Topics tagged with 'Low carbon'
South Africa mulls over carbon tax at source
6 Aug 2010
South Africa is considering a proposal to introduce a carbon tax at source, probably of about 100 rand per tonne, according to industry sources.
UK might miss boat, warns green watchdog
23 Jul 2010
An independent watchdog group has advised the UK government to increase investment in low-carbon technologies in order to boost green, economic growth and to achieve the target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
Sydney gets serious about bikes ... and e-cars
23 Jul 2010
The City of Sydney has secured one of 40 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs for its vehicle fleet, the first production electric vehicle to be released in the Australian market.
UK must take radical action, warns watchdog
2 Jul 2010
Britain needs to build twice as many wind farms every year, put more than a million electric cars on the road and insulate every home in the country in order to meet ambitious legally binding climate change targets, Government advisers have warned.
Govt fails to provide climate-friendly choices, say Greens
2 Jul 2010
The John Key Government has failed to provide climate-friendly choices to help households avoid the higher costs that could result from their Emissions Trading Scheme, says the Green Party.
Carbon trading heads off oil in Europe
25 Jun 2010
Carbon emissions early this year overtook Brent crude oil to become the largest commodity type traded in Europe.
APEC ministers set out energy targets
25 Jun 2010
APEC energy ministers have set down directions to advance energy security, improve energy efficiency and increase the clean energy supply in the Asia-Pacific region.
Taxpayers face $1.1 billion Kyoto liability, say authors
25 Jun 2010
New Zealand’s failure to reduce emissions to its Kyoto Protocol target means the taxpayer still faces a $1.1 billion net liability after all the ETS charges have been paid.
NZ ranks 57th in $6 trillion low-carbon market
18 Jun 2010
New Zealand ranks 57th in the world, behind Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Morocco, in earnings from low carbon and environmental products and services.
New PM aims to slash Govt emissions
18 Jun 2010
Carbon emissions from the UK central government will be cut by 10 per cent in the next 12 months, new Prime Minister David Cameron says.
UK farmers show how to cut carbon
18 Jun 2010
While many New Zealand farmers protest against cutting carbon emissions, or paying the price, UK farmers are showing how it can be done.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
Tue 24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
South Korean farmers sue utility giant KEPCO over climate damage to crops
Today 11:45am
As harvest season approached last November, farmer Ma Yong-un walked through his apple orchard in southern South Korea with a growing sense of dread.
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.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Biodiversity survey challenges coal mine proposal
Today 11:45am
An intensive biological survey at Deep Stream and the Denniston Plateau has revealed rare and at-risk species in areas slated for coal mining, with conservationists saying mining the area could spell extinction for the recently crowned 'bug of the year' – the avatar moth.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
US Supreme Court to hear bid by oil companies to toss climate suits
Today 11:45am
The U.S Supreme Court has agreed to hear a bid by ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy to scuttle a lawsuit brought by officials in Boulder, Colorado that seeks to hold the oil companies liable for helping fuel climate change in a case that could affect dozens of similar lawsuits around the country.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
Today 11:45am
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
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.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 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 market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
Mercury ramps up renewable investment with $1b pipeline
Today 11:45am
Mercury is accelerating investment in wind, geothermal and hydro assets, reinvesting $270 million — half its half-year earnings — into new and existing renewable generation.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 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.
Hipkins rejects LNG terminal, backs renewables
Tue 24 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Labour leader Chris Hipkins used his State of the Nation address to warn that worsening extreme weather and rising energy costs show climate change is no longer a distant threat.
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.
The 15 foods destroying rainforests, in one simple chart
Today 11:45am
It’s pretty much impossible to live a life free of environmental harm. But there is one thing you could do immediately that would help the planet a heck of a lot: eat less beef.
Government invests $200m towards Genesis Energy's $400m capital raise
Mon 23 Feb 2026
The Government has confirmed it will buy up to $200 million of new Genesis Energy shares as part of a capital raise announced by the company this morning.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
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.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
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.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
Today 11:45am
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 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?
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
Australia-US minerals deal underpinned decision to allow mining company to clear threatened indigenous forest
Mon 23 Feb 2026
The Australian government’s decision to allow the US mining giant Alcoa to continue clearing swathes of Western Australian jarrah forest despite past illegal clearing practices was made in part due to a critical minerals deal reached between Australia and the Trump administration last year, a new document shows.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
Tue 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?
Climate 'dream team' launches foundation targeting 100 million tonnes in emissions cuts
Today 11:45am
The New Zealand Climate Foundation, which has the ambitious aim of cutting 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, had its official launch on Monday.
Environmental groups boycott Bluegreens forum
Tue 24 Feb 2026
National’s Bluegreens forum in Wellington doubled as a small but telling election-year rehearsal: a bid to reclaim “moderate green” territory while parts of the environmental NGO ecosystem conspicuously stayed away.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Brazil and India agree to boost cooperation on rare earths
Tue 24 Feb 2026
Brazil and India sealed a deal Saturday on critical minerals and rare earths, enhancing cooperation on crucial resources between two major countries of the global south as they seek to diversify their trading relationships.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
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.
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.
NZ’s EV uptake decelerates
Mon 23 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s EV uptake is lagging behind other countries, with a huge drop in EV sales since 2023 bucking international trends, at the same time the Government contemplates abolishing its standard for clean cars entirely.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Fri 20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
India and UK launch offshore wind taskforce
Mon 23 Feb 2026
Constituted under Vision 2035 and the Fourth India-UK Energy Dialogue, the Taskforce is designed to provide strategic leadership and coordination for India’s nascent offshore wind ecosystem.
