Topics tagged with 'Paris Agreement'
Carbon farming makes space for native forests
23 Nov 2020
One of New Zealand biggest carbon farmers say New Zealand can have its carbon cake and eat it too.
Trump takes another swipe at Paris Agreement
23 Nov 2020
Out-going United States president Donald Trump railed against the Paris climate accord overnight, telling world leaders at a virtual summit that the agreement was designed to cripple the US economy, not save the planet.
Canada to join NZ in going net-zero by 2050
23 Nov 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has presented a bill to commit Canada to cut its emissions to net zero by 2050 and set five-year targets to meet the goal.
Paris goals threatened by farms, forests and industry
20 Nov 2020
Many parts of the global economy, especially agriculture and the cement and steel industries, are heading in the wrong direction or cleaning up their act far too slowly to limit global warming to 1.5deg researchers are warning..
Cutting carbon will cost tourism and export industries
19 Nov 2020
The tourism and export sectors need to prepare for growing transport costs, Climate Change Commission chair Dr Rod Carr is warning.
NZ called out over 2030 target
19 Nov 2020
New Zealand is being accused by countries most vulnerable to climate change of “defaulting on climate survival leadership”.
G20 countries will miss Paris mark - report
19 Nov 2020
The G20 will miss the 1.5°C warming target set out in the Paris Agreement, according to the latest Climate Transparency report.
Anger as IMO says shipping emissions can keep climbing
19 Nov 2020
Countries have agreed a package of energy-efficiency measures that will allow emissions from global shipping to continue to rise until 2030.
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.
NZ needs to do more, says High Commissioner
13 Nov 2020
Britain wants New Zealand to do more on climate change, calling on companies to be carbon-neutral by 2040 and “welcoming” the country’s review of its 2030 emissions target.
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.
Shaw talking tough on carbon budgets
12 Nov 2020
The Climate Change Commission could be given the ability to manage carbon prices if its carbon budget recommendations are not followed by politicians, the climate minister says.
Carney calls for credible voluntary carbon market
12 Nov 2020
United Nations special envoy and former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney wants stronger quality control on voluntary carbon markets to meet growing business demand.
No miracle energy sources to replace fossil fuels, says scientist
10 Nov 2020
Radical decarbonisation in line with the Paris Agreement means getting used to living in a world without abundant supplies of energy, ecologist Dr Mike Joy is warning.
Europe ready to restart transatlantic climate talks
10 Nov 2020
The European Commission and senior EU lawmakers say they are ready to intensify dialogue with the US on climate change, listing car CO2 limits and green finance among areas where “real transatlantic cooperation” is again possible after the four-year “Trump parenthesis”.
Biden says he will expose international 'climate outlaws'
10 Nov 2020
United States president-elect Joe Biden promises to usher in a more confrontational era of climate diplomacy, putting a spotlight on major emitters slow-walking climate action
Ardern has high climate hopes for Biden
9 Nov 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expects new United States President Joe Biden to act on climate change.
Biden win a pivotal moment for global climate action
9 Nov 2020
Joe Biden is heading to the White House with a promise to overturn four years of US retreat on climate action.
Biden could bring Paris goals 'within striking distance'
9 Nov 2020
The election of Joe Biden as president of the US could reduce global heating by about 0.1C, bringing the goals of the Paris agreement “within striking distance”, if his plans are fulfilled, according to a detailed analysis.
Scientists, doctors sound warning for farmers
6 Nov 2020
Emissions from food production alone could sink the world’s chances of meeting the Paris Agreement, scientists are warning in research with major implications for New Zealand.
US election will determine the world's climate future
6 Nov 2020
The race for the White House could take days or weeks to settle, with big implications for prospects of tackling the climate crisis.
Emissions cuts from crossing milk and beef breeds
5 Nov 2020
Farmers could cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by two million tonnes a year by crossing beef and dairy cattle, scientists say.
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.
How well is Scotland tackling climate change?
5 Nov 2020
This time next year, Scotland will be hosting a major UN climate change conference.
PLANET IN PERIL: Why we must change our financial system
4 Nov 2020
New Zealand can have a sustainable financial system by 2030, driving environmental, social and economic prosperity, a panel of public and private-sector heavyweights says.
Energy sector ripe for govt emissions targets
3 Nov 2020
The Government appears to have emissions from energy in its sights as it seeks to finally make real cuts in the country's emissions.
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.
The cost to Australia of unchecked climate change
2 Nov 2020
Australia’s economy will be six per cent smaller, there will be 880,000 fewer jobs and $3.4 trillion in economic opportunities will be lost if the climate crisis goes unchecked for next 50 years, new analysis shows.
