Topics tagged with 'Kyoto'
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
NZ submits first Paris Agreement progress report
19 Dec 2024
New Zealand has submitted its first report to the UN on how the country is tracking towards its international climate target to 2030 under the Paris Agreement.
Complex Article 6 rules pave way to unruly carbon markets
25 Nov 2024
Media release | Despite the best efforts of activists and some climate negotiators, the agreement reached on Article 6 carbon markets at COP29 in Baku risks facilitating cowboy carbon markets at a time when the world needs a sheriff.
NZ must work with other countries to reach climate goals: new research
14 Oct 2024
By Liz Kivi | Aotearoa’s international climate targets can only be met through funding significant emissions reductions in other countries. But a lack of public support to spend this money overseas is paralysing New Zealand’s progress towards its goal, according to researchers.
How is the draft Emissions Reduction Plan supposed to work?
5 Aug 2024
COMMENT: In its new climate plan, the coalition government seems to be setting New Zealand up to withdraw from the world carbon market before 2035, argues economist Geoff Bertram.
NZ government swimming against the tide of history: Oil Change International
15 Dec 2023
Oil Change International campaign manager David Tong says the COP28 call to move away from fossil fuels shows the New Zealand government is trying to swim against the tide of history.
Watts tells COP28 NZ is committed to "ambitious" NDC
11 Dec 2023
In his first major speech on climate change since becoming the minister, Simon Watts re-stated New Zealand’s commitment to meeting our “ambitious” Nationally Determined Contribution.
New Zealand criticised for dependence on offsetting
7 Dec 2023
New Zealand has been singled out, along with Japan and South Korea, for relying on offshore offsetting to meet its nationally determined contribution in the latest update by non-profit Climate Action Tracker.
New Zealand continues to punch above its weight in Fossil awards
4 Dec 2023
New Zealand has once again won itself the dubious honour of a Fossil of the Day Award at COP 28 in Dubai, the third time in as may years.
Scrutiny on global voluntary carbon market and changes to ETS led to Toitū dropping NZUs
1 Dec 2023
By Ann Smith | OPINION: Toitū’s decision last week to transition away from accepting New Zealand carbon credits brought the global voluntary carbon market, and debates about its integrity, into sharp focus.
Massive native reforestation project proposed
29 Nov 2023
By Jeremy Rose | New Zealand could go from being a buyer of offshore carbon credits to an exporter of offsets, according to the promoters of an ambitious plan to reforest and restore 2.1 million hectares of indigenous forests over the next 10 years.
Proposal to include non-forestry land in NDC calculation
25 Oct 2023
By Jeremy Rose | A Cabinet minute from July of this year agreed in principle to include non-forest land in New Zealand’s nationally determined contribution.
Climate issues and the 2023 Election: Is Aotearoa heading in a sustainable direction?
30 Aug 2023
By Ralph Chapman | COMMENT: In the glare of now daily global climate disasters, climate change is taking a higher profile as an election issue in Aotearoa.
ETS review looks at reducing NZUs at auction
19 Jun 2023
The government has opened public consultation on the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme as well as consultation on redesigning its Permanent Forest Category.
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.
Nations fight to be called climate vulnerable in IPCC report
24 Mar 2023
Government negotiators fought bitterly last week over which groups and regions are defined as particularly vulnerable to climate change in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Govt announces review of the ETS
23 Mar 2023
The government has announced it is reviewing the Emissions Trading Scheme to see whether it can play a stronger role in driving New Zealand’s climate response.
New IPCC report shows the ‘climate time bomb is ticking,’ says UN Secretary General António Guterres
21 Mar 2023
The latest climate science assessment warns—once again—that global warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius would be devastating for Earth’s people and ecosystems.
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.
New mechanism provides a key tool for countries to meet their climate goals
14 Mar 2023
The full operationalisation of the ‘Article 6.4 mechanism’, as established in the Paris Agreement, is key to help countries unlock the goals set out in their climate action plans, said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
A loss and damage deal was finalised at COP27. Now, the hard work begins
2 Mar 2023
Loss and damage costs related to climate change could total more than $1 trillion by 2050. Where will the money come from, and who will get it?
