Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
Environment first, vows Labour contender
30 Aug 2013
A government led by Labour leadership contender Grant Robertson would make all legislation subject to an environmental impact assessment.
Is this the new Groser, asks academic
30 Aug 2013
Climate Change and Trade Minister Tim Groser appears to have had a Road to Damascus experience.
ANALYSIS: Australians' vote will affect carbon market
30 Aug 2013
The 2013 Federal Election in Australia will have a significant impact on Australian carbon markets, regardless of who wins, Westpac says.
'I don't think I've ever driven a Kyoto Protocol ...'
30 Aug 2013
Last Sunday, Radio New Zealand’s Down The List programme turned its satirical eye on New Zealand’s 2020 emissions reduction target.
Study brings new fears over Antarctic ice
30 Aug 2013
The world’s largest ice sheet in Antarctica could be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than previously thought, according to new research from Durham University.
Why the Pacific problem will not go away
30 Aug 2013
While we here in New Zealand are worried about our pay checks and the next iphone due to emerge shortly, some thought needs to go out to our Pacific neighbours, says Carbon Market Solutions.
Kyoto rules govern new emissions stand
23 Aug 2013
New Zealand’s 2020 emissions reduction target will be implemented under Kyoto Protocol rules.
Experts slam 5% emissions target
23 Aug 2013
Leading climate policy and science experts say the Government’s emissions reduction target is “markedly inadequate and disappointing”.
Academic links climate change and civil wars
23 Aug 2013
A Harvard University academic is looking for connections between climate change and civil war.
IPCC scientists point finger at humans
23 Aug 2013
Humans are most likely to blame for warming temperatures across the globe in recent decades, according to a leaked study from an international committee of scientists.
Pacific women to see how the US does it
23 Aug 2013
Women climate leaders from across the Pacific will visit the United States to learn how America is combating climate change.
Emissions target under fire from MPs
23 Aug 2013
The Government's 2020 emissions reduction target came under fire in Parliament this week.
NZ commits to 5% climate change target
16 Aug 2013
New Zealand has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to five per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
Our Super funds back pollution, says WWF
16 Aug 2013
More than $1 billion invested for New Zealanders’ futures is supporting some of the world’s most polluting and environmentally destructive companies, a report released today by WWF-New Zealand reveals.
Foresters opting out of ETS, says Labour
16 Aug 2013
A new report shows the gutted Emissions Trading Scheme is damaging the forestry sector, Labour’s Climate Change spokesperson Moana Mackey says.
EPA gets ready to sidestep Congress
16 Aug 2013
A top US climate change official says the Obama administration is finished waiting for Congress to act on climate change and plans to bypass the legislative branch in developing a federal response.
Utilities must boost climate resilience, says report
16 Aug 2013
The US energy industry needs to deliver a major improvement in the resilience of its power grids or risk ever-more frequent weather-related blackouts, which are already costing the economy between $18bn and $33bn a year.
Australia draws the battle lines
16 Aug 2013
There’s a carbon battle going on over the Tasman in the lead-up to that country’s general election.
Soot and methane not the whole emissions story
16 Aug 2013
Cutting the amount of short-lived, climate-warming emissions such as soot and methane in our skies won't limit global warming as much as previous studies have suggested, a new analysis shows.
Climate change threatens ancient sites
16 Aug 2013
Climate change is threatening New Zealand’s archaeological sites.
Fund managers minding climate risks
9 Aug 2013
Fund managers are incorporating climate risks into investment decisions, a new report shows.
Groser defends climate change attitudes
9 Aug 2013
This week in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Tim Groser found himself defending statements by two of his Cabinet colleagues that seem to suggest they are not entirely convinced that anthropogenic climate change is real:
Warm year, but southern sea ice grows
9 Aug 2013
Antarctica sea ice extent reached record high in 2012 in what was among the 10 warmest years on record.
California shuns linking emissions schemes
9 Aug 2013
The head of the Californian emissions trading scheme – which will ultimately become the world’s third largest – says the US state has no plans to link with Australia’s carbon price.
Feeling mad? Could be you’re feeling the heat
9 Aug 2013
Violent human behaviour around the world could be caused by climate change, a new study finds.
Why sweat bees could join the social whirl
9 Aug 2013
A warming climate may dramatically change not just where animals live, but how, researchers say.
Aussie emitters await election outcome
9 Aug 2013
Australia's Federal election has been September 7 and the outcome will determine the fate of the Carbon Price Mechanism, but in the meantime, the business of compliance goes on. Westpac reports:
NZ eyes move to natural capital cost
2 Aug 2013
Government officials are working on ways to bring in policies recognising the economic value of New Zealand natural capital.
