Topics tagged with 'Kyoto'
Australia eyes carry-over credits, says expert
23 Nov 2015
Australia is likely to use carry-over credits from KP1 to cover an emissions blow-out, a commentator is predicting.
This week ...
16 Nov 2015
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright will on Thursday release her report on the implications for New Zealand of sea level rises.
OFFICIALS: Why we need to halve our emissions
9 Nov 2015
New Zealanders need to halve their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to do their fair share – and that’s on 1990 levels, not the Government’s new favourite baseline of 2005 - officials say.
Plantation boom broken, so let’s go carbon farming
2 Nov 2015
In the rolling hills of Victoria’s Strzelecki Ranges, among paddocks of pasture and potatoes, stands a simple steel monument to the world’s tallest tree.
Groser confirms emissions backlash fear
27 Oct 2015
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser has confirmed that it was fear of an international backlash that stopped the Government splitting agricultural emissions from other emissions in New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target, despite strong pressure from Treasury.
'Bottom-up' agreement possible in Paris
21 Oct 2015
International climate change negotiations in Paris are likely to produce a “bottom-up” agreement that will isn’t binding but will hold countries accountable for their actions, Climate Change Minister Tim Groser told business yesterday.
UN offers Kyoto credits direct to public
28 Sep 2015
The United Nations is offering Kyoto-compliant carbon credits directly to the public.
Backlash fear stopped move on agriculture emissions
21 Sep 2015
New Zealand came close to splitting agriculture off from its post-2020 emissions reduction target in a bid to save money, but dropped the idea amid fears of an international backlash.
What really happened with Kyoto ERUs
7 Sep 2015
Emissions trading needs to be backed by ambitious targets, transparent reporting and international accountability if it is to be effective in tackling climate change.
We're knee-deep in it (adding up emissions, that is)
31 Aug 2015
The Government is now doing what businesses have been doing since 2011 – totting up how many credits it has to surrender to meet its obligations.
New figures show foresters deserting tree-planting
24 Aug 2015
More of New Zealand’s post-1989 plantation forests are outside the Emissions Trading Scheme than are in it.
Wind and solar surge sends EU emissions tumbling
17 Aug 2015
Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions are falling fast, mainly because of the rapid spread of the wind turbines and solar panels that are replacing fossil fuels for electricity generation.
Message in a bottle: wine industry gives farmers a taste of what's to come
3 Aug 2015
Wine seems to be a handy way to galvanise concerns about the future ill-effects of climate change.
Groser pleads special case for animal emissions
20 Jul 2015
New Zealand wants the next global climate change agreement to treat biological gases treated differently from other greenhouse gases.
Australia hit its Kyoto target, but it was more a three-inch putt than a hole in one
20 Jul 2015
In the saga of mendacity that is the climate policy debate, no claim has been more audacious than the one now being told by the federal government about Australia’s “success” in meeting its Kyoto emissions target.
'Failed' NZ could be walking into trap at Paris climate summit
13 Jul 2015
New Zealand could be in trouble with its post-2020 emissions reduction target if the world doesn’t allow us to continue to use creative accounting to meet our obligations, international scientists are warning.
Why our cuts will be an embarrassment in Paris
8 Jul 2015
The 2030 emissions reduction target announced yesterday will damage New Zealand’s credibility at this year’s Paris climate talks, says the man who negotiated for us in Kyoto.
Coffee drinkers beware, your brew will change with the climate
2 Jun 2015
We have known for some time that coffee is a climate-sensitive crop. Now we have the first global evidence that increasing minimum, or night-time, temperatures are having the hardest impact on your daily brew.
Canadian city wants to be the world's greenest
18 May 2015
Canada has been dubbed an international disgrace for its climate change policies, but now one of its major cities is aiming to be the greenest in the world by 2020.
At last, Government reveals cost of gases reduction
11 May 2015
The Government has revealed how much it thinks cutting greenhouse gases might cost the country.
Minister happy with dairying emissions progress
20 Apr 2015
The dairy industry is making progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Government says.
We could be heading for a multi-billion-dollar carbon hangover
13 Apr 2015
New Zealand’s “rugby, big cars and beer” culture could leave the country with an annual carbon hangover edging into the billions of dollars.
NZ hangs back as countries commit to carbon cuts
7 Apr 2015
Russia did it. The United States did it. All the countries in the European Union have done it, as have Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and Latvia. Even oil-and-mineral-exporting Gabon, population 1.3 million, did it.
How the US’s post-2020 climate target could fit into a global deal
7 Apr 2015
The United States' formal submission this week of its intended post 2020 climate target raises several questions for this year’s global climate talks.
