Topics tagged with 'Kyoto'
PM indicates ETS law will not be suspended during review
18 Dec 2008
The Prime Minister has indicated the ETs law will not be suspended during the select committee review.
Australia sets minimum target of 5% emissions cut
16 Dec 2008
The Rudd Government has set Australia a minimum target to cut emissions by 5 per cent by 2020, based on year 2000 levels.
Dunne to bar time-wasters from ETS review hearings
16 Dec 2008
Groups wanting to relitigate the science of climate change or to grandstand on the issue are likely to find themselves shut out from appearing before the select committee reviewing the emissions trading scheme.
Poznan positives: At least some progress is being made
16 Dec 2008
If one message has emerged from the long and often tortuous hours of climate negotiations in recent years, it is this: In the end, progress is being made.
Poznan delegates (happily) say bye-bye to Bush
16 Dec 2008
US President George W. Bush's last hurrah in the global climate arena has met with a welling of disdain contrasting with the outsized expectations for his successor Barack Obama.
Critics slam NZ attitude at Poznan climate talks
12 Dec 2008
New Zealand is making a name for itself at the UN climate change summit in Poznan – for all the wrong reasons.
Brownlee decision disappoints biofuel makers
12 Dec 2008
The Government’s decision to repeal the obligation placed on oil companies to sell a certain proportion of biofuel has polarised opinion in the biofuel sector.
Poznan pressure groups blast Australia
12 Dec 2008
Environmental groups have blasted Australia as the single biggest disappointment at climate change talks in Poland, saying it was "Groundhog Day" with the Rudd Government acting like the Howard government.
ETS review committee announced
9 Dec 2008
The ETS review is shaping as a bun-fight, with Rodney Hide, David Carter and Jeanette Fitzsimons all on the committee that will do the work.
Chauvel: Hide failed to show for the last select committee
9 Dec 2008
Labour says that Act Party leader Rodney Hide has some gall pushing a new select committee inquiry into the emissions trading scheme when he hardly showed up for the last one.
Foresters have high hopes for Kyoto proposal
9 Dec 2008
New Zealand foresters will soon be able to gauge international reaction to their push for key changes to the regulations for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
Forest protection hopes fade at Poznan talks
9 Dec 2008
Hopes of reaching agreement at Poznan on protecting the world's forests are fading, prompting environmentalists to appeal for an extra push for a deal this week.
UN defends American attack on carbon trading scheme
9 Dec 2008
The UN’s top climate official has defended a global trading scheme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after the US government released a report questioning its efficacy.
Builders can do more to curb carbon, says UN report
9 Dec 2008
Energy use in buildings accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, but the huge potential of the construction sector to combat climate change has not been realised, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
World listens to NZ forest owners' Kyoto case
5 Dec 2008
New Zealand forest owners have made a key advance in their efforts to advocate for Kyoto Protocol regulations to be altered to allow for land-use change.
Emissions scheme 'sound', but Treasury issues warning
5 Dec 2008
Treasury says that the emissions trading scheme is sound, and warns that giving “generous treatment” to emitters would simply transfer the costs to taxpayers.
POZNAN: China, India say Obama is the key
5 Dec 2008
China and India, the developing nations with the highest carbon-dioxide emissions, want US president-elect Barack Obama to demonstrate more commitment in tackling climate change, delegates at United Nations talks in Poland said.
UK airport tax 'reprisal' for NZ stand on food miles
5 Dec 2008
Britain’s $240-a-head airport surcharge scheme amounts to a reprisal against New Zealand's stance on the food miles issue, some industry sources believe.
ETS review could damage farming, says Pedersen
2 Dec 2008
Former farming leader Charlie Pedersen, who championed the need for agriculture to be in the New Zealand emissions trading scheme even though he felt isolated and unsupported, is warning that the farming sector could be damaged by the review of the climate change and the ETS.
Foresters fear trading advice is a waste of time
2 Dec 2008
The forestry industry fears that the wrong kind of advice is stepping in to fill the vacuum left by the new government as forest owners struggle to come to terms with what New Zealand’s potential emissions trading turn-around might mean.