EDITORIAL: Gluckman has arrived
2 Aug 2013
The Prime Minister’s chief science adviser has stepped into the leadership void on climate change.
Climate action long overdue, says Labour
2 Aug 2013
The Labour Party says that a report by the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, must surely trigger some Government action to try to mitigate the effects of climate change.
People power cuts in gas emissions
2 Aug 2013
Energy efficiency efforts by households, companies, and motorists led to the decline in carbon dioxide emissions from energy use in the United States, according to a new report.
NSW to host huge solar power plant
2 Aug 2013
Construction will start in Australia early next year on the largest solar power station in the southern hemisphere.
Trading seen as answer to South Africa’s energy crisis
26 Jul 2013
Balancing the climate change issue with sustainable energy and the threat of carbon shortage is no easy task for South Africa but carbon trading might just help.
Tropical ecosystems play key role, says study
26 Jul 2013
Rising temperatures, influenced by natural events such as El Niño, have a corresponding increase in the release of carbon dioxide from tropical forest ecosystems, according to a study out this week.
Australia makes early move to carbon trading
19 Jul 2013
Australian households will benefit from an average $380 reduction in the cost of living next financial year after the country moves to a floating price on carbon emissions, the Rudd Government says.
Business not doing job, says green analyst
12 Jul 2013
Business is still failing to address climate change and environmental sustainability despite a talkfest in the capital this week, says one of our leading environmental policy analysts.
Labour seeks help for fossil fuel action
12 Jul 2013
Labour is looking for cross-party support for its attempt to bring back a ban on new fossil fuel electricity generation in New Zealand.
Youth takes climate questions on tour
12 Jul 2013
New Zealand’s young leaders are taking to the nation’s halls to ask what’s the hold-up in taking action on climate change.
Solar plane shows world what's possible, says UN chief
12 Jul 2013
The journey of the first solar-powered plane to cross the United States has been hailed as an inspiration to tackle climate change and promote sustainable development.
Kill Krill – how acid ocean will destroy key food source
12 Jul 2013
Acidification in the Southern Ocean is posing serious challenges to Antarctic krill - the primary food source for whales, seals and penguins.
We're woefully short on green facts, says report
5 Jul 2013
New Zealand has the information to address fewer than half the major environmental problems it faces, according to a Statistics Department analysis.
Nation is green-obsessed, says farming chief
5 Jul 2013
New Zealand is obsessed with its clean, green image and our bureaucrats have an “unhealthy obsession” with nitrates, says Federated Farmers dairying boss Willy Leferink.
Report paints grim picture of climate change in Asia
5 Jul 2013
Climate change in Southeast Asia could see the rice bowl of Vietnam cracking, diving spots in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia lying idle with no tourists, and nearly half of Bangkok under water.
The game is changing, report tells insurers
5 Jul 2013
The insurance industry’s own watchdog has warmed that the industry faces potentially serious financial losses unless it gets active in urging governments to address climate change factors.
Obama shows up NZ, say young greens
28 Jun 2013
President Obama's announcement of a United States climate plan will test whether the National Government is still at all serious about its claimed "fast follower" approach to climate change, say some of the country’s youth leaders.
Pollution puzzle: We're using more water than we've got
28 Jun 2013
Water extraction levels from some New Zealand rivers now exceed the amount of water in those rivers, a freshwater biologist is warning.
President promises to slash emissions
28 Jun 2013
United States President Barack Obama has unveiled the country’s first national climate action plan, pledging to limit carbon emissions from power plants.
The five-way strategy to dodge Congress
28 Jun 2013
President Obama’s plan to fight climate change focuses on three main areas: Cutting carbon pollution, preparing the US for the effects of climate change, and coordinating the effort with other countries.
UN climate chief applauds Obama
28 Jun 2013
President Barack Obama’s climate action plan can be a critical move forward on the path toward a new, global climate agreement, the United Nations climate chief believes.
Big news from the US, Australia
28 Jun 2013
There have been significant policy developments over the past week in the global emissions arena, Westpac reports.
Urgent need to rethink tourism says expert
Mon 18 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The post-pandemic recovery has created an urgent need to rethink how tourism operates, who benefits from it, and how it impacts the social and environmental systems it depends on, according to new research.
Media round-up
Fri 15 May 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The government's move to change climate law removes a key protection for NZ citizens, farmers should be paid to use methane-busting tools, and it's one step forward, three steps back on environment policy.
$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.
Europe has 'maybe six weeks of jet fuel left', energy boss warns
20 Apr 2026
Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.
Govt unveils long-awaited voluntary carbon market guidance
Fri 15 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has released long-awaited guidance for New Zealand’s voluntary carbon and nature markets, as questions continue for the sector despite ministers signalling support for its growth.
