Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
More than half of Finns ready to adjust standard of living for climate
22 Feb 2023
More than half of Finns are ready to compromise on their standard of living to tackle the climate crisis, reveals a survey conducted for Helsingin Sanomat by Kantar Public.
Commissioner for the Environment doubts govt’s resource management plans are fit for purpose
21 Feb 2023
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton has told a select committee that two key pieces of legislation in its climate change adaptation plan are unlikely to provide an enduring framework that protects the environment.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change
21 Feb 2023
The adverse effects of climate change have impacted numerous areas of human health and well-being. In most parts of the world, women are least able to mitigate such changes, so they are an appropriate focus in a recent research paper.
Rationing: A fairer way to fight climate change?
21 Feb 2023
World War II-style rationing could be an effective way to reduce carbon emissions, according to new research from the University of Leeds.
Why the world needs a deal to protect its oceans
21 Feb 2023
Delegates from up to 193 UN member states will start talks in New York on Monday to try to wrap up negotiations on a long-awaited treaty to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing, pollution and other threats.
Climate change is redrawing the coffee growing map
20 Feb 2023
Harvesting coffee is a delicate process that occurs just once per year in the plant’s 20 year lifetime, and only after reaching around four years old.
New Zealand must build back better: Insurance Council
17 Feb 2023
Aotearoa must build back better after the catastrophic extreme weather of the past two weeks, the Insurance Council of New Zealand told the Environment Select Committee yesterday.
Storm conditions predicted to last till May, thanks to climate change: expert
16 Feb 2023
Hotter oceans, warm air, La Niña conditions, and climate change have all combined to create the strong cyclones that have battered the North Island in the past few weeks, with these conditions - and the possibility of more storms - lasting until May, according to experts.
Global inequality must fall to maintain a safe climate and achieve a decent standard of living for all: researchers
16 Feb 2023
Energy consumption is essential for human well-being, but there is enormous inequality in energy use worldwide. The top 10% of global energy consumers use roughly 30 times more energy than the bottom 10%.
Time to start planning for managed retreat: EDS
15 Feb 2023
“We live in a climate changing world. Weather-related disasters are becoming increasingly commonplace.” As far as opening lines goes it not the most gripping or urgent one ever written.
The right way to repair a mountain
15 Feb 2023
A locally driven push to restore a Himalayan paradise preserved an economy, a community and an ecosystem all at once.
Climate action is a good bet, even if it's not a sure thing
15 Feb 2023
Immediately starting a transition to a green economy is a rational approach even if the chances of achieving that transition are small, according to a new study.
A global citizens’ assembly on the climate and ecological crisis
15 Feb 2023
In 2021, a diverse group of actors—from scientists to social activists, practitioners to academics—organized a global citizens’ assembly for that year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
Climate action should not be left to our children: Vanuatu PM
13 Feb 2023
An historic vote at the United Nations General Assembly in New York calling for decisive action on global warming is expected to take place next month.
Climate cuts rife in Auckland budget proposal: Forest & Bird
10 Feb 2023
News release - The mayoral proposal for Auckland’s 2023/2024 annual budget is not fit-for-purpose in a climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, says Forest & Bird.
New $20k fund for tāngata whenua environmental monitoring
10 Feb 2023
News release - Tāngata whenua are being invited to apply for a share of a new $20,000 fund designed to support them in undertaking their own environmental monitoring within Te Taitokerau.
How India is battling deadly rain storms as climate change bites
9 Feb 2023
The rains did not let up all summer in 2018. By 14 August, most reservoirs had filled up and the people had grown weary of the monsoon.
Using wealth to insulate yourself from climate change
9 Feb 2023
While the days of overt climate denial are mostly over, there's a distinct form of denial emerging in its stead. PhD candidate Hannah Della Bosca, from the Sydney Environment Institute, explores the phenomenon of implicatory denial
In a cost of living and climate crisis, let’s ditch reward schemes
8 Feb 2023
By Paul Callister and Robert McLachlan - Planetary Ecology | We face both a climate crisis and cost of living crisis. But the pain is not being spread evenly on either front. Some families find it ever harder to put food on the table, some wonder how to pay the mortgage, while others are scarcely affected.