British bulldog snarls Kyoto message Downunder
2 Dec 2008
A strong coded message is being sent from No 10 Downing Street to government heads in New Zealand and Australia: do not deviate from your planned commitments to Kyoto.
We're risking our clean reputation, says organics chief
2 Dec 2008
New Zealand risks scoring a “spectacular own-goal” if it backs away from its proactive stance on climate change, a leading agricultural lobbyist says.
District council factors in 10% cost of ETS
2 Dec 2008
Stratford District Council will factor in a 10 per cent increase in operating costs from 2011 to cover the increased transport and reporting costs under the current ETS, and “perhaps” a 5 per cent increase in its farm operating budget from 2013.
10,000 turn up for crucial climate talks in Poland
2 Dec 2008
The latest round of United Nations-led negotiations aimed at reaching an ambitious global climate change deal next year began today in Poznan, Poland, drawing more than 10,000 participants from governments, business and industry, environmental groups and research institutions.
Germany cuts gas emissions to below Kyoto marks
2 Dec 2008
Germany has cut its greenhouse gas emissions to below levels required under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the government in Berlin has announced on the eve of a crucial climate conference in Poland.
Act's climate change questions damaging, says professor
28 Nov 2008
Questioning the science of human-induced climate change will damage New Zealand’s ability to promote agricultural interests at the Copenhagen talks and beyond, says a leading scientist.
Govt mum on position for Poznan
28 Nov 2008
Government ministers and officials are tight-lipped the position New Zealand will take at next week’s Poznan talks preparing for next year’s Copenhagen conference on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
CO2 levels reach highest point … and still growing
28 Nov 2008
Levels of climate-warming greenhouse gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, the World Meteorological Organisation says in its latest report.
POZNAN 1: Where the big players stand
28 Nov 2008
After a year of debate on what a post-Kyoto climate deal should look like, the United Nations has published a report setting out its ideas in the hope that it will facilitate an agreement during negotiations in Poznan, Poland, next week.
POZNAN 2: We need a shared vision, says UN chief
28 Nov 2008
The need for a shared vision in long-term world collaboration on climate change will be stressed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the climate change talks in Poznan next week.
Listener criticises government's ETS move
25 Nov 2008
The new government's decision to completely review the emissions trading scheme "beggars belief", says the Listener.
British climate change bill shows how it can be done
25 Nov 2008
New Zealand lawmakers might be unable to agree on how to tackle climate change, but an extraordinary show of cross-party unity by their British counterparts is about to make that country the first in the world to have legally binding emissions reductions targets.
Obama vows ‘new chapter’ in US climate change policy
21 Nov 2008
President-elect Barack Obama has sent an explicit message to international negotiators of a new global warming treaty that, under his administration, the US will move to greatly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century.
Business council not surprised by ETS review
21 Nov 2008
Business leaders not surprised by emissions trading review, but concerned about suspending the act, says the Business Council for Sustainable Development.
ETS delay deal scuppers forestry project worth millions
18 Nov 2008
A $125 million forestry project has been scrapped and scores of forestry jobs lost as a result of a deal between the Act and the new National government to review the emissions trading scheme.
Aussies march to back climate change action
18 Nov 2008
Tens of thousands of Australians took part in mass protests at the weekend to call for tough government action on controlling climate change.
ETS uncertainty worries geothermal developers
14 Nov 2008
Uncertainty over the future of the emissions trading scheme and the thermal generation moratorium is casting doubt over the development of new geothermal projects in the Bay of Plenty.
Ban calls on economic summit to tackle global warming
14 Nov 2008
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for this weekend’s Washington summit on the global financial crisis to seize the opportunity to tackle global warming as well, stressing that such action would create jobs and boost the world’s economies.
Ditch ETS and we're in big trouble, say business bosses
11 Nov 2008
Business leaders are warning against scrapping the emissions trading scheme, saying New Zealand risks international trade sanctions and missing out on business opportunities.
Time for another look at carbon tax, say farmers
11 Nov 2008
Federated Farmers wants the carbon tax revisited.
