Topics tagged with 'Kyoto'
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.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 1
1 Nov 2021
Journalist Alastair Thompson chats to Carbon News editor Jeremy Rose about the opening day of COP26 and the stand out performance of a young New Zealand delegate: India Logan-Riley.
National pushing for bilateral carbon market agreements
28 Oct 2021
The National Party is calling on the government to establish bilateral carbon market agreements regardless of the outcome of Article 6 negotiations at the upcoming COP26 Summit in Glasgow.
On forestry, COP26 must avoid double counting of carbon removals: scientist
28 Oct 2021
Global leaders must not allow the double counting of emissions removals from forestry during negotiations at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, says Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele.
Australia pledges net zero emissions by 2050
27 Oct 2021
Leading global coal and gas supplier Australia has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
UN praises updated NDCs but still"nowhere near goal"
27 Oct 2021
Media release - New or updated climate action plans by governments can be effective in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but greater efforts are needed to keep global warming at bay, the UN climate change office says.
Warning that 42 countries are at risk of sinking below the waves due to climate change
15 Oct 2021
Some of the world's smallest countries could "disappear" without action at an upcoming UN summit to contain climate change, the secretary general of the Commonwealth has warned.
"Udder bullshit", leave it to the ETS, way to go: lobby groups respond to ERP
14 Oct 2021
Yesterday’s release of a discussion document on the government’s Emissions Reduction Plan has resulted in a flood of press releases. The verdicts range from “udder bullshit” and leave to the ETS to you’re on the right track but you’re not going fast enough.
Helsinki's climate moonshot
14 Oct 2021
Helsinki deserves credit for modeling not only how to set an innovative climate goal, but also how to craft a novel process to achieve it, writes MIT's Carlo Ratti.
Govt proposes allowing more emissions in the short-term and steeper cuts in the future
13 Oct 2021
THE government is proposing increasing the emissions budget recommended by the Climate Change Commission for the 2022-25 period by 2 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalents, followed by cuts of 5Mt CO2e for the 2026-30 period, and 11 Mt CO2e in the 2031 – 31 period.
China's coal convulsion threatens climate goals
13 Oct 2021
China's energy crisis is a wild card in the fraught efforts to secure a meaningful deal at the UN climate summit in Glasgow.
“The fight is on” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees: climate change ambassador
8 Oct 2021
New Zealand’s climate change ambassador Kay Harrison told a webinar this morning that “the fight is on” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees at the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow.
COP26 urged to prioritise adaptation as climate emergency surges
7 Sep 2021
On the heels of last month’s warning from the UN climate science panel that extreme weather and rising seas are hitting faster than expected, leaders have called for more money and political will to help people adapt to the new reality.
Europe could miss its 2030 greenhouse gas targets by 21 years
6 Sep 2021
Europe might be making progress on reducing emissions, but its largest utility company doesn't think officials are moving quickly enough. Reuters reports Enel has issued a study warning Europe could be late on reducing greenhouse gas emissions if it continues at its "current pace.
10 YEARS AGO...
1 Jun 2021
Ten years ago, the Sustainability Council was warning the public purse could be facing between $1 billion and $5 billion in liabilities as a result of Kyoto commitments.
$800 per tonne methane tax floated in UN report
7 May 2021
A major UN study on methane, released today, calls for a cut in the consumption of meat and dairy products of up to 50 per cent and observes that a global tax of $US800 per tonne of methane would result in a 75 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050.
Lest we forget: the carbon footprint of war
27 Apr 2021
With global spending on the military just shy of US$2 trillion in 2020, it’s hardly a surprise that the world’s armies are a major contributor to climate change.
Fonterra rejects climate claims
21 Apr 2021
Fonterra is dismissing a claim in Climatic Change – a leading academic journal – that it is the world’s second highest dairy emitter and is responsible for emissions equal to New Zealand’s total emissions target for the coming decade.
The campaign against the climate
20 Apr 2021
A 30-year-long project by some in the oil industry, who have spent millions of dollars manipulating public opinion and perceptions of climate change, is revealed in a new Al Jazeera documentary by Danish filmmaker Mads Ellesoe.
Asia pushes ahead on carbon markets
16 Apr 2021
Despite the economic challenges posed by Covid-19, the past year was marked by a growing number of pledges from Asian countries to reach carbon neutrality.
10 YEARS AGO...
15 Apr 2021
Ten years ago, Carbon News was reporting the ETS had failed to boost forest planting.
10 YEARS AGO...
14 Apr 2021
Ten years ago, NZ was on target to meet its Kyoto targets (a truly distant memory.)
Agriculture and energy sector account for 90 per cent of emissions
13 Apr 2021
Agriculture and the energy sector accounted for 90 per cent of New Zealand’s gross greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the Ministry of the Environment’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990 – 2019 released today.
Paying for ecosystem services to save the planet
12 Mar 2021
The idea that ecosystems have monetary value now has global support — and creates a route to protecting Earth’s endangered regions.