Biomass sector asks: where did the love go?
Mon 18 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand has sufficient biomass in its plantation forests to replace natural gas for industrial process heat at lower costs than electrification, but is failing to get the attention it deserves, sector leaders say.
Carbon News updates forward curve
Wed 13 May 2026
Carbon News has updated its ten-year NZU forward curve, following a recent rise in spot market prices, with NZUs rallying from about $34 in January to nearly $54 in early May.
Vanuatu’s legal battle against climate superpowers heads to the UN
Mon 18 May 2026
COMMENT: The United Nations General Assembly upcoming vote responding to the International Court of Justice’s landmark 2025 advisory opinion on climate change could help move climate responsibility from political promise to legal accountability.
Drop in ETS forestry registrations
5 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | ETS forestry registrations have dropped off this year, with the new mandatory emissions return period, new land-use rules, and carbon price volatility all meaning participants aren’t rushing to register forestry in the emissions trading scheme.
Coal pollution is cutting solar power output worldwide, study finds
Mon 18 May 2026
New research led by the University of Oxford and University College London has revealed pollution from coal-fired power plants is significantly reducing the energy output of solar photovoltaic installations, particularly where these are expanding side by side.
Tairāwhiti deserves better than weakened forestry rules
5 May 2026
OPINION: The government's proposed amendments to forestry standards, released yesterday, ignore the hard lessons learned in our region and ignore the voices that have fought hardest to protect it, writes Manu Caddie.
Green building council calls for clean energy policies
Mon 18 May 2026
The New Zealand Green Building Council has released its 2026 election manifesto calling for policies to reduce energy waste in buildings, lower household and business energy costs, and improve New Zealand’s energy security.
What Magyar’s defeat of Orbán in Hungary means for climate and energy
21 Apr 2026
Hungary has played a disproportionate role in EU climate and energy policy in recent years, by repeatedly vetoing climate action and by delaying the phaseout of Russian fossil-fuel imports.
Conservation land open for voluntary carbon market schemes
12 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government is to open up the Crown-owned conservation estate to private investment in voluntary carbon market projects.
Natural gas to play key role in strategy to double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050
Mon 18 May 2026
A new national strategy will double the capacity of the country’s electricity grid by 2050, Prime Minister Mark Carney said as he announced the plan last week.
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.
Future big droughts may be worse than we think – NZ’s past shows why
Mon 18 May 2026
By Adam Brown, University of Waikato; Dave Frame, University of Canterbury, and Luke Harrington, University of Waikato | For an agricultural nation like New Zealand, severe drought is one of the most ominous consequences of a warming planet.
EDS urges MPs to scrap the Fisheries Amendment Bill
5 May 2026
Media release | The Environmental Defence Society today lodged a substantive submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.
Govt presses ahead with forestry rule changes despite opposition
Thu 14 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is pushing ahead with changes to commercial forestry rules despite most submitters opposing the proposals, with critics warning the reforms will weaken councils’ ability to manage erosion and forestry slash risks in vulnerable regions such as Tairāwhiti.
GIDI-style help cheaper than LNG: MBIE
11 May 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Officials advised ministers last July that the lowest-cost way to free up gas for use during dry winters was to assist industrial gas users to switch to electricity.
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.”
New funding for low methane farming uptake
29 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government will co-fund projects under an Early Adoption Accelerator scheme announced today to accelerate the uptake of low emissions farming technologies emerging from the AgriZero public-private partnership.
Why ‘greenhushing’ signals deeper issues with NZ’s climate risk reporting regime
Fri 15 May 2026
By Hang Pham, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington | Most of us are familiar with the concept of greenwashing: organisations exaggerating or overstating their environmental credentials. But in New Zealand, there are signs the country’s climate disclosure regime may inadvertently be driving a very different trend: not saying much at all.
‘Formidable’ El Niño expected this winter
29 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, with predicted lower rainfall for some areas and heavier rain for others likely to impact multiple sectors of the economy as well as the carbon market.
Victorian Hydrogen announces Southland urea fertiliser project using coal
22 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen has announced it is developing a new 1.5 million-tonne-a-year urea fertiliser operation in Southland, which it will apply for under fast-track legislation.
Media round-up
24 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: What is the real cost of storm-hit infrastructure? Urgency is needed over climate adaptation funding; and a community conservation group has won a legal victory against multinational mining company OceanaGold.
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.
Labour condemns Govt plan to stop climate litigation
Fri 15 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Labour Party has slammed the Government’s move to block climate lawsuits against big emitters but won’t say if they would repeal the legislation if elected in November.