ANALYSIS: Clark could follow in Blair's footsteps
11 Nov 2008
The US presidential victory of Democrat Barack Obama boosts the chances of former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark winning a role with the United Nations.
US must take leading role in climate change, says UN official
11 Nov 2008
The head of the United Nations climate change body has said he hopes the United States will take a more active role in fighting global warming once Barack Obama becomes president.
Meeting hears why Africa left behind in carbon offset trade
11 Nov 2008
Administrative and technical problems mean that Africa cannot profit from schemes to tackle climate change through projects to cut carbon emissions in developing countries, climate specialists meeting in Dakar said.
Obama 2: Climate plan must have priority, says Pachauri
7 Nov 2008
President-elect Barack Obama should put global warming ahead of a domestic plan to cut carbon emissions, says Rajendra Pachauri, head of a Nobel Prize-winning United Nations panel of climate-change scientists.
Obama 3: Canada quick to seek climate deal
7 Nov 2008
Canada has its eyes on a North American-wide climate change deal with president-elect Barack Obama, the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said yesterday.
EXCLUSIVE: Forest owners make Kyoto advance
4 Nov 2008
The Forest Owners' Association has made a major international advance in its push to get forest-offsetting and other issues included in Kyoto Protocol regulations.
Key ETS agriculture decisions out this month
4 Nov 2008
Officials’ recommendations on how the emissions trading scheme should be applied to the agricultural sector – including the controversial point-of-obligation – will be released at the end of this month.
Steel manufacturer calls for global carbon regime
4 Nov 2008
Glenbrook steel mill owner Bluescope is calling for a global carbon scheme.
Global recession reaches carbon market
4 Nov 2008
The global economic recession will have a significant effect on the European carbon market, nearly halving the shortfall in EU Allowances (EUAs), according to a new projection in the latest weekly report from IDEAcarbon, a leading carbon market analysis and research firm.
Nervous foresters: We don't want policy flip-flops
31 Oct 2008
Foresters awaiting regulations due to released at the end of the year in order to make firm calculations of their carbon credits and liabilities fear that a new government might turn the existing policy on its head.
UN limits staff at COP30 climate summit over accommodation concerns
Today 11:45am
High hotel prices for Brazil's COP30 climate summit in November have prompted the United Nations to urge its staff to limit attendance, while government delegations are still scrambling to find rooms within their budgets.
Govt passes law to limit farm-to-forest conversions
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has passed legislation intended to limit farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme, with ministers saying the changes “restore balance,” while opponents call it a band-aid that risks climate targets.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
UK foreign aid for nature hits £800m record due to cash for carbon credits
Tue 16 Sep 2025
The UK’s climate-aid spending on “nature protection and restoration” reached record levels of nearly £800m last year, according to government figures obtained by Carbon Brief.
Researchers say sealing old oil wells with bio-oil from crop waste is a dual carbon-removal solution
Today 11:45am
A new analysis shows that oil made from corn husks, wood chips, and other waste could plug greenhouse gas-belching abandoned oil wells while sequestering carbon for about $152 per ton.
Carbon price steady after failed quarterly auction
Tue 16 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to trade in its familiar moribund range in the high $50s following last week’s failed quarterly auction, with ample supply still trading on the secondary market at about $10 below this year’s $68 auction floor.
EU set to miss UN deadline for new target under Paris climate accord
Today 11:45am
The delay is intended to allow countries more time to agree to an ambitious goal.
No bidders front to carbon auction - again
10 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Today’s quarterly carbon auction was a non-event yet again, making it the third consecutive auction this year with no bidders, with the secondary market price still limping along at nearly 20% below the auction floor.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
Mon 15 Sep 2025
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
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.”
Watts not considering removing electricity from ETS
Tue 16 Sep 2025
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Simon Watts, says he is “not currently considering” removing electricity generation from the Emissions Trading Scheme, as proposed by NZ First Minister Shane Jones.
