Topics tagged with 'Paris Agreement'
Nigeria commits to annual carbon budgets to reach net zero under climate law
23 Nov 2021
Nigeria has become the first major developing country to commit to set annual carbon budgets to plot its path to cutting emissions to net zero.
Who will ensure compliance with the Glasgow climate commitments?
19 Nov 2021
The news from Glasgow includes positive announcements, in particular agreements to curb deforestation, cut methane emissions, “phase down” coal use and, next year, more aggressive emissions reduction targets. But a disturbing history of broken global climate promises — going back decades — compels us to ask: Will countries comply with their commitments, and what happens if they don’t?
What would it look like if we treated climate change like an actual emergency?
17 Nov 2021
If we accept the facts of climate change, we also have to accept the radical changes necessary to address it, argues economic anthropologist Jason Hickel.
‘COP26 hasn’t solved the problem’: scientists react to UN climate deal
16 Nov 2021
The Glasgow Climate Pact is a step forward, researchers say, but efforts to decarbonize are not enough to limit global temperature rises to 2 °C.
Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Glasgow: Carbon Brief
16 Nov 2021
Carbon Brief provides an in-depth summary of all the key outcomes in Glasgow – both inside and outside the COP26.
Fixing climate finance: Jeffrey Sachs
16 Nov 2021
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) fell far short of what is needed for a safe planet, owing mainly to the same lack of trust that has burdened global climate negotiations for almost three decades.
Last chance saloon all over again
15 Nov 2021
By Jeremy Rose Carbon News editor: They said it in Copenhagen, they said it in Paris, and numerous commentators said it about Glasgow too: This is the last chance saloon when it comes to averting disastrous climate change.
Glasgow Conversations: It's a wrap
15 Nov 2021
In this the final episode of the Glasgow Conversations, Alastair Thompson talks about the successes and failures of COP26, and ranks the various participants: Africa scores a 10 - Europe just 1.
COP26: New global climate deal struck in Glasgow
15 Nov 2021
The Glasgow Climate Pact is the first ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coal, the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.
Five things you need to know about the Glasgow Climate Pact
15 Nov 2021
The COP26 UN climate talks in Glasgow have finished and the gavel has come down on the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed by all 197 countries.
These experts say there's reason for cautious optimism coming out of COP26
15 Nov 2021
As the COP26 summit ends, experts say there is reason to be "cautiously optimistic" about the work that's been done to avoid a climate disaster.
Glasgow Climate Pact has loopholes so big an oil tanker could get through them
15 Nov 2021
The curtain came down on United Nations climate talks a day later than expected. It’s a strange feeling as representatives from countries around the world said they were willing to accept an agreement that they all said sucks.
Compromise COP26 deal disappoints
15 Nov 2021
The COP26 summit approved a climate deal late Saturday evening. But the watered-down ambitions on the end of coal subsidies left many delegates frustrated, including Switzerland.
COP26 ends with a strong result on carbon markets: EDF
15 Nov 2021
After six years of difficult and technical negotiations, the UN climate talks at COP26 in Glasgow finally gave us a strong Paris Agreement rulebook for international cooperation through carbon markets and called on countries to take specific and urgent measures to address dangerous climate change.
Half-baked carbon market rules fail to take heat off the climate: Carbon Market Watch
15 Nov 2021
After over five years of dithering and two weeks of intensive negotiations, the world’s governments settled on slimmed-down ground rules for carbon markets under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 11
12 Nov 2021
On the second to last (scheduled) day of COP26, Alastair Thompson reflects on the summit so far, a talk by Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate, and how Saudi Arabia and Australia could yet scuttle a final agreement.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 10
11 Nov 2021
On day 10 of COP26, Alastair Thompson is there when the US and China announce what he believes to be the most significant news of the summit to date.
The climate activists stealing Big Oil’s playbook
11 Nov 2021
A secretive network of public relations experts has spent the better part of the last decade whispering into journalists’ ears about climate science — spoon-feeding them facts, figures, spin and quotes.
Famine-stricken Madagascar calls for 'climate empathy' at COP26
10 Nov 2021
As the world's first climate change-driven famine ravages her tropical island homeland, Madagascar's environment minister is in Scotland to warn that other countries could find themselves suffering a similar fate.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 8
9 Nov 2021
On day 8 of COP26, Alastair Thompson attends a Barak Obama talk, a briefing by climate change minister James Shaw, and delves into the important but mind numbingly complicated world of climate finance.
Countries far apart as climate talks enter final week
9 Nov 2021
UN climate talks have entered their final week with countries still worlds apart on key issues including how rapidly the world curbs carbon emissions and how to help nations already impacted by global heating.