FRIDAY POLITICS: We'll know by Sunday
30 Oct 2020
We should know on Sunday whether James Shaw will remain the country’s climate minister.
South Korea joins Japan in making 2050 carbon-neutral pledge
29 Oct 2020
South Korea is the latest country to pledge to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Japan to be carbon-neutral by 2050
27 Oct 2020
Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has said the country will become carbon neutral by 2050, heralding a bolder approach to tackling the climate emergency by the world’s third-biggest economy.
Which countries have a net-zero carbon target?
27 Oct 2020
Twenty-eight countries, one American state and the European Union says they are committed to being carbon-neutral by 2050.
First deal done under Paris Agreement to offset emissions
22 Oct 2020
Switzerland has struck a carbon offsetting agreement with Peru, in what the two nations say is the first deal of its kind under Article 6 of the Paris agreement.
Australian business wants a Green New Deal
22 Oct 2020
Australian company directors want a more radical policy reset to recover from the covid-19 recession including bigger investments in infrastructure, reforms of industrial relations and a Green New Deal.
EU leaders to set tougher climate goals in December
19 Oct 2020
European Union leaders say they will decide on a more stringent climate target for 2030 at a summit in December, leaving more time to forge a united European response to climate change.
Brazilian spies intimidated government’s own delegates at climate talks
15 Oct 2020
Brazil’s spy agency has been accused of trying to intimidate its own government’s negotiators and Brazilian environmentalists at the COP25 climate talks in Madrid last year.
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?
Is New Zealand merely a climate-follower?
12 Oct 2020
Back in pre-COVID times last year, when New Zealand passed the Zero Carbon Act, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern insisted “New Zealand will not be a slow-follower” on climate change. But how has she performed?
Rising fertiliser use could cost Paris target
8 Oct 2020
Global growth in nitrous oxide emissions from intensive farming is jeopardising climate goals, scientists say in a major new paper.
European Parliament set for tight vote on 'historic' climate law
7 Oct 2020
Lawmakers in the European Parliament expect a tight vote on the European Union's new climate target for 2030, with support splintered over the bloc's green ambitions.
Political 'retreat' on climate action harms all nations, says UN climate chief
7 Oct 2020
Rich nations are failing on promises to help poorer ones meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, even though such help would be “not charity but a global act of self-interest”, says United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa.
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.
Second Trump term would be 'game over' for the climate, says scientist
5 Oct 2020
Michael Mann, one of the most eminent climate scientists in the world, believes averting climate catastrophe on a global scale would be “essentially impossible” if Donald Trump is re-elected.
China's new climate goal could transform global heating
30 Sep 2020
If China hits its new emissions goal of going carbon-neutral before 2060, it will bring down global warming projections by around 0.2deg to 0.3 degrees Celsius, says Carbon Action Tracker.
Resources spokesman threatens to quit ALP over climate target
29 Sep 2020
Veteran New South Wales Labor right-winger Joel Fitzgibbon has threatened to quit the shadow cabinet if the opposition adopts a medium-term emissions reduction target he cannot live with.
Poland to phase out coal-mining by mid-century
29 Sep 2020
Poland is moving closer to ending its heavy reliance on coal as the Government and miners’ unions agree a landmark plan to phase out mines by 2049.
Fonterra should be ashamed of causing coal mine expansion, says Cana
29 Sep 2020
MEDIA RELEASE - Bathurst Resource¡¯s planned extension of its Canterbury coal mine, shut down by protesters this morning, is proof that dairy companies like Fonterra are not moving out of coal fast enough, says Coal Action Network Aotearoa.
EU under fire for including carbon sinks in climate goals
21 Sep 2020
The European Commission is defending its plan to bring carbon removals from agriculture, land use and forestry into the EU’s updated climate target for 2030, saying this is in line with UNFCCC standards.
China considers going ‘carbon neutral’, peaking emissions
18 Sep 2020
China is considering carbon neutrality as part of its long term climate plan, the country’s foreign ministry announced following a summit with EU leaders.
Warming could pass 1.5deg before 2030, warns UN
14 Sep 2020
Global temperatures could exceed the 1.5deg limit set in the Paris Agreement in the next decade, according to a World Meteorological Society report for the United Nations.
Ticking time-bomb in Govt’s failure of leadership on climate – Carr
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The coalition Government’s failure to slash emissions is like pulling the pin on a grenade, handing it to a kid, and saying “hold on tight, she’ll be right”, says former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
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.
Second fire tears through Tongariro National Park
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fire crews have returned to Tongariro National Park this morning as a fast-moving fire that started yesterday threatens unburnt vegetation and nearby communities, just a month after a major blaze scorched 3000 hectares in the same area.