Gentailers told to behave as ministers weigh Frontier review
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The chief executives of Contact, Meridian, Mercury and Genesis met Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts on Thursday for their regular monthly session.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
Thu 18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Australia leapfrogs NZ on climate ambition
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action say Australia’s new 2035 climate target should be a wake-up call for ‘clean, green’ New Zealand.
Exxon and Shell sue the Netherlands in secret tribunals for closing Europe’s biggest gas field
Today 11:45am
Following billions in profits and over a thousand gas extraction-related earthquakes, the oil and gas giants filed claims against the Dutch state in four separate investor-state disputes concerning compensation for home damages and the permanent closure of the Groningen gas field.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Why mega-polluters have little to fear from the European Central Bank and its new climate policy
12 Sep 2025
The European Central Bank plans to raise borrowing costs for climate offenders – but a new FTM analysis shows that big polluters such as Shell will barely feel it.
Science cuts will hold back climate research
Wed 17 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | A crisis in government-backed science funding is worsening, with dire implications for climate research in New Zealand, according to experts from the scientific community.
Media round-up
5 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The great methane debate; law change scuppers legal challenge to irrigation scheme consent; and what are the energy and climate implications of the $7.5 billion Amazon Web Services data centre deal?
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
Media round-up
29 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Changes to road user charges will increase New Zealand's emissions; Climate Change Minister Simon Watts promises better access to hazard data for homeowners; and Kiwis borrow over $1 billion in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars.
Young activists won a landmark state climate trial. Now they’re challenging Trump’s orders
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Young climate activists and their attorneys who won a landmark global warming trial against the state of Montana are trying to convince a federal judge to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders promoting fossil fuels.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
Govt tweaks offshore energy bill with 'declared areas' model
Wed 17 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is making changes to the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to address offshore wind developers' concerns about competing for space with other industries.
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 steady ocean pattern just failed for the first time ever observed
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The failure of the Gulf of Panama’s seasonal upwelling system has left scientists wondering what happens next.
Australia's 2035 climate targets on path to net zero judged by the experts
Today 11:45am
After much anticipation, Australia has set its new climate targets: a reduction of 62 to 70 per cent within the next 10 years.
‘Plastic Cup’ competitions are cleaning up rivers in Hungary
1 Sep 2025
Afloat on DIY boats, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube and its tributaries.
Can certificates solve NZ's heavy vehicle emissions problem?
Thu 18 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Sustainable Business Council has launched a new framework for a national system to cut freight emissions.
Climate change collaboration and competition law
Thu 18 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The revamped competition law regime needs to be able to take into account the benefits of companies that collaborate for action on climate change, says the panel that reviewed both the Commerce Commission and the Commerce Act.
Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says
8 Sep 2025
Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate.
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.
One city’s race to ‘solarise everything we possibly can’
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Bordeaux is quickly transforming itself into France’s top solar-powered city, banking on innovations like transparent panels that preserve its historic architecture.
Turning squashed bugs into climate change data
Today 11:45am
Media release: University of Auckland | What if the insects you hit with your car could contribute to research on climate change?
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Ara Ake backs 13 projects to unlock NZ’s energy flexibility
11 Sep 2025
Media release | Ara Ake has approved over $600,000 in funding from the National Flex Discovery Fund for 13 flexibility service providers (FSPs).
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.
Most EU carmakers on track to meet emission targets: study
10 Sep 2025
Almost all European carmakers are on track to meet EU emission targets after winning a reprieve this year as electric vehicles (EV) sales pick up, a study showed.
Echo Tech secures growth investment to tackle NZ's e-waste crisis
Mon 15 Sep 2025
Media release | Echo Tech Limited, New Zealand’s leading provider of e-waste recycling and IT asset recovery services, is proud to announce a strategic investment from growth equity firm Altered Capital.
La Niña set to prolong NZ hydro shortfall
9 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With La Niña favouring a drier-than-normal spring across much of the South Island, hydro lakes are unlikely to recover without substantial rain and late snowmelt – keeping national storage levels below average.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Which countries are scaling solar and wind the fastest?
12 Sep 2025
The leaderboard is quite different depending on what metric you look at.