Proving that taking care of forest pays carbon dividends
18 Feb 2021
New Zealand’s vast native forests may yet help the country meet its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Australia will not be given speaking slot at climate summit, Morrison says
11 Dec 2020
Scott Morrison has signalled Australia will not be granted a speaking slot at a climate ambition summit this weekend, despite telling Parliament a week ago he would attend to “correct mistruths” about the Government’s heavily criticised record on emissions reduction.
Japan's emissions at record low
9 Dec 2020
Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.7 per cent to a record low in the 2019 financial year that ended March 2020, government figures showed on Tuesday, thanks to growing use of renewable energy and lower energy consumption by manufacturers.
Upton, Parker - Nats stopped the ETS working
17 Nov 2020
New Zealand’s failure to seriously address its emissions problem through the 2010s has come under fire from two politicians whose attempts to effectively price carbon were thwarted by National Governments.
TEN YEARS AGO ...
13 Nov 2020
Ten years ago, climate minister Tim Groser was off to Washington to talk to the Major Economies Forum about his ideas for cutting global emissions.
US is now out of the Paris Agreement
5 Nov 2020
The United States is now officially the only country in the world refusing to participate in global climate efforts, with the fate of the crisis hanging on the still uncalled presidential election.
Resolve carbon market dispute to step up ambition, says UK
2 Nov 2020
Countries have a collective responsibility to agree on common rules for a global carbon market, to drive greater climate ambition beyond 2021, says the United Kingdom's lead climate negotiator.
Delivering credit for carbon storage
19 Oct 2020
In 1915, Mike Gibbs’ ancestors made their way from the flat, agricultural plains of Southland to the wild, steep, forested edge of Eastern Fiordland.
How does the COP26 delay affect GHG emissions?
14 Oct 2020
Will delaying the COP26 UN climate negotiations impact international action to decarbonise? Would catch-up talks help? Could the talks collapse because countries stopped paying their dues?
Nigeria, Jamaica bring closure to the Kyoto Protocol era
6 Oct 2020
The Doha Amendment will come into force this year after Nigeria became the 144th country to ratify the climate treaty, in a last-minute scramble to tie the loose ends of the Kyoto Protocol era.
Most parties get a 'fail' on climate and health
30 Sep 2020
Just one political party has policies that comprehensively address the threat climate change poses to the country’s health, a new analysis show.
Australia’s gas plans could use quarter of world’s carbon budget
11 Sep 2020
A push to develop Australia’s gas resources could jeopardise global efforts keep global warming to safe levels, eating up more than a quarter of the world’s remaining carbon budget, a new report suggests.
IPCC: the dirty tricks faced by scientists over three decades
7 Sep 2020
Thirty years ago, in a small Swedish city called Sundsvall, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its first major report.
Household consumption driving our emissions
27 Aug 2020
Our attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions are being undermined by New Zealand's growing consumerism.
Australia claims climate success
2 Jul 2020
Despite three decades of relative inaction on climate change and stalling from successive Australian Governments, the Morrison Government has claimed success in meeting Australia’s targets under the Kyoto Protocol, which came to an end on Wednesday.
Parker whips home third leg of climate trifecta
26 Jun 2020
The third leg of the Government’s climate change legislation trifecta came home this week.
Parker has trade pact proposal, will travel
25 Jun 2020
New Zealand will take the proposed ground-breaking Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability to the table in trade talks with the United Kingdom.
Fewer emissions, but we need to be doing more
15 Apr 2020
New Zealand’s emissions fell slightly in 2018 – but not because the country has changed its behaviour.
Energy producers cut CO2 emissions
12 Feb 2020
Carbon dioxide emissions from energy production in the developed world has finally fallen to the level it was at in 1990, the Kyoto Protocol baseline year.
Why and what we should learn from bushfires
7 Feb 2020
Wildfires raging in Australia this summer show why New Zealand must include emissions from natural disasters in its climate reporting, says an expert on environmental accounting.
Australia wrong about our Kyoto credits
30 Jan 2020
New Zealand comes out on top in a row with Australia about climate change, according to The Guardian.
Shaw criticises 'handful of countries'
17 Dec 2019
Climate minister James Shaw says a handful of countries are preventing the settling of rules governing global carbon markets.
Kyoto credits threaten Paris Agreement
13 Dec 2019
Allowing countries to carry Kyoto credits forward could effectively kill the Paris Agreement, negotiators are being told.
Shaw expects late move on carbon trading
12 Dec 2019
Any breakthrough in talks over rules governing international carbon trading is likely to come at the last minute, says climate minister James Shaw.
PLEASE EXPLAIN: NZ faces grilling at Madrid meet
9 Dec 2019
New Zealand faces up to the world in Madrid today to explain how it is meeting its emissions reduction targets despite a 23 per cent rise in gross emissions and 65 per cent rise in net emissions since 1990.