NZ meets 2020 decarbonisation target with Kyoto credits
19 Dec 2022
New Zealand is meeting its commitment to reducing the country’s 2013-2022 emissions by 5% compared to 1990 levels by using 6.5 million Kyoto protocol credits.
Which countries are ‘particularly vulnerable’ to climate change?
9 Dec 2022
The G77+China bloc of developing countries wanted all developing countries to be eligible for the funds. The European Union – which caused a lot of climate change and so will be expected to pay into the fund – wanted the money to only go to “particularly vulnerable” developing countries.
1.5 degrees not just aspirational: Shaw
25 Nov 2022
Climate change minister James Shaw says New Zealand’s commitment to 1.5 degrees is “absolutely essential.”
Shaw commits New Zealand to an indigenous framework for climate action
17 Nov 2022
Climate change minister James Shaw told delegates at COP27 in Egypt yesterday, that New Zealand was developing an indigenous framework for climate action led by Māori, for Māori.
We’re on a ‘highway to climate hell:’ UN chief Guterres
8 Nov 2022
The United Nations secretary general issued a stark warning Monday, telling attendees at the COP27 summit that the world was losing its fight against climate change while also repeating his call to phase-out coal by the year 2040.
Climate pledges depend too much on natural carbon sinks: report
2 Nov 2022
Current climate pledges focus too much on land-based carbon sinks such as tree planting rather than food production and biodiversity, researchers from Australia, Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere said in a report on Tuesday.
Revolution is in the air at Sisi's climate conference
31 Oct 2022
Storm clouds are gathering over the skies of Egypt which have a hint of revolution within them. They could be the real reason why prominent climate change protagonists like Britain's King Charles III and politicians are not attending the prestigious global COP27 due to be held in Sharm El Sheikh from 6 to 18 November.
African climate diplomats reject African Union’s pro-gas stance for Cop27
5 Aug 2022
African climate negotiators have quashed a proposal by the African Union to promote gas as a bridge fuel for the continent at UN talks.
India approves climate plan with increased ambition, clarifying energy goals
4 Aug 2022
India’s cabinet has approved an updated national climate plan, cementing targets pledged by Narendra Modi in November, including a 2070 net zero goal and 45% reduction in emissions intensity by 2030.
Rich nations hit brakes on climate aid to poor at UN talks
20 Jun 2022
Rich countries including the European Union and the United States have pushed back against efforts to put financial help for poor nations suffering the devastating effects of global warming firmly on the agenda for this year’s U.N. climate summit.
Norway underpaid Indonesia for forest protection results: study
26 Jan 2022
Norway’s scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation in Indonesia made only a tiny dent in meeting the nation’s climate target – but the forest nation deserved to have been paid more for it, a study has found.
Denmark bets on North Sea carbon capture to hit climate goals
15 Dec 2021
Denmark will allocate 16 billion Danish crowns (US$2.43 billion) towards carbon capture and storage subsidies over the coming decade in a move to reach one of the world's most ambitious climate targets, its government has announced.
Who will be the judge of countries' climate plans?
13 Dec 2021
Countries have until the end of next year to ensure their climate commitments meet the Paris agreement's cap on global warming. But who will check that their promises really do stack up?
The millions of tonnes of carbon emissions that don't offically exist
10 Dec 2021
How a blind spot in the Kyoto Protocol helped create the biomass industry.
New Zealand’s climate change regulation is messy and complex – here’s how to improve it
24 Nov 2021
Waikato University associate professor of law Nathan Cooper says the Emissions Reduction Plan provides the perfect opportunity to align New Zealand's national and international climate targets.
Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Glasgow: Carbon Brief
16 Nov 2021
Carbon Brief provides an in-depth summary of all the key outcomes in Glasgow – both inside and outside the COP26.
Fixing climate finance: Jeffrey Sachs
16 Nov 2021
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) fell far short of what is needed for a safe planet, owing mainly to the same lack of trust that has burdened global climate negotiations for almost three decades.
COP26: New global climate deal struck in Glasgow
15 Nov 2021
The Glasgow Climate Pact is the first ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coal, the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.
