Topics tagged with 'Oceans'
More in: Oceans
Millions of tons of tiny plastic particles are polluting the ocean, study finds
Tue 15 Jul 2025
At least 27 million tonnes of nanoplastics are estimated to be floating in the North Atlantic Ocean, weighing more than all wild land mammals combined.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
Fri 11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Change in Southern Ocean structure could have climate implications
7 Jul 2025
Media release – Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM-CSIC) | Satellite data processing algorithms developed by ICM-CSIC have played a crucial role in detecting this significant shift in the Southern Hemisphere, which could accelerate the effects of climate change.
UN talks delivered a drop in the ocean of finance and policy change needed to save the sea
27 Jun 2025
Never has the ocean been the focus of so much investor and political attention as it was in Nice earlier this month.
Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
27 Jun 2025
With their country threatened by sea level rise, the people of Tuvalu have been offered an escape route through an agreement with Australia, and many are contemplating leaving their home.
Is it too soon for ocean-based carbon credits?
26 Jun 2025
The science is still out — but some of the industry’s key players are moving ahead regardless.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
'Glimmer of hope' for marine life at UN Ocean conference
17 Jun 2025
The UN Ocean conference has been heralded a success, with more countries ratifying a key treaty to protect marine life and more progress on curbing plastics and illegal fishing in our seas.
Ocean current ‘collapse’ could trigger ‘profound cooling’ in northern Europe – even with global warming
13 Jun 2025
A “collapse” of key Atlantic ocean currents would cause winter temperatures to plunge across northern Europe, overriding the warming driven by human activity.
Rapid action vital following UN Ocean Conference – experts
12 Jun 2025
New Zealand-based experts are calling for rapid and transformative action to restore nature - and our relationship with it - at the third UN Ocean Conference in France this week.
18 new countries ratify High Seas Treaty at 2025 UN Ocean Conference
12 Jun 2025
On the first day of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France, on Monday, 18 new countries ratified the High Seas Treaty for a total of 49 — just 11 shy of the 60 needed for the agreement to be enforced.
New Zealand is failing to protect its vast ocean resources. We owe it to the world to act
11 Jun 2025
Less than 1% of our country’s seas are highly protected and the damaging practice of bottom-trawling must be restricted.
Govt puts commercial focus on Milford Sound access
10 Jun 2025
The Government has rejected a proposal to stop cruise ships entering the Milford Sound and to close the Milford Aerodrome.
Ship anchors are squashing life on Antarctic seafloors
10 Jun 2025
Media release | First video footage shows the impacts of anchor and chain damage caused by cruise, research, fishing, and private vessels on Antarctic sea floor and animals, highlighting a critically understudied conservation issue
UN ocean summit opens in Nice with calls to boost marine protections
10 Jun 2025
A global summit on the dire state of the oceans opened Monday in France, with demands to ban bottom trawling and expand marine protections.
Extreme ocean warming engulfed South-West Pacific in 2024
6 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Unprecedented ocean warming engulfed the South-West Pacific in 2024, with extreme heat and rainfall causing deadly and devastating impacts and sea level rise threatening entire islands.
Top ocean experts sound the alarm over growing marine crisis due to climate change
6 Jun 2025
On the opening day of a global science conference, French fishery scientist Clea Abello presented research showing that marine protected areas could protect commercially valuable fisheries.
From sovereignty to sustainability: United Nations Ocean Conference
5 Jun 2025
While ocean governance was once designed to protect the marine interests of states, nowadays it must also address the numerous climate and environmental challenges facing the oceans.
Microplastics found in sand on dozens of NZ beaches
4 Jun 2025
Scientists have extracted microplastics from the sand of 22 beaches from the Far North to Banks Peninsula.
World’s nations to gather in France to tackle what UN says is a global emergency in the oceans
30 May 2025
The world’s nations are gathering in France next month to tackle what the United Nations calls a global emergency facing the world’s oceans as they confront rising temperatures, plastic pollution choking marine life, and relentless overexploitation of fish and other resources.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Almost half a million blue sharks caught as ‘bycatch’ in Pacific - Greenpeace
22 May 2025
Media release | A new analysis of the latest fisheries data by Greenpeace Australia Pacific has revealed widespread slaughter of sharks in the Pacific Ocean by industrial longline fishers.
