting drought, African countries are spending between 2% and 9% of their budgets to respond to extreme weather events, according to a United Nations report.
Greece must make up for lost time in climate adaptation
17 Mar 2023
A string of devastating wildfires and floods has forced Greece to step up its lagging climate adaptation efforts.
Floods, cyclones, thunderstorms: is climate change to blame for New Zealand’s summer of extreme weather?
16 Mar 2023
By James Renwick - The Conversation | The final months of New Zealand’s summer carried a massive sting, bringing “unprecedented” rainfalls several times over, from widespread flooding in Auckland at the end of January to ex-tropical Cyclone Gabrielle dumping record rains and causing devastating floods across the east coast of the North Island.
DRC dilemma: Generate oil wealth or combat climate change?
16 Mar 2023
The Democratic Republic of Congo wants more money for climate projects. Otherwise, oil drilling could replace fishermen in the world's largest peat bog. And that could spell devastation for the environment.
The UN’s climate handbook for a ‘liveable’ future
15 Mar 2023
Earth is hotter than it has been in 125,000 years but deadly heatwaves, storms and floods amplified by global warming could be a foretaste as planet-heating fossil fuels put a “liveable” future at risk.
French TV transforms weather forecasts to include climate change context
15 Mar 2023
State TV channels France 2 and France 3 have changed their daily weather forecasts into "weather and climate bulletins" as pat of France Televisions’ efforts to raise awareness about climate change. Presenters are showing not only what weather to expect, but the reasons behind it.
Our radioactive moment continues
13 Mar 2023
New Zealand has once again been ranked among the world’s climate change laggards - alongside the likes of Saudi Arabia - by Climate Action Tracker.
Why saving the whales means saving ourselves
13 Mar 2023
In 2016, disturbing footage captured on a sunny beach in Argentina went viral. The video appeared in news outlets around the world under variations of a disquieting headline: “Baby dolphin dies after a mob of tourists pass it around to pose for selfies.”
Climate-stressed Iraq says it will plant 5 million trees
13 Mar 2023
Iraq's prime minister on Sunday announced a campaign to combat the severe impacts of climate change on the water-scarce country, including by planting five million palms and trees.
U.N. official: Decarbonisation might not happen fast enough to stop climate change
10 Mar 2023
The world is not acting fast enough on global warming, according to a top official at the United Nations.
Threat of rising seas to Asian megacities could be way worse than we thought, study warns
9 Mar 2023
Parts of Asia’s largest cities could be under water by 2100 thanks to rising sea levels, according to a new study that combines both the impact of climate change with natural oceanic fluctuations.
Climate change blamed for declines in mountain plants
9 Mar 2023
Climate change has likely led to the decline of some of Scotland's mountain plants, according to new research.
High seas treaty a step forward - but “the work is far from over,” say experts
8 Mar 2023
Experts have welcomed an international treaty for the high seas - but say there is still a long way to go to ensure adequate protection and sustainable use.
Risky feedback loops are accelerating climate change, scientists warn
8 Mar 2023
Risky feedback loops that are accelerating global climate change may not be fully accounted for in current climate models, according to a recent study published in the scientific journal One Earth.
Climate change to cost Germany up to €900 billion by 2050 - study
7 Mar 2023
Extreme weather caused by climate change could cost Germany up to 900 billion euros in cumulative economic damage by mid-century, a study showed on Monday, as Europe's biggest economy seeks climate adaptation measures to cut the damages bill.
UK emissions fall 3.4% in 2022 as coal use drops to lowest level since 1757
7 Mar 2023
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3.4% in 2022, according to new Carbon Brief analysis, ending a post-Covid rebound.
Vanuatu hit by successive climate crisis fuelled cyclones
6 Mar 2023
New Zealand is sending much-needed humanitarian supplies to Vanuatu after two destructive cyclones and an earthquake within two days have impacted nearly 80% of the population.
Eleven Asian countries agree to pursue 'practical' carbon neutrality
6 Mar 2023
Japan and a group of 10 other countries in Asia have agreed to pursue "practical pathways" for carbon neutrality through coordinated steps such as developing hydrogen supply chains and setting decarbonization standards while ensuring energy security
Scientists discover a new way climate change threatens cold-blooded animals
6 Mar 2023
All animals need energy to live. They use it to breathe, circulate blood, digest food and move. Young animals use energy to grow, and later in life, to reproduce.
La Niña could lead to more heavy rain in the North Island
2 Mar 2023
Weather in the flood ravaged North Island looks to be drier in the coming months, but La Niña could still lead to the risk of heavy rain, according to NIWA’s March to May outlook.
Is climate change killing the haiku?
2 Mar 2023
Even amid relentless modernisation and urbannisation, Japan offers many daily moments that remind us of the seasons. Pop songs celebrate love and, with the advent of spring, sakura (cherry blossoms); restaurants advertise seasonal delicacies, and formal letters open with references to the golden beauty of trees under the autumn sun or snow flurrying in the winter air.
Could imitating volcanos fix the climate crisis? Science is spilt
1 Mar 2023
The controversial theory of solar geoengineering is at the centre of a growing body of climate research in Asia and elsewhere.
An incendiary form of lightning may surge under climate change
1 Mar 2023
A form of lightning with a knack for sparking wildfires may surge under climate change.
Less roast pork, more lentils needed to reach Denmark's climate targets - govt adviser
1 Mar 2023
Danes should replace two-thirds of their meat intake with vegetables and other plants as part of efforts to reach the country's ambitious climate targets by the end of the decade, the government's independent adviser said on Tuesday.
Concern about climate change at a record high
28 Feb 2023
Concern about climate change has significantly increased, rising by six percentage points to 27% in the latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor - the highest since tracking began in 2018.
Reflecting sunlight to cool the Earth must be studied before climate change gets much worse, urges group of 60 scientists
28 Feb 2023
More than sixty scientists from prominent institutions are advocating for rigorous study into reflecting sunlight away from the Earth to mitigate the effects of climate change.
A looming El Niño could give us a preview of life at 1.5C of warming
27 Feb 2023
The last three years were objectively hot, numbering among the warmest since records began in 1880. But the scorch factor of recent years was actually tempered by a climate pattern that slightly cools the globe, “La Niña.”
German court rejects farmer's climate suit vs Volkswagen
27 Feb 2023
A German court on Friday rejected a farmer's bid to force automaker Volkswagen to end the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2030.
40% of Australasians among world's top 10% of carbon gluttons
24 Feb 2023
The International Energy Association estimates that 40% of Aussies and Kiwis are among the world’s top 10% of emitters, with an average energy-related CO2 footprint of 20 tCO2 per capita per year.
NIWA scientists disturbed by lack of sea ice on Antarctic journey
24 Feb 2023
Media release - Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have returned from a six-week voyage to Antarctica.
Drought in Horn of Africa worse than in 2011 famine
23 Feb 2023
Drought trends in the Horn of Africa are now worse than they were during the 2011 famine in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
Brazil hit by deadly floods and landslides
22 Feb 2023
Hundreds of rescuers searched on Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed at least 40 people along the coast of Brazil’s southern state of Sao Paulo following a huge weekend downpour.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
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.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
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.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Fri 13 Feb 2026
The world is closer than thought to a “point of no return” after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
NZ still lacking coherent energy strategy
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Rod Carr | COMMENT: The government’s levy-funded foreign gas proposal for an LNG terminal shows New Zealand’s politicians being outmanoeuvred yet again by the multi-trillion dollar energy industry.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
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.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
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.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
Fri 13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Thu 12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 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.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
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 change linked to decline in southern right whale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
Climate ambassador moves on
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
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.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