Saudi Arabia denies playing climate saboteur at Glasgow
12 Nov 2021
The tightest of smiles on his face and the fabric of his traditional thobe swirling about him as he strides through a hallway at U.N. climate talks, Saudi Arabia's energy minister expresses shock at repeated complaints that the world's largest oil producer is working behind the scenes to sabotage negotiations.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 10
11 Nov 2021
On day 10 of COP26, Alastair Thompson is there when the US and China announce what he believes to be the most significant news of the summit to date.
Bornean communities locked into 2-million-hectare carbon deal they don’t know about
11 Nov 2021
Leaders in Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, have signed a profit-sharing deal to market carbon and other natural capital from more than 2 million hectares (4.9 million acres) of the state’s forests for at least the next 100 years. But the communities living in and around those forests know next to nothing about it.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 8
9 Nov 2021
On day 8 of COP26, Alastair Thompson attends a Barak Obama talk, a briefing by climate change minister James Shaw, and delves into the important but mind numbingly complicated world of climate finance.
Countries far apart as climate talks enter final week
9 Nov 2021
UN climate talks have entered their final week with countries still worlds apart on key issues including how rapidly the world curbs carbon emissions and how to help nations already impacted by global heating.
Cabinet watered-down James Shaw’s proposal for revised NDC
8 Nov 2021
A leaked Cabinet paper has revealed climate change minister James Shaw failed to convince Cabinet to include agriculture in New Zealand’s net zero commitments, and that Treasury and MBIE both opposed more ambitious climate targets.
Glasgow Conversations: Week 2
8 Nov 2021
As COP26 enters its second week, Alastair Thompson talks to Jeremy Rose about the week that's been and the one to come.
Al Gore warns of a $22 trillion ‘subprime carbon bubble’
4 Nov 2021
Al Gore, the former vice president of the U.S. and the chairman of Generation Investment Management LLP, said the world is witnessing a sustainability revolution and warned that investors caught on the wrong side of history will face losses.
Doing the maths on Biden’s climate pledge
4 Nov 2021
President Biden took a math problem to Glasgow. He and his advisers have spent the first two days of the international climate conference known as COP 26 trying to persuade world leaders that U.S. actions will add up to a 50 percent emissions reduction over nine years.
Government commits to halving NZ emissions with billions of dollars of offshore offsets
1 Nov 2021
The government yesterday announced a more ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution that will see the “the amount of pollution NZ is responsible for” halved by 2030.
NZ drops in global climate rankings as govt 'propels country backwards'
Wed 19 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand has fallen to 44th place in global climate rankings, with the country’s climate policy rated “very low” amid widespread rollbacks of environmental protections.
Govt rejects CCC’s advice on net-negative 2050 but makes no official announcement
Thu 20 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has rejected the Climate Change Commission’s advice to strengthen the country’s net zero 2050 target, but appears to have buried the news with its announcement about methane targets last month.
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.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
NZ’s shameful new role as ‘international climate pariah’
13 Nov 2025
OPINION: New Zealand has ratcheted up its climate backsliding in the past month – losing any shred of climate credibility we once had and showing the world we’re giving up on a net zero future, writes Kayla Kingdon-Bebb.
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.
Govt’s rejection of CCC’s advice on climate targets undermines independent watchdog’s role, says opposition
Fri 21 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s latest dismissal of Climate Change Commission advice shows they have their heads in the sand about the reality of meeting climate targets, according to the Labour Party, while the Greens say Government decisions were an embarrassment on the world stage at COP30 this week.
COP30 climate talks evacuated after fire breaks out
Fri 21 Nov 2025
The UN climate talks COP30 have been evacuated due to a fire breaking out inside the venue in Belém, Brazil.
Mounting emissions due to Government decisions
Thu 20 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Coalition Government’s climate policies have added a whopping 26 million tonnes of emissions out to 2030, according to new analysis of Government projections.
Act-NZ First split over future of the energy sector
14 Nov 2025
Act leader David Seymour has set out an energy policy platform that diverges sharply from coalition partner NZ First, arguing New Zealand must accept coal-fired backup generation, consider nuclear power, remove political interference from the electricity sector and sell down the government’s majority stakes in the gentailers.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
30 Oct 2025
More than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to one-in-100-year floods, according to a nationwide study which shows escalating flood risk.