Opponents 'livid' over Taranaki seabed mining project fast-track application
20 May 2025
Opponents of the project have slammed the EPA's acceptance of Trans-Tasman Resources' fast-track application to mine 50 million tonnes of South Taranaki seabed every year.
Nature is not an economic handbrake: Environmental Defence Society
16 May 2025
Nature is not a handbrake on economic growth – the two must go hand in hand, attendees heard on the final day of the Environmental Defence Society’s Dollars and Sense conference this week.
Budget 2025 needs to prioritise a thriving and resilient Pacific region
16 May 2025
Media release | World Vision New Zealand is urging the government to prioritise Pacific prosperity and resilience with strong investment in climate finance and foreign aid as part of Budget 2025.
Greens promise to rapidly reduce emissions in new Green Budget
14 May 2025
By Shannon Williams | The Green Party has unveiled its alternative Green Budget, promising bold investments to tackle the climate crisis and deliver cleaner air, water, and soil.
Global sea levels rise spelling catastrophe for coastal towns and cities
14 May 2025
For around 2,000 years, global sea levels varied little. That changed in the 20th century. They started rising and have not stopped since — and the pace is accelerating.
‘Serious’ game looks at coastal climate change
13 May 2025
Media release | A new online game that enables New Zealanders to experience a climate-changed future and explore choices has been launched this month to get 10,000 game-plays over the wettest time of the year.
Microplastics found in every layer of the ocean – study
7 May 2025
A new study by New Zealand and international researchers shows microplastics in every layer of the ocean - enough to change the chemical fingerprint of ocean carbon.
Environmental Defence Society calls for law change on marine protected areas
6 May 2025
The Environmental Defence Society has outlined a plan for reforming marine protected areas law.
Microplastics could be hampering the ocean’s ability to capture carbon
2 May 2025
A global survey of microplastics in oceans reveals that tiny particles of plastic are prevalent throughout the water column, which could harm marine ecosystems and affect carbon storage in the deep sea.
Protecting coastal waters may be the best investment you’ve never heard of
1 May 2025
COMMENT: The ocean has long been treated as the world’s forgotten frontier—out of sight, out of mind, and dangerously overused.
More than 80% of the world’s reefs hit by bleaching after worst global event on record
24 Apr 2025
An ashen pallor and an eerie stillness all that remains where there should be fluttering fish and vibrant colours in the reefscape, one conservationist says.
Fisheries reforms weaken sustainability
22 Apr 2025
Proposed changes to the Fisheries Act risk undermining long-term sustainability in favour of short-term economic gain, according to the Environmental Defence Society.
Warm water affecting Antarctica’s largest ice shelf - new research
22 Apr 2025
While Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf is currently stable, new research shows warm water is reaching up to 170 kilometres under the front of the ice shelf.
Environmental group takes legal action against Shane Jones for failure to protect dolphins
14 Apr 2025
The Environmental Law Initiative is taking legal action against Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones for what it says is a failure to adequately protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins.
Environmental summit to tackle costs of economic reform
14 Apr 2025
As the government pushes ahead with sweeping reforms to unlock economic growth, the upcoming Environmental Defence Society annual summit will ask a critical question: at what cost?
Nations agree on carbon-pricing system to steer shipping towards net-zero
14 Apr 2025
Nations have agreed to introduce a worldwide carbon-pricing system for international shipping to drive the sector towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
Trump’s actions are already having consequences for climate, especially for the IPCC - expert
11 Apr 2025
Leading climate scientist, Dr Kevin Trenberth, left the US and came home to New Zealand because of the rise of Donald Trump. In this comment piece, he writes that he is appalled in multiple ways by the so-called “war on science” unfolding through staff cuts and the president’s policy edicts.