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.
Minister not concerned about potential economic impacts of ruling out offshore mitigation
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts isn’t worried that ruling out using offshore mitigation is effectively reneging from the Paris Agreement with potential to damage New Zealand’s economy and access to export markets.
Still possible to divert from disastrous climate path to sustainable, healthy planet, says UNEP
Today 12:15pm
A baby born today will turn 75 in 2100, and the world that child will inherit as an adult – if governments don’t act in the next five years – could be 3.9°C hotter, economically shattered, and ravaged by pollution. But there is still a choice, a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report demonstrates.
Is Govt rushing through changes to climate framework to avoid litigation?
Today 12:15pm
By Liz Kivi | The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says the Government’s motivation for proposed changes to the country’s climate framework law are unclear: “The only reason I can think of is one grounded in potential litigation risk.”
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
Tue 9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
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.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
Today 12:15pm
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
Today 12:15pm
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
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 just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
Wed 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.
Australia has new laws to protect nature. Do they signal an end to native forest logging?
Today 12:15pm
Reforms to Australia’s nature laws have passed federal parliament. A longstanding exemption that meant federal environment laws did not apply to native logging has finally been removed from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Media round-up
Fri 5 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Labour’s chronic evasiveness as the Government reneges on climate change; newly released documents reveal the country's new methane target is associated with 'perilous' 2.7C of warming; and New Zealand's 'pitiful' decision on emissions targets comes with costs.
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.”
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
Fri 5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
Govt ‘scaremongering’ over co-operation – former climate ambassador
Fri 5 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand’s former top climate diplomat, Kay Harrison, says the Government’s recent comments ruling out buying climate mitigation offshore amount to scaremongering, and the country is missing a chance to give our businesses a boost.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Tribunal warns govt geothermal strategy risks Treaty breach
2 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government's geothermal development strategy risks breaching the Treaty of Waitangi, according to a report from the Waitangi Tribunal released last week.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
NZ’s rejection of emission targets fuels risk of international law breach
Mon 8 Dec 2025
By Karen Scott, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury | The New Zealand government’s decision this week to reject all of the Climate Change Commission’s emission target recommendations was just the latest in a string of policy statements that weaken the country’s action on climate.
NZ fails to back ‘roadmap’ to phase out fossil fuels at COP
24 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Eighty-six countries including Australia, the UK, Germany, and Ireland backed a proposal at COP30 for national plans on how to quit oil, gas and coal – but New Zealand wasn’t one of them.
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions
3 Dec 2025
COMMENT: The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts.
Govt rushes to pass climate law changes under urgency
Wed 10 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legislation to amend the Climate Change Response Act was introduced to Parliament on Monday, and the government intends to rush the changes through under urgency in the next two weeks, avoiding the usual public consultation.
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.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Storms in the Southern Ocean influence weather patterns across Australia, New Zealand and the globe.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
Shipping movements disrupted as climate change protesters block coal ships
2 Dec 2025
NSW police have arrested 141 people who attempted to block the shipping channel in Newcastle Harbour during Rising Tide protests, which began on Thursday.
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.
Neighbours fume over plans to axe trees for solar farm
Today 12:15pm
Diane McCarthy, Local Democracy Reporter | Whakatāne District Council has thrown its support behind residents of a country lane distressed about Genesis Energy’s plans to axe their trees.
NZ and US studying "huge unknown" in Antarctic climate science
Today 12:15pm
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Scientists are measuring a huge unknown in climate science: how much heat Antarctica emits into space.
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.
More than $2m up for grabs for low-emissions farming innovation
Wed 10 Dec 2025
The Ag Emissions Centre and AgriZeroNZ yesterday opened their 2026 innovation investment round.
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.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
Tue 9 Dec 2025
Pressure from EU countries, lawmakers and the automotive industry is likely pushing the European Commission to delay the revision of the bloc's ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035.
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
Today 12:15pm
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Study provides a step-change in understanding NZ’s groundwater
28 Nov 2025
Media release | Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a world-first National Groundwater Age Map and a powerful suite of tools to support the sustainable management of our hidden groundwater resources, from national through to local scales.
Wildfires destroy 40 homes and kill a firefighter in Australia
Tue 9 Dec 2025
There were 52 wildfires burning across New South Wales on Monday and nine remained out of control. A total of 20 homes had destroyed over the weekend in that state.
Australian market operator slashes wind farm predictions amid falling costs for solar and batteries
Today 12:15pm
The body that runs Australia's biggest power market has scaled back its plans for high-voltage power lines and wind farms to meet the country's green energy targets.