Jump to it, Jacinda, says global carbon watchdog
5 Dec 2019
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is under international pressure to increase New Zealand’s 2030 emissions reduction target in line with the Paris Agreement.
‘Stop burning fossil fuels’ pleads scientist as extreme rain causes floods yet again
Fri 27 Mar 2026
Northland and Auckland have again been lashed by heavy rain, with hundreds of people evacuated last night because of extensive flooding in the Far North, and some areas hit by more than a month's average rainfall in just 24 hours.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
Planting mānuka might bring birds, bats and insects back to farms
Mon 23 Mar 2026
Media release | New research published today in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology shows that Mānuka forests planted to support honey production provide positive nature-related impacts.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
Fri 27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
US cannot meet Iran war-induced LNG shortfall: industry leaders
Fri 27 Mar 2026
Business leaders are warning that the United States lacks the infrastructure to alleviate a global LNG shortage caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has kept a fifth of the world's energy supplies from leaving the Gulf.
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
Thu 26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
NSW to ban new coalmines in major shake-up for $23bn industry
Mon 23 Mar 2026
A major shake-up is on the way for one Australian state’s single biggest export, which powers homes here and abroad.
Hormuz crisis critical to New Zealand
10 Mar 2026
By Nathan Surendran | COMMENT: Why the Hormuz crisis is a symptom, not the disease – and what it means for New Zealand.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
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.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
WWF boss joins Opportunity Party with centrist climate pitch
Thu 26 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Opportunity Party has unveiled its first slate of candidates ahead of November's election, including World Wildlife Fund Aotearoa chief executive Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, as the party positions itself as a 'centrist environmental force' ahead of the election.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Gisborne $29.7m recovery funding bid awaits Government decision
Fri 27 Mar 2026
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | Gisborne leaders are awaiting the Government’s response to a $29.7 million funding bid for a joint agency/iwi-led recovery plan after January’s severe weather event.
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.
MfE forecasts suggest diminishing NZU stockpile
19 Mar 2026
By Clive Bradbury | ANALYSIS: The Ministry for the Environment has updated its NZ ETS forecasts of emissions, removals and entitlements from the Crown's financial forecasting, with predictions pointing to a significant drop in the ‘stockpile’ this year.
LNG sold as insurance, but modelling points to a bigger role
19 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s gas market is heading for a sharp contraction whether the country sticks with domestic supply alone or introduces liquefied natural gas imports.
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.”
Gaps in adaptation taxonomies hinder climate finance in Asia: report
5 Mar 2026
Without clearer criteria and metrics in adaptation taxonomies, Asia risks widening its climate financing gap, warns a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Top scientist speaks out against Trump regime’s attack on premier research centre
Mon 23 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | Kevin Trenberth, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, now based in New Zealand, has told the Trump administration he is “appalled” at its attempt to break up the international research centre he has been associated with for nearly 50 years.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
9 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
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.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
Govt process to change climate plan ‘fundamentally flawed’, says judge
18 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government’s 2024 changes to New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan was “as fundamentally flawed a process as I think I have ever seen”, the judge presiding in a case challenging climate change decision-making has said.
Cleantech expo coming to Auckland
Thu 26 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s first national cleantech expo is set to bring together 30 innovators, in what organisers say is the country’s fastest growing area in the tech sector.
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
Wed 25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Close questioning over ‘ministerial latitude’ at climate hearing
17 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Lawyers challenging the legality of the government’s emissions reduction plans faced close questioning on the limits of ministerial foresight in the first of three days of hearings at the Wellington High Court yesterday.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Govt’s relief package risks entrenching fossil fuel dependence, critics warn
Wed 25 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s $373 million fuel relief package is facing criticism for propping up petrol use rather than reducing demand, as prices surge and some experts predict fuel shortages due to conflict in the Middle East.
Media round-up
20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Solar is Southeast Asia’s cheapest buffer against future shocks
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Southeast Asian countries’ planned expansion of gas power could increase the cost of generating electricity to $109 billion by 2030 based on future price projections — more than double the cost of generating the same amount of electricity with solar.
World-leading plasma torch takes aim at NZ's most potent greenhouse gases
Tue 24 Mar 2026
Media release | A high-tech plasma torch was lit up today as Minister of Conservation, Hon Tama Potaka, officially opened the $10 million National Refrigerant Destruction Facility – signalling a new era in addressing the environmental impact of New Zealand’s most potent greenhouse gases.
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.
Why the Iran war may have just killed the AI boom
Thu 26 Mar 2026
The $1.5 trillion in committed AI infrastructure spending by major tech companies is built on an assumption of a functional global supply chain, which the Iran conflict has fundamentally broken.
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.
Govt's $50m EV charging boost to double network
Mon 23 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | More than 2,500 new EV chargers are set to be rolled out across New Zealand, more than doubling the public network – but still leaving the total at less than half the Government's 10,000 target.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
Thu 26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
6 Mar 2026
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