'Sobering' state of NZ environment
8 Apr 2025
Mounting environmental pressures across the country could cause serious consequences for people’s health, housing, livelihoods, and overall quality of life, a new report reveals.
New satellite data shows NZ’s major cities are sinking – meaning rising seas will affect them sooner
7 Apr 2025
Jesse Kearse, Kyoto University | Rising seas are already affecting coastal communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. On a global average, the sea level is now 18 centimetres higher than it was in 1900, and the annual rate of increase has been accelerating to currently 4.4 millimetres per year.
Southern Ocean warming may affect tropical drought and rainfall more than Arctic warming
3 Apr 2025
Southern Ocean warming may have a greater impact than Arctic warming in some regions, particularly affecting tropical rainfall patterns, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
Digging for minerals in the Pacific’s graveyard: The $20 trillion fight over who controls the seabed
31 Mar 2025
Today, the ocean that Kahoʻohalahala and so many other Indigenous peoples crossed, cared for, and survived on is on track to be mined for polymetallic nodules.
New deep sea mining study shows ecosystem recovery from mining could take centuries
28 Mar 2025
Media release | A new study shows that the damage from deep sea mining would be so severe that any recovery from mining could take hundreds of years.
'Our world is melting'
20 Mar 2025
Signs of human-induced climate change reached new heights in 2024, with some of the consequences irreversible over hundreds if not thousands of years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation.
Science-based targets for ocean stewardship unveiled
20 Mar 2025
Businesses can now set science-based targets covering ocean and maritime protection, under the latest guidance introduced by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN).
'Fishing boat for energy' will make hydrogen as it sails
20 Mar 2025
Wind power has been rising significantly in recent years, and now accounts for about 8% of the world's energy production. By the end of the decade, it will be the second-largest renewable source after solar, having surpassed hydropower, according to the International Energy Agency.
As the sea level rises, who will pay? Councils seek answers
Tue 15 Jul 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | North Canterbury's councils are seeking guidance from Government over who pays for protections from sea level rise, flooding and weather events.
Researchers unveil new tools to accurately track methane emissions
Mon 14 Jul 2025
Breakthrough methane monitoring tools developed by Earth Sciences New Zealand are set to transform how farmers, landfill operators, and wastewater facilities track and tackle their methane emissions.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Nations agree to tax premium flyers, private jets
2 Jul 2025
A group of countries, including France, Kenya, Spain and Barbados, pledged on June 30 to tax premium-class flying and private jets in a bid to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
Fri 11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
Mon 14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
HSBC becomes first UK bank to quit industry’s net zero alliance
Tue 15 Jul 2025
Campaigners condemn ‘troubling’ move that follows departure of six of largest US banks after Trump’s election.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
Fri 11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
EU wants to see China take more ambitious climate action
Tue 15 Jul 2025
The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal.
A credible UN carbon market needs rules that count – we’ve just set them
11 Jun 2025
COMMENT: The broad standards for a more ambitious market are now in place. But without a steady flow of investment, this progress will remain largely on paper.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Carbon price grinds higher - where to from now?
30 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to grind slowly higher since this month’s failed auction, with prices at their highest since March, although still languishing well below this year’s auction floor price.
Govt urged to make moves on electricity market
Tue 15 Jul 2025
Lobbying is increasing ahead of the release of the Frontier Economics report and the Government’s decisions on electricity market reforms.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
4000 hectares of forest uprooted by extreme winds in Nelson-Tasman storms
Tue 15 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | Foresters are facing a massive clean-up and tens of millions of dollars worth of damage from recent climate change-fuelled storms at the top of the South Island, with initial reports of 4000 hectares of wind-thrown production forestry.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
‘Weaponised timber torpedoes’ – call for forestry changes after flooding
Mon 14 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | A climate scientist is calling for changes to forestry practices, after the second ‘one-in-one-hundred-year’ climate-fuelled flash flood to hit the top of the South Island in two weeks unleashed a torrent of pine forest waste, wiping out homes and a campground.