Beehive breaking our climate change pledge
9 Mar 2015
Latest figures show that New Zealand is not planting enough trees to meet its climate change pledges, and a carbon forestry expert says that the Government is to blame.
ETS nothing but 'words, fishhooks and traps,' says Palmer
23 Feb 2015
New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme legislation is so full of “words, fishhooks and traps” that giving sound legal advice on it to businesses is almost impossible, says one of our leading legal minds.
New Zealand’s defective law on climate change, by Sir Geoffrey Palmer
23 Feb 2015
Distinguished law fellow Sir Geoffrey Palmer, QC, has been at or near the heart of our attempts to tackled climate change for nearly three decades.
Shell chief calls for climate action, but what are the motives?
23 Feb 2015
Shell chief Ben van Beurden is pointing the way for oil companies to demand greater certainty over future climate policy.
Carbon prices hit two-year high
27 Jan 2015
New Zealand carbon is at its highest price in more than two years.
Australia's emissions targets are heading in the wrong direction
22 Dec 2014
Australia’s emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases are going up and up – and are set to rise by more than 50% over 1990 levels by 2020, according to new research.
Climate expert: It's all smoke and mirrors, Mr Groser
15 Dec 2014
New Zealand is using smoke and mirrors to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, when it could get there by using clean heating and transport technologies, says one of our leading scientists.
Climate talks off on the rocky road to Paris
15 Dec 2014
A deal struck in Lima between 196 nations today leaves open the possibility of saving the planet from dangerous overheating. But its critics say the prospects of success are now slim.
We're facing a $3b carbon crisis ... and it could be worse
8 Dec 2014
New Zealand has a $3 billion carbon headache looming – and Treasury says that’s the conservative estimate.
Govt hopes Kyoto credits will cover emissions blow-out
1 Dec 2014
The Government will use international Kyoto credits received in what’s known as the KP1 true-up to cover its emissions blow-out.
Lima climate talks ‘stepping stone’ for universal treaty
1 Dec 2014
A new round of talks in Lima is an opportunity to raise immediate awareness on climate change and lay the foundation for a new universal agreement to be adopted in 2015, says a top UN official.
Election rout blow to US climate change role
10 Nov 2014
The role of the United States in confronting the global climate crisis has been cast into serious doubt after an election that stacked the deck in Congress in favor of fossil fuel industries.
What the politicians said ...
3 Nov 2014
All three of New Zealand's major political parties say that the IPCC's latest call on climate change is important.
Trans-Pacific Partnership threatens green trade deal
28 Oct 2014
The Trans-Pacific Partnership threatens a green trade deal that could ultimately do more to reduce carbon emissions than international climate agreements such as the failed Kyoto Protocol.
Chile's new tax could open carbon doors for NZ
20 Oct 2014
Chile’s new carbon tax potentially offers New Zealand an opportunity to offset some of its own agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, says economist Dr Suzi Kerr.
Anxious foresters await review of foreign credits ban
13 Oct 2014
A controversial decision to make foresters the only emitters banned from using cheap foreign carbon credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions is under review.
Beehive stays silent on emissions target
13 Oct 2014
The Government remains mum on New Zealand’s 2030 emissions reduction target.
VOILA! A simple new way to put a price on global carbon
13 Oct 2014
A team of French academics has proposed an international carbon trading system, whereby countries with the highest average CO2 emissions pay the most.
Sick seas could cost us billions, UN warns
13 Oct 2014
The global economy could be losing as much as $1 trillion annually by the end of the century if countries do not take urgent steps to stop ocean acidification, says a new report.
MIA ... but it doesn't mean China's not interested
29 Sep 2014
There were a few notable absentees among the more than 120 world leaders gathered in New York for last week's United Nations Climate Summit - and perhaps most notable of all was the head of the world’s highest-emitting nation, China’s President Xi Jinping.
Would a climate change treaty be enough?
29 Sep 2014
Do we need a climate treaty, or could a simple political deal based on national pledges work just as well?
Scientists plead for cuts to ballooning fossil fuel emissions
22 Sep 2014
Scientists are calling for rapid cuts in the use of fossil fuels in the wake of data out today showing we have almost used up our fossil-fuel credit.
There's more to renewable energy than fighting climate change
16 Sep 2014
With the failure of international agreements to fight climate change, the way is open to viewing the role of renewables as more than agents for reducing carbon emissions. Indeed, is it possible for countries to build their manufacturing industries, enhance their energy security — and contribute to reducing carbon emissions?
Ten more years is too late, says Nobel winner
1 Sep 2014
Negotiating a global agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol at climate change talks in Paris next year is critical to the survival of society, a visiting Nobel Prize-winning scientist says.