Methanexit: writing on the wall for NZ’s biggest gas user
6 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s biggest fossil gas user, Methanex, is expected to stop production by the end of this year, with the company confirming its Motunui methanol operation won’t survive Māui gas field’s closure.
Govt missing tricks to save fuel in crisis
30 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is being urged to shift its response to the fuel crisis away from short-term relief and towards measures that reduce demand, with public health experts warning it is missing an opportunity to boost energy security and lower household costs.
Climate risks could reshape business finances, new guidance warns
15 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New guidance warns climate change is set to fundamentally reshape financial outcomes for businesses, including difficult-to-model climate “tipping points” – irreversible changes such as ice sheet collapse or ocean circulation shifts – which threaten severe and sudden financial impacts.
Move to block lawsuits could strengthen climate case against Govt
Thu 14 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s plan to block climate lawsuits – while potentially fatal for one groundbreaking climate case – could actually bolster claims in another live climate case underway against the Government.
Coal mine challenge reaches Aus High Court
Wed 13 May 2026
What climate change impacts should a planning authority have to take into account when assessing a mining project?
Australian operator to run NZ ETS auctions
11 May 2026
The Government has appointed an Australian company to run its Emissions Trading Scheme auctions, taking over from NZX, which has operated the ETS auctions since they began in 2021.
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.
Deep-sea mining risks biodiversity loss lasting decades, scientists warn
11 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The first comprehensive review of deep-sea mining research has found mining could cause ecological damage lasting decades and, in some ecosystems, irreversible biodiversity loss, with New Zealand experts warning the industry poses major risks to fragile ocean environments.
Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project
23 Apr 2026
Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Monday over its approval last month of oil company BP’s ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Opposition slams environment ministry merger
Wed 13 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Opposition MPs accused the Government of downgrading climate and environmental protections as legislation to abolish the Ministry for the Environment and merge it into a new mega-ministry passed its second reading in Parliament.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
Fri 15 May 2026
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
ESG funds include petrochemical companies, report finds
5 May 2026
Global banks have invested US$133bn into US petrochemical expansion, even as the industry is linked to climate change.
Thousands protest in Germany urging faster shift to renewable energy, amid Iran war
20 Apr 2026
Thousands of people demonstrated across Germany on April 18, urging a faster shift to renewable energy and accusing conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition of putting the brakes on the transition.
Green Party calls for national electrification plan
20 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a national plan to electrify homes, transport and industry using renewable energy, to reduce fossil fuel dependence in response to the Middle East crisis.
China widens its clean energy lead
Mon 18 May 2026
Chinese companies account for more than half of global investments in clean energy manufacturing since 2019, while new U.S. investments declined last year.
‘Landmark’ conservation reform bill – boost or bust for nature?
8 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced an overhaul of the country’s conservation system, which environmental organisation Forest & Bird says will undo the work of many generations of Kiwis to protect public conservation land.
Combined climate extremes may prompt carbon budget rethink
Thu 14 May 2026
Media release: Springer Nature | Combined extreme climate events are likely to become more common in the future if carbon emissions continue to rise, a paper in Nature suggests.
Africa secures major clean energy deals as France deepens investment push
Fri 15 May 2026
French and African leaders have announced more than $11 billion in renewable energy investments across Africa, underscoring the continent’s growing importance in the global push for cleaner energy and industrial development.
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.
Why both trees and technology are important in the race to mitigate carbon emissions
4 May 2026
Different carbon‑removal approaches solve different problems, and pitting these technologies against each other could slow progress.
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.
More red lights for cars might mean more green lights for sustainable transport
7 May 2026
Media release: Royal Society Open Science | Reducing the amount of green light time for cars at traffic lights could encourage commuters to switch to more sustainable transport.
UN members prepare for pivotal vote on landmark ICJ climate justice ruling
Fri 15 May 2026
If the resolution is passed, governments will recognise their legal responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ First moves to revive container return scheme
4 May 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | NZ First is aiming to launch a national container return scheme, which could recycle over a billion wasted containers each year, reviving a policy shelved by the previous Labour-led Government in 2023.
Commission urges Govt action on climate risks
7 May 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate change currently poses major risks to our water infrastructure with “significant gaps” in readiness to manage risks and increasing hazards, according to the Climate Change Commission.
Why is Northern Ireland facing a growing threat from wildfires?
7 May 2026
Figures show that spring drought events are happening more often while there has been a sharp rise in "fire weather" - a mix of warmth, dryness, and wind that allows fires to ignite and spread rapidly. Experts warn this combination, along with climate change, is creating a longer and more volatile wildfire season.
Trump has hindered offshore wind while China and other countries invest heavily
Mon 18 May 2026
President Donald Trump is stopping offshore wind projects in the United States, just as the industry was poised to grow significantly.