Climate backtracking could impact trade relationships: Labour
9 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | Labour Party Energy spokesperson Megan Woods says the government needs to be upfront about how its energy policies will impact trade relationships, following revelations New Zealand was warned by other governments that backtracking on climate policies jeopardised its membership of an international alliance.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
Debanking bill 'financially dangerous'
Tue 15 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A private member’s bill aiming to stop financial institutions from considering ESG factors has been slammed by leading investment groups, legal experts, and climate finance advocates as misguided, financially dangerous, and legislative overreach.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
Fri 11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public
Fri 11 Jul 2025
The climate crisis is more urgent than ever, so why is there a disconnect between stated policies and actual practices?
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
‘Significant gaps’ in proposed approach to climate adaptation
Thu 10 Jul 2025
A new report into climate adaptation doesn’t suggest how development in high-risk areas should be avoided - an issue that needs urgent action with thousands of homes still being built in hazardous areas, according to the Environmental Defence Society.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
In Latin America, the energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits
8 Jul 2025
A new report shows that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Unlocking economic growth on conservation land
9 Jul 2025
Media release - New Zealand Government | A targeted effort to reduce the backlog of applications for use of conservation land is accelerating economic growth without compromising conservation values, says Conservation Minister Tama Potaka.
Emissions Trading Scheme needs deep reform - commissioner
Fri 11 Jul 2025
The government’s attempt to limit forestry conversions on rural land is unlikely to lead to meaningful change, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
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.
'Back-to-basics' approach for councils ignores climate risk
Fri 11 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While ACT is standing local government candidates to oppose councils' attempts to manage emissions and ministers are calling for local authorities to 'get back to basics' - or even suggesting scrapping regional councils altogether - one expert says this narrative is putting communities at risk in the face of climate change.
Markets aren't going to save us – Carr
9 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumerism is reaching its ecological and economic limits, and only systemic change - not market tweaks - can steer us away from climate catastrophe, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Millions of tons of tiny plastic particles are polluting the ocean, study finds
Tue 15 Jul 2025
At least 27 million tonnes of nanoplastics are estimated to be floating in the North Atlantic Ocean, weighing more than all wild land mammals combined.
“Compliant deception”: MPs warn of oil industry greenwashing at debate on proposed fossil ad ban
Mon 14 Jul 2025
UK’s first parliamentary debate on the issue drew comparisons both with tobacco industry tactics and the industry’s now widely accepted ad ban.
UK: Thousands lobby MPs to demand climate action
Thu 10 Jul 2025
More than 5,000 people from across the UK arrived in Westminster on Wednesday to meet their MPs and demand urgent climate action to protect their communities.
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.
North Canterbury locals get say over huge solar farm
Thu 10 Jul 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | North Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on a proposed 180 hectare solar farm on a property near their village.
1500 deaths in the recent European heatwave were due to climate change
Mon 14 Jul 2025
We now have the ability to rapidly assess the death toll of climate change after extreme heat – a first-of-its-kind analysis has shown that it nearly tripled the death toll from the most recent European heatwave
Green budget 'ludicrous la-la land' – govt
15 May 2025
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the budget was "clown show economics" and an "absolute circus".
Kiwi ‘smart panel’ startup aiming to reduce energy bills and emissions
4 Jul 2025
NZ start-up Basis this week launched an ‘intelligent’ panel to replace traditional electrical switchboards in homes, which it says can save the average home $1,200 NZD annually on bills and lead to lower emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
Thu 10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
UN Human Rights Council fails to call out fossil fuels after decision cuts mention
Fri 11 Jul 2025
A proposal by the Marshall Islands and Colombia calling for a transition away from fossil fuels at the UN Human Rights Council failed to make it into the council’s declaration on climate change and human rights issued on Tuesday.
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
NZ urgently needs to change approach to flood management - experts
2 Jul 2025
Experts say climate change is squarely to blame for flooding in Nelson - but isn’t getting the media attention it deserves - and the country urgently needs to change its approach to flood management in the face of climate change.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