Twice as much land in developing nations will be swamped by rising seas than previously projected
8 Feb 2023
Rising seas will swamp farmlands, pollute water supplies and displace millions of people much sooner than expected, scientists say.
Climate change saved Europe from Putin this winter
8 Feb 2023
Climate change has kept Europe warm enough this winter to save it from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s energy crisis, but the respite may prove fleeting if—perhaps when—those same climate changes cause a crisis this summer.
Climate crisis drives more days of extreme wildfire risk in NZ
7 Feb 2023
As Aotearoa approaches the height of wildfire season, climate change means increasing forest fire risk – for at least an extra 30 days a year as the air gets thirstier, according to the latest science.
Europe steps up climate change adaptation in wake of floods and heatwaves
3 Feb 2023
Europe's recent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and floods, have underlined the urgent need to prepare the continent for the worsening effects of climate change.
Water crises due to climate change: More severe than previously thought
3 Feb 2023
Climate change alters the global atmospheric circulation, which in turn alters precipitation and evaporation in large parts of the world and, in consequence, the amount of river water that can be used locally.
Fossil fuel companies contribute to 43% of global methane emissions: study
3 Feb 2023
After carbon dioxide, global methane emissions are the second-largest contributor to global warming. Despite having a brief atmospheric lifetime of only 12 years on average, the gas has a much higher warming potential during that time.
Marine heat wave linked to death of Fiordland sponges
2 Feb 2023
Media release - Warming waters in Fiordland could be responsible for the loss of up to 10 percent of one of the most abundant marine sponges in Pātea—Doubtful Sound. More sponges may have been lost further south in Tamatea—Dusky Sound and Te Puaitaha—Breaksea Sound.
Scientists now know why methane mysteriously surged during lockdowns
2 Feb 2023
The world largely came to a halt in 2020 when extensive COVID-19 lockdowns were issued, which temporarily caused a global decline in greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the slowdowns in highly polluting sectors like aviation and manufacturing, methane emissions mysteriously climbed.
Earth is on track to exceed 1.5C warming in the next decade, study using AI finds
1 Feb 2023
The world is on the brink of breaching a critical climate threshold, according to a new study published on Monday, signifying time is running exceedingly short to spare the world the most catastrophic effects of global heating.
How culling Australia’s feral water buffalo could help tackle climate change
1 Feb 2023
The world’s largest wild population of water buffalo now roam Australia. As does the largest wild herd of camels. Australia has millions of feral goats and deer.
Dutch flood memories unleash new climate fears
31 Jan 2023
Seventy years after the worst natural disaster to strike the Netherlands, Chiem de Vos, seven at the time, still hears his neighbour's desperate cries of "My children are drowning!" ringing in his ears.
Architects design flood-resilient U-House near Japanese lake
31 Jan 2023
Japanese studio Ushijima Architects has completed a small wood-clad house in Shiga Prefecture, with living spaces raised on a concrete base to help mitigate the risk of flooding.
EU plans restrictions on climate-wrecking fishing method
31 Jan 2023
EU countries will be required to reduce the harmful impacts of fishing on sensitive species and their habitats, under a draft EU biodiversity plan seen by Euractiv.
Auckland floods: even stormwater reform won’t be enough – we need a ‘sponge city’ to avoid future disaster
30 Jan 2023
By Timothy Welch - The Conversation | We’ve built our cities to be vulnerable to – and exacerbate – major weather events such as the one we saw in Auckland on Friday. While almost no city in the world could fully escape the effects of four months’ worth of rain in 24 hours, there are many things that could have been done to avoid some of the worst impacts.
Architecture firm envisions Vancouver in 2100 with predicted sea level rise
30 Jan 2023
Dutch architecture studio MVRDV has released a study that aims to offer possible solutions to urban planning in the face of rising sea levels by reimagining the Vancouver waterfront.
