Topics tagged with 'Kyoto'
Smallholders miss out on new carbon measure
6 May 2011
Government officials are rejecting calls to allow the owners of small forestry blocks to use a new system for measuring carbon.
ETS stays no matter what, says Groser
21 Apr 2011
New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme will continue even if there is no international climate change agreement after next year, says International Climate Change Negotiations Minister Tim Groser.
Politics not way to beat climate change
21 Apr 2011
Progress on climate change will come through “boring detail” and not political rhetoric, says International Climate Change Minister Tim Groser.
Country expects to hit Kyoto targets
21 Apr 2011
New Zealand is on target to meet its Kyoto target without having to use overseas credits to offset our emissions, latest Government figures show.
Animal emissions appear to be lower
21 Apr 2011
New Zealand’s agricultural emissions to 2012 are likely to be lower than thought.
Carbon pollution climbs in Australia
21 Apr 2011
Carbon pollution is continuing to rise in Australia, according to latest figures from the Department of Climate Change.
Forest-planting rates still low post-ETS
15 Apr 2011
The Emissions Trading Scheme has failed to boost forest planting.
Forest owners will get 9m carbon credits
8 Apr 2011
The Government will issue more than nine million carbon credits to the owners of post-1989 forests this year.
Foresters see way to reduce ETS risk
8 Apr 2011
The Emissions Trading Scheme can be tweaked to reduce risk for the forestry sector without needing any taxpayer subsidy, the Forest Owners' Association says.
What the IEA thinks of our ETS
1 Apr 2011
The International Energy Agency says there is no guarantee New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme will actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Price on move as carbon booms in Europe
18 Mar 2011
New Zealand’s carbon credits are running hot on the back of soaring prices in Europe.
Forests credit allocations top five million
18 Mar 2011
Owners of pre-1990 forests have now been allocated more than five million carbon credits.
ETS review panel wants YOUR input
11 Mar 2011
The Emissions Trading Scheme review panel wants to know how the scheme is affecting businesses, households, farmers, foresters and Maori.
ETS PAPER 2: World situation unclear
11 Mar 2011
New Zealand could decide it is economically sensible to push ahead with the Emissions Trading Scheme even if the world fails to negotiate a successor for the Kyoto Protocol, the panel reviewing the ETS says.
Climate chief urges action on Cancún accords
4 Mar 2011
The United Nations climate change chief has called on governments to quickly transform the agreements reached in the Mexican city of Cancún last year into tangible action on the ground.
Combet: Australia must act to cut emissions
11 Feb 2011
Australia’s carbon emissions will rise steeply without decisive and effective new policy action, according to annual projections released this week by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet.
Credits worth $15m stolen in registry heist
21 Jan 2011
More than $15 million worth of carbon credits have been stolen in a daring heist in Europe.
Review rules out some ETS challenges
23 Dec 2010
Questions about whether the Emissions Trading Scheme is the best way for New Zealand to tackle climate change have been ruled out of a review of the scheme.
Farmers renew call to keep agriculture out
23 Dec 2010
Federated Farmers says it will use the review of the Emissions Trading Scheme to try to keep agriculture out of the scheme.
California gives nod to timber carbon case
23 Dec 2010
The carbon-storing properties of wood products have been recognised in the new cap-and-trade scheme endorsed by Californian law-makers last week.
CANCUN: Significant step forward
17 Dec 2010
New Zealand climate change minister Tim Groser and Nick Smith say that the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Cancún, Mexico, is a significant step towards a global, legally binding and comprehensive agreement on climate change.
CANCUN: A clearer picture is emerging
17 Dec 2010
A clearer overall framework for global greenhouse gas emissions reductions is emerging - even if more work is needed to develop market mechanisms, writes Business New Zealand energy, enviornment and infrastructure manager John Carnegie from Cancun.
CANCUN: What the scientists are saying
17 Dec 2010
Leading climate scientists from New Zealand, Australia and Britain say progress was made in Cancun - but not enough to prevent dangerous climate warming.
CANCUN: Give money to research, says FedFarm
17 Dec 2010
The Cancun climate change summit proved that a solution to global carbon emissions is still as elusive as ever, says Federated Farmers.
CANCUN: Climate agreements at a glance
17 Dec 2010
Most agree the UN climate summit in Mexico made some progress in the struggle to deal with climate change.
CANCUN: We're committed, says Smith
10 Dec 2010
Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith has told delegates at climate change negotiations in Mexico that New Zealand is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
CANCUN: We're fooling nobody, says Chauvel
10 Dec 2010
Labour's Climate Change Issues spokesman, Charles Chauvel, reports from Cancun:
UN chief pleads for action at Cancun talks
10 Dec 2010
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made an impassioned plea for agreement at the climate summit in Cancún, saying further delay threatened the health of the planet, the global economy and the well-being of the human race.
NZ at heart of Cancun row over tree carbon
3 Dec 2010
New Zealand is at the centre of a row at the Cancun climate change talks over proposals to adjust the way in which carbon is accounted for in trees.
Cancun: The electricity isn't there
3 Dec 2010
John Carnegie, BusinessNZ’s manager for energy, environment and infrastructure, is a member of the New Zealand Government's official delegation to the international climate change negotiations in Cancun, Mexico. He reports on progress in the opening days of the Cancun conference:
Act now or face more droughts, warn Greens
3 Dec 2010
New Zealand can expect more droughts and erosion if no progress is made in climate change talks under way in Cancun, the Green Party says.
Stubborn Japan puts foot down at Cancun
3 Dec 2010
The delicately balanced global climate talks in Cancún were brought to the brink of a walk-out when Japan categorically stated its opposition to extending the Kyoto protocol.