Turkey set to host COP31 after reaching compromise with Australia
Fri 21 Nov 2025
The COP31 climate meeting is now expected to be held in Turkey after Australia dropped its bid to host the annual event.
‘We must keep 1.5 alive’ – Minister’s statement to climate summit
Wed 19 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has delivered New Zealand’s National Statement to this year’s United Nations climate summit, affirming the country’s commitment to international climate targets and saying “we must keep 1.5 alive.”
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
Fri 21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Foresters warn ETS reforms could fell innovation
Mon 17 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Elizabeth Heeg, chief executive officer for the Forest Owners Association, says forestry must not be stripped from the Emissions Trading Scheme, arguing that carbon income underpins forest management and rural resilience.
The hidden dangers in Canada’s oil and gas ambitions
Tue 18 Nov 2025
Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith thinks global demand for oil will grow to 2050, perhaps beyond, and the Alberta industry will be viable for a hundred years.
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.”
Oxfam urges NZ to renew climate funding as Pacific projects face closure
12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Oxfam Aotearoa is calling on the Government to urgently renew New Zealand’s climate finance commitments, warning that vital projects supporting Pacific communities’ resilience are running out of funding.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Ministers urge decisive methane action as global report shows progress, warns of gaps
Wed 19 Nov 2025
Media release: UN Environment Programme | The Global Methane Status Report, launched on the sidelines of COP30 in Belém, shows that while considerable progress has been made since the launch of the Global Methane Pledge in 2021, more work is required to align with the level of ambition and action needed to meet the Pledge.
A landmark court ruling looms over US absence at COP30
Thu 20 Nov 2025
The historic climate change advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice suggests the United States is violating international law on climate, legal experts say.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Greens put miners ‘on notice’, pledge to revoke fast-track approvals
Tue 18 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Greens have pledged to revoke fast-track consents for coal, hard-rock gold, and seabed mining projects if elected to government next year.
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.
A crucial system of ocean currents may be on course to collapse. This country just declared it a national security threat
Mon 17 Nov 2025
As evidence mounts these currents could be on course for collapse, Iceland’s government has made the unusual move of designating the risk a national security threat.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Trump’s anti-climate agenda could result in 1.3m more deaths globally, analysis finds
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Fallout from increased emissions linked to president’s ‘America First’ policies expected to most affect those in poor, hot countries.
Thousands march outside COP30 summit in call for action
Tue 18 Nov 2025
Marching to the beat of pounding sound systems, thousands of climate protesters have been bringing their message to the gates of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
New partnership to fast-track grid connections for major renewable and storage projects
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Powerco Transmission Services (PTS) has signed a new agreement with Kākāriki Renewables to streamline delivering large-scale wind, solar, and battery projects across New Zealand, in a move intended to accelerate the country’s transition to a low-emissions energy system.
Building resilient cities in a time of climate change
13 Nov 2025
Media release: Otago University | Local and international experts are meeting in Wellington this month to share their knowledge on creating healthier, more resilient cities in the face of the challenges posed by climate change.
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.
Artificial intelligence sparks debate at COP30 climate talks in Brazil
Thu 20 Nov 2025
At the U.N. climate talks in Brazil, artificial intelligence is being cast as both a hero worthy of praise and a villain that needs policing.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
New carbon calculator helps Kiwirail customers make sustainable choices
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Media release | KiwiRail has launched a carbon calculator to meet increasing demand from customers wanting to compare carbon emissions from rail, road and air.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
‘It felt bloody awful’: Hope rises from Tongariro’s wildfire ashes
Fri 21 Nov 2025
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | A devastating wildfire scorched 3000 hectares of Tongariro National Park, but as recovery gets underway, conservation leaders say the blackened landscape could offer a rare chance for large-scale native regeneration. Local Democracy's Moana Ellis reports.
Southland windfarm plan moves through Fast Track process
Wed 19 Nov 2025
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | A $1.1 billion Southland windfarm proposal has reared its head at a regional council after facing rejection earlier this year.
