Topics tagged with 'Greenhouse Effect'
UN to channel billions into coal-fired power plants
16 Jul 2010
The UN is set to channel billions of dollars of public money from rich countries to giant energy companies to build 20 heavily polluting coal-fired power plants on the basis that they will emit less carbon dioxide than older ones.
Japan's ETS plans hit electoral snag
16 Jul 2010
An upper-house election in Japan has cast doubt on the government’s plans to develop an emissions trading scheme to meet an ambitious carbon reduction target.
Pacific Islands call on rich countries to pay up
16 Jul 2010
Angry Pacific Islands states have called on rich countries to advance progress that has been stalled in delivering financial resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation projects.
Has Australian cabinet hit on quick carbon fix?
16 Jul 2010
The Australian Government has agreed to a climate-change policy based on a series of measures, including a commitment to set an interim carbon price that it will introduce over the next two years, says a national newspaper.
Schools sign up to national solar programme
16 Jul 2010
Primary and secondary schools across Australia will have access to funding for solar panels and rainwater tanks under new funding.
It's getting hot in here. says Hawaii
16 Jul 2010
Global warming is already leading to rising temperatures in the mountains and declining rainfall in Hawaii, say climate change experts.
Soil saviour Flannery to tell our farmers how
9 Jul 2010
Australian scientist and environmentalist Tim Flannery is heading to New Zealand to push the idea of sequestering carbon in our soil.
Climate bill would save US billions, Congress hears
9 Jul 2010
Congressional sponsors of the stalled US climate change bill received a boost this week from a finding by a nonpartisan office that the measure would reduce the federal deficit by $19 billion during the next decade.
Businesses can shout about carbon neutral
9 Jul 2010
A new Carbon Neutral Program is to be implemented by the Australian Carbon Trust, the Government has announced.
China talks to pave way for Mexico summit
9 Jul 2010
China will host an additional round of climate talks in October in Tianjin before UN members convene in Mexico at the end of the year for a climate change summit.
Obama optimistic on climate bill despite senate rifts
2 Jul 2010
US President Barack Obama spent 90 minutes trying to convince senators to move forward with climate change legislation yesterday … and came away optimistic that a climate bill can be passed in spite of rifts.
UK must take radical action, warns watchdog
2 Jul 2010
Britain needs to build twice as many wind farms every year, put more than a million electric cars on the road and insulate every home in the country in order to meet ambitious legally binding climate change targets, Government advisers have warned.
Bank puts its money where its lightbulbs are
2 Jul 2010
Deutsche Bank and Ecuador have entered into a pioneering transaction to finance household energy efficiency through the carbon market.
We're doing our fair share, says Smith
2 Jul 2010
The entry of transport fuels, electricity and industry into the emissions trading scheme this week marks an important step in New Zealand doing its fair share on climate change, Climate Change Minister Nick Smith says.
Japanese told to go to bed early to cut emissions
2 Jul 2010
The Japanese government has launched a campaign encouraging people to go to bed and get up extra early in order to reduce household carbon dioxide emissions.
UN gives bad Bulgaria the Kyoto boot
2 Jul 2010
Bulgaria has been suspended from United Nations carbon trading for violating greenhouse reporting rules set under the Kyoto Protocol.
FORUM: Half the story
2 Jul 2010
Terry Dunleavy, of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition, takes issue with a story in last Friday's Carbon News.
Event: Energy Roundtable
2 Jul 2010
An event which promises to bring people from the energy sector together to share ideas on smart new technologies will take place in Wellington in September.
Govt fails to provide climate-friendly choices, say Greens
2 Jul 2010
The John Key Government has failed to provide climate-friendly choices to help households avoid the higher costs that could result from their Emissions Trading Scheme, says the Green Party.
Climate change key issue for new Australian leader
25 Jun 2010
Climate change will be the defining issue of the Australian election and could lead to a change of leadership in the Liberals as well, predicts New Zealand Labour's climate change spokesman.
We won't dump you in it, minister tells farmers
25 Jun 2010
Agriculture Minister David Carter is promising farmers they will not come into the Emissions Trading Scheme if New Zealand’s trading partners have not moved to cut their carbon emissions.
Minister happy to talk to anyone ... or no one
25 Jun 2010
Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith will press ahead with public meetings on the Emissions Trading Scheme – even if not many people turn up.
Carbon trading heads off oil in Europe
25 Jun 2010
Carbon emissions early this year overtook Brent crude oil to become the largest commodity type traded in Europe.
All Australia's power could be renewable, says report
25 Jun 2010
Renewable sources could provide all of Australia's energy by 2020, says a new report.