Island states want climate insurance fund
3 Dec 2010
Small island states are calling for a “climate change insurance fund” to protect their people from “going extinct” as a new UN report warned sea level rise will make whole nations uninhabitable.
NZU prices close on CERs
30 Nov 2010
The difference in price between spot NZUs and spot CERs has closed to just a few cents.
Interest grows as CERs deal in NZ dollars
26 Nov 2010
New Zealand emitters can now buy CERs on the domestic market in New Zealand dollars, removing exchange-rate risk.
Smith and Groser lead NZ team to Cancun
26 Nov 2010
New Zealand’s representatives at the Cancun climate change talks head off this weekend.
NZ forest credits might fill CDM shortfall
19 Nov 2010
Clean Development Mechanism developers are looking to New Zealand’s forestry credits to help to make up an expected shortfall in the credits they must deliver from their projects.
Farmers must come first, says Dairy group
19 Nov 2010
Farmers must be the point of obligation if agriculture does come into the Emissions Trading Scheme on schedule, the dairy industry group DairyNZ says.
Cancun talks just a staging post, says Britain
19 Nov 2010
Climate talks beginning in Mexico this month will only be a "staging post" en route to a globally binding deal, British Prime Minister David Cameron said this week.
High dollar curbs demand for NZ AAUs
12 Nov 2010
Demand for New Zealand AAUs is being depressed by the high value of the dollar.
ETS not the way to go, says FedFarm
12 Nov 2010
Federated Farmers has launched another assault on the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Come Cancun, India and China might toe the line
12 Nov 2010
After being blamed for the failure of last year's climate change talks in Copenhagen, India has expressed willingness to tone down its demands in the next round, due to begin at the end of the month in Cancun.
Russia's carbon market finally starts to move
12 Nov 2010
After years of delay, Russia’s carbon trading market is finally starting to move.
Forest owner hits rich vein of NZUs sales
5 Nov 2010
The New Zealand forest owner who two weeks ago sold 50,000 tonnes of NZUs at $20.05 a tonne has received more for his latest offering.
CERs take on new appeal for NZ emitters
5 Nov 2010
CERs are emerging as a viable alternative to NZUs for New Zealand emitters.
Mexico our latest clean-tech partner
5 Nov 2010
New Zealand and Mexico are working together on clean-tech development.
Forget deal at Cancun, says climate envoy
5 Nov 2010
President Barack Obama's setback in the US mid-term elections has killed of any hope of securing a legally binding global climate change deal.
Credit-happy Japanese come back for more
29 Oct 2010
A second major Japanese company has bought New Zealand forestry credits.
Auckland Council opens $1m Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund
4 Feb 2026
Community groups across Tāmaki Makaurau are being invited to apply for a new $1 million Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund, designed to support locally led action on climate change, disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
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.
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.
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.
IEA calls peak coal, even as 'Age of Electricity' takes hold to boost global power demand
Tue 10 Feb 2026
A new IEA report published on Friday, Electricity 2026, says electricity demand will increase by an average of 3.6 per cent each year over the remainder of the decade, driven by rising consumption from industry, electric vehicles, air conditioning, and data centres.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
Thu 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.
Govt backs LNG imports
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government will rush to put in place contracts for the construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility by mid-year, claiming it will smooth electricity price volatility and underpin investment in renewable energy projects.
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.
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.
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.
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.
$8.9m research project to map future ocean change around Aotearoa
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The major research project aims to better understand how warming oceans are driving extreme weather events around New Zealand, from heavy rainfall to tropical cyclones.
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.
US-driven gas turbine crunch may speed global clean power uptake
Mon 9 Feb 2026
A rush by U.S. utilities and tech giants to snap up as many gas turbines as possible to boost local power output is causing a global shortage of gas-power equipment and may spur other power systems to fast-track cleaner alternatives.
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.”
US is canceling almost $30 billion in Biden-era energy loans
27 Jan 2026
The Trump administration said it’s canceling almost $30 billion of financing from the Energy Department’s green bank after reviewing transactions approved under former President Biden.
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 slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
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.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
Thu 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.
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.
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.
Court rejects challenge to Minister and Commission over climate targets
28 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Supreme Court has rejected Lawyers for Climate Action’s bid to challenge the Climate Change Commission and former Climate Minister James Shaw over climate targets, ending a long-running case which had been working its way through the courts since 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.
A turning point for our ocean: why the High Seas Treaty matters for the Pacific
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: UNDP | The global ratification of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty marks a decisive moment in international cooperation and ocean governance. Referred to as the High Seas Treaty, the agreement establishes a legally binding framework to protect marine biodiversity in areas of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction.
Out of Paris, but will the US formally quit the UN climate regime?
30 Jan 2026
The Trump administration has decided to withdraw the US from the broader UN climate convention, raising questions about the legality of the move and what it means in practice.
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.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
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.
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.
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 hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
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.
Heavy EV charger hub opens at Lower Hutt landfill
4 Feb 2026
By Justin Wong, Local Democracy Reporter |In a nationwide first, heavy electric vehicles can now recharge at Lower Hutt’s Silverstream Landfill.
UN risks 'imminent financial collapse', secretary general warns
3 Feb 2026
The United Nations is at risk of "imminent financial collapse" due to member states not paying their fees, the body's head has warned.
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.
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.
World's first 20 MW offshore wind turbine powers grid in China
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The world's most powerful offshore wind turbine has begun feeding electricity into the grid off the coast of southeast China, marking a major technological leap in the country's wind power industry.