Climate activists block main road into The Hague
30 Jan 2023
Hundreds of climate activists blocked one of the main roads into The Hague on Saturday, defying attempts to prevent their protest that have sparked concerns about restrictions on the right to demonstrate in the Netherlands.
How debt-for-nature swaps are resuscitating climate action investments in Africa
30 Jan 2023
Portugal recently struck a deal to swap Cape Verde's debts for environmental investments in a fund established by the West African country.
Best by the rest...
27 Jan 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: Dame Anne Salmond on New Zealand’s “fatally flawed” climate strategy; a fact check of claims that Kiwi farms are the greenest; and why the country needs an e-bike rebate.
How California’s ambitious new climate plan could help speed energy transformation around the world
27 Jan 2023
California is embarking on an audacious new climate plan that aims to eliminate the state’s greenhouse gas footprint by 2045, and in the process, slash emissions far beyond its borders.
Calls for action as Brazil Yanomami indigenous people face crisis
27 Jan 2023
Brazilian officials have said that the Yanomami indigenous people are living in dire conditions, as illegal gold miners threaten them with violence and block the delivery of goods such as food and medicine to their embattled region.
How ancient seeds from the Fertile Crescent could help save us from climate change
26 Jan 2023
Inside a large freezer room at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, tens of thousands of seeds are stored at a constant temperature of minus 20 degrees celsius.
From China to Japan, extreme cold is gripping East Asia. Experts say it’s the ‘new norm’
26 Jan 2023
Tens of millions of people across East Asia braved a severe cold snap Wednesday as subzero temperatures and heavy snow brought travel chaos during the Lunar New Year holiday, with climate experts warning that such extreme weather events had become the “new norm.”
Horn of Africa may see record sixth straight failed rainy season
26 Jan 2023
The eastern Horn of Africa just saw an unprecedented fifth straight failed rainy season on record, making it the longest and most severe drought in 70 years of precipitation data.
NGO sues German government for failing climate targets in transport and buildings sectors
25 Jan 2023
Environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth Germany is suing the German government for missing its emission reduction targets in the buildings and transport sectors.
Gisborne District Council supports calls for land use inquiry
24 Jan 2023
Gisborne District Council says it strongly supports an independent inquiry into land use in Tairāwhiti.
A few pieces of good news on climate change (and a reality check)
24 Jan 2023
Emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change reached a new peak in 2022, according to early estimates. And climate disasters seem to be hitting at a breakneck pace. In 2022, the world experienced record heat waves in China and Europe, and devastating floods in Pakistan killed over 1,000 people and displaced millions.
Climate change most important issue facing New Zealand: survey
23 Dec 2022
Climate change is now seen as the most important environmental issue facing New Zealand, surpassing freshwater issues for the first time since surveys into environmental perceptions started in 2000.
Climate action, one recipe at a time
23 Dec 2022
Renowned chefs such as UN World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador Chef Manal Al Alem, and Chef José Andres, as well as indigenous home cooks and farmers from around the world, have contributed to a new cookbook that includes recipes that are delicious and climate friendly.
The simple story of civilisation
23 Dec 2022
An essay by Tom Murphy | The stories we fashion about ourselves are heavily influenced by our short life spans during an age of unprecedented complexity. We humans, it would seem, are unfathomably complicated creatures who defy simple “just-so” characterisations..
Russia’s invasion & Pakistan’s floods defined 2022 in climate
22 Dec 2022
In 2021, governments and corporations got drunk on net zero hype. 2022 was the year when the hangover kicked in and they started to grapple with what their promises meant and whether they were actually prepared to follow through.
Aotearoa signs up to UN deal for nature
21 Dec 2022
Aotearoa New Zealand has agreed to a historic international deal with a 2030 deadline: Protect 30% of Earth’s lands, oceans, coastal areas, and inland waters; reduce annual harmful government subsidies by $500 billion; and cut food waste in half.
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.