Foresters like look of climate commission
1 Sep 2014
Forest owners like the Labour Party's plan to set up an independent climate commission.
Labour vows to act on agriculture by 2016
25 Aug 2014
There is bad news for farmers, and good and bad news for industrial emitters under Labour’s climate change policy, released yesterday.
Hutt City Council slashes gas emissions
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Hutt City Council is set to cut its gas emissions by 60% by 2026 as it speeds up phasing out fossil fuels from public facilities.
Carbon price drops, now trading 30% below auction floor
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Secondary carbon market prices took a sharp downward turn last week, with traders blaming a continued lack of interest from buyers.
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.
Celebrities slam mining plans
28 Oct 2025
Actor Sam Neill has slammed plans for a gold mine in Otago, while Denniston Rose author Jenny Pattrick is backing a petition that would stop a coalmine on the West Coast.
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.
Taxonomy seen as key to shaping NZ’s voluntary nature credit market
Thu 30 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Experts say aligning the New Zealand Sustainable Finance Taxonomy with the development of voluntary nature credit markets could strengthen credibility, streamline investment, and support high-integrity environmental outcomes.
Devastation on repeat: How climate change is worsening Pakistan's deadly floods
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Rescuers and relatives searched knee-deep in water for the body of one-year-old Zara. She'd been swept away by flash floods; the bodies of her parents and three siblings had already been found days earlier.
‘Plain old dull’: NZU market continues to limp sideways
24 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The NZU market has been “plain old dull” in recent months, with activity driven mainly by credit opportunities or a specific need to raise cash, according to Lizzie Chambers of trading platform Carbon Match.
Scrutiny on energy security
Mon 3 Nov 2025
A special debate in Parliament put the Government’s energy security agenda under scrutiny, with parties splitting sharply over the role of gas, the place of an LNG import terminal, and how far to push market reform to ease pressure on power bills.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
Fri 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
Thu 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.
No high-level US representatives will go to UN climate talks, Trump officials say
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Decision to stay away from Cop30 meeting in Brazil underscores administration’s hostility to climate action.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
Wed 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.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council welcomes new flood data
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Media release | Hawke’s Bay Regional Council welcomes the release of the National Flood Tool and accompanying data by Earth Sciences New Zealand. This is an important contribution to understanding the impacts of climate change for New Zealand.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
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.”
Developing countries will need US$310 billion annually for climate adaptation by 2035
Fri 31 Oct 2025
Media release - UN Environment Programme: Slow climate adaptation is threatening lives and economies.
No major banks have yet committed to stop funding new oil, gas and coal, research finds
24 Oct 2025
‘The objectives of the Paris agreement are slipping further out of reach,’ say researchers.
Look out for these 8 big ag greenwashing terms at COP30
28 Oct 2025
Food and farming companies will claim agriculture is the solution to the climate crisis at the Brazil summit — even though food drives a third of global warming.
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.
Vero warns losses to rise 26% by 2050 over extreme weather
Wed 29 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Extreme weather could drive a 19–26% spike in annual insurance losses by 2050, fuelled by rising seas and more intense flooding, according to Vero’s latest Climate-Related Disclosures Report.
Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
Fri 31 Oct 2025
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
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.
Global oil demand won't peak until 2032, Wood Mackenzie report says
Fri 31 Oct 2025
“Global oil demand will not peak until 2032, two years later than earlier thought, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report on Wednesday that blames continued momentum in the use of hydrocarbons for transport and petrochemicals.”
Govt ‘captured by industry’ on methane – Carr
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr says that recent moves to weaken methane targets and halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing show the Government has been captured by industry.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Climate 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.
Ardern: 'We must not give up on 1.5'
Fri 31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern says the world must not abandon the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, warning that a decade on from COP21 “too many of the debates we thought were settled are still being had.”
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.
Experts warn new science curriculum sidelines climate urgency
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Climate change education has been pushed too late and too lightly in the Government’s draft science curriculum, experts say, with students not formally learning about climate change until Year 10.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
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.
The Yangtze River is becoming the world’s largest electrified trade corridor
Thu 30 Oct 2025
The Gezhouba, a new 13,000-ton all-electric bulk carrier launched in Yichang, is more than a technical milestone. It is a sign that the electrification of inland shipping is moving from concept to inevitability.
AgriZero backs Aussie IVF innovator
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The NZ government-led low carbon agriculture consortium AgriZero has invested A$1.5 million (NZ$1.7m) in a Queensland-based start-up looking to bring down the cost of inserting fertilised embryos into livestock.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
Fri 31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