Canada promises to show coal the door
25 Jun 2010
Canada’s Conservative government has vowed to scrub Canada clean of dirty coal-powered electricity generation.
De Boer departs … delighted, determined
25 Jun 2010
The UN’s outgoing chief climate negotiator, Yvo de Boer, is confident that the world is making progress on global warming.
Analysis shows National's ETS the 'worst of all worlds'
25 Jun 2010
A book by Victoria University economist Geoff Bertram and climate change analyst Simon Terry highlights the deep flaws in National’s Emission Trading Scheme, Labour’s climate change spokesman Charles Chauvel said.
Bank carbon desk: We're run off our feet
18 Jun 2010
Westpac says it’s trading “significant” volumes of carbon on the New Zealand market.
NZ climate man gets key Kyoto job
18 Jun 2010
New Zealand’s Climate Change Ambassador, Adrian Macey, has been elected vice-chair of the Kyoto Protocol Negotiations process.
Clover breakthrough could cut farm emissions
18 Jun 2010
A team of kiwi scientists think they can alter white clover so that animals grazing on it receive a more protein and produce less methane.
UK minister vows to ease path for nuclear power
18 Jun 2010
Britain’s new coalition government will remove regulatory barriers and encourage nuclear power by establishing a minimum price for carbon.
New PM aims to slash Govt emissions
18 Jun 2010
Carbon emissions from the UK central government will be cut by 10 per cent in the next 12 months, new Prime Minister David Cameron says.
Surprise! Bonn talks make some progress
18 Jun 2010
Delegates from 184 countries meeting in Bonn last week were never going to find it easy to deal with the debris left after the inconclusive result of last December’s UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.
Organic farmer: We're not all the same
11 Jun 2010
An organic sheep and beef farmer who says she doesn’t mind paying for any environmental damage she causes is calling for the environmental benefits of organic farming to be recognised under the ETS.
Zero carbon low on green goals for Asian firms
11 Jun 2010
Zero carbon footprint targets are "unusual" and have their challenges, according to a consultant who points out that green goals are for now still secondary to attaining growth in Asia, particularly China.
Nations work hard on trust at Bonn talks
11 Jun 2010
Climate change negotiators from 194 countries are hard at work in Bonn, not just hammering out details of a future world deal but at rebuilding trust among nations.
Americans begin to worry again
11 Jun 2010
Public concern about global warming is again on the rise in the United States, according to a survey just released by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities.
US climate bill key to Pacific carbon market
4 Jun 2010
A former New Zealand Government official who chaired some of the meetings at the Copenhagen climate change talks says that a move by the United States into a cap-and-trade scheme could lead to a Pacific-wide carbon market.
Vital ETS rules for agriculture emissions being prepared
4 Jun 2010
All-important fine detail determining how emissions are measured for agriculture are now being developed.
MAF issues several new ETS guides for forestry and agriculture
4 Jun 2010
MAF has produced several new guides relating to the ETS and forestry and agriculture.
US airlines challenge EU emissions rules
4 Jun 2010
American airlines have begun legal action to try to exempt themselves from a European carbon emissions trading scheme due to come into force in 2012.
Figueres believes world deal can be done in Mexico
4 Jun 2010
Agreement can be reached in Mexico this year on the basis for a post-2012 global climate change deal, believes the UN’s new climate chief Christiana Figueres
We must move from meat diet, says UN
4 Jun 2010
A global shift toward a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report says.
Scientists find islands growing, not shrinking
4 Jun 2010
Climate scientists have expressed surprise at findings that indicate that many low lying Pacific islands are not sinking but expanding.
NZ owners sitting pretty, says forest chief
4 Jun 2010
A “perfect storm” may be brewing for the forest sector, says Forest Owners' chief executive David Rhodes.
Power companies explain ETS price rises
28 May 2010
At least one of the power companies implementing price rises on the back of the Emissions Trading Scheme is basing its calculations on the maximum carbon price.
Indonesia agrees to curb commercial deforestation
28 May 2010
Indonesia has declared a two-year moratorium on clearing natural forests as part of a billion-dollar deal aimed at reviving efforts to fight climate change.
Europe sees ‘green bond’ reviving carbon trade
28 May 2010
European regulators and businesses are trying to revive carbon trading through the use of a supplemental “green bond” system that would function alongside the current cap-and-trade scheme, according to a report in the New York Times.
Time to pay up, UN tells rich nations
28 May 2010
The United Nations has told rich countries it’s time to front up with the money they pledged in Copenhagen last December to fight climate change.
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.