Climate on track to devastate world’s poorest economies: study
9 Nov 2021
The 65 most vulnerable nations will see their gross domestic product (GDP) drop 20 percent on average by 2050 and 64 percent by 2100 if the world heats up 2.9 degrees Celsius (5.2 degrees Fahrenheit), according to a report released on Monday at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow.
African nations seek talks on $700bn climate finance deal
9 Nov 2021
African nations want Cop26 to open discussions this week on a mega-financing deal that would channel US$700bn every year from 2025 to help developing nations adapt to the climate crisis.
Fossil fuel industry has largest delegation at climate summit
9 Nov 2021
There are more delegates at COP26 associated with the fossil fuel industry than from any single country, analysis shared with the BBC shows.
Cabinet watered-down James Shaw’s proposal for revised NDC
8 Nov 2021
A leaked Cabinet paper has revealed climate change minister James Shaw failed to convince Cabinet to include agriculture in New Zealand’s net zero commitments, and that Treasury and MBIE both opposed more ambitious climate targets.
Glasgow Conversations: Week 2
8 Nov 2021
As COP26 enters its second week, Alastair Thompson talks to Jeremy Rose about the week that's been and the one to come.
Nature and climate protection pledges pile up at COP26, amid ghosts of past failures
8 Nov 2021
Dozens of nations pledged on Saturday to do more to protect nature and overhaul farming at the COP26 U.N. climate talks, amid misgivings about past failures.
G20 nations will face a full-frontal tide of climate impacts
8 Nov 2021
The climate front lines are not just Tuvalu or the Maldives: they are Tokyo, Brussels, New York, and the world’s economic heartlands.
China's deafening silence speaks loudest at global climate talks
8 Nov 2021
It is hard to make progress on climate change when the biggest polluter doesn't show up.
PNG public shocked by expense of COP26 delegation
8 Nov 2021
Papua New Guinea — a country faced with a depressed economy and its public health system on the brink of total collapse due to the covid-19 pandemic sent a 62-member delegation to Europe to attend the COP26 Climate Change conference at a cost of a whooping K5.8 million (NZ$2.03 million).
Government’s NDC to be challenged in court
5 Nov 2021
The legality of New Zealand’s recently announced nationally determined contribution will be tested in court next February.
‘End of coal in sight’ as COP26 deals take aim at dirtiest fuel
5 Nov 2021
The British government says the “end of coal is in sight” after Poland, Vietnam and Chile and other countries pledged for the first time to phase out coal-based power generation and stop building new plants.
Doing the maths on Biden’s climate pledge
4 Nov 2021
President Biden took a math problem to Glasgow. He and his advisers have spent the first two days of the international climate conference known as COP 26 trying to persuade world leaders that U.S. actions will add up to a 50 percent emissions reduction over nine years.
Many IPCC authors expect world to warm by more than 3 degrees
3 Nov 2021
Nearly two thirds of those who responded to a Nature survey of IPCC authors said that they expect the world will warm by at least 3 degrees by the end of the century.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070
3 Nov 2021
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow.
U.S. announces new rules to curtail methane at climate summit
3 Nov 2021
EPA’s long-awaited rules cracking down on oil and gas methane will debut today in Glasgow, Scotland, forming the centerpiece of a U.S. offensive against the second-most important greenhouse gas.
Climate change in 11 charts
3 Nov 2021
With COP26 underway, the climate crisis is in the spotlight. Here are the most important facts relating to how our planet has been changing.
If nothing is done the world will have 200 million climate refugees by 2050
3 Nov 2021
Negotiators at COP26 are unlikely to deal with the challenges posed by climate migration, a failure that some experts say shows “a lack of political will.”
‘Oppose This Climate Slavery’: A Manifesto
3 Nov 2021
Wealthy western nations must live up to their responsibilities and pay billions of dollars in compensation to the poorest countries being hit hardest by climate change, so they can invest in sustainable measures to face the future. So says Kaossara Sani, a Togolese climate activist who has written a manifesto to the world as leaders meet at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Glasgow Conversations: Day 2
2 Nov 2021
On day two of COP26, journalist Alastair Thompson attends the Leaders' Summit and hears a rambling speech by UK PM Boris Johnson and a powerful plea from Barbados PM Mia Mottley.
New Zealand’s new climate pledge is a step up, but not a ‘fair share’
2 Nov 2021
MASSEY UNIVERSITY professor in applied mathematics Robert McLachlan crunches the numbers behind New Zealand's new Nationally Determined Contribution and finds they fall short of what's required in terms of climate justice and the climate.
India rejects target for net zero emissions ahead of COP26 climate conference
29 Oct 2021
India has rejected calls to announce a net zero carbon emissions target and says it is more important for the world to lay out a pathway to reduce such emissions and avert a dangerous rise in global temperatures.
Australia pledges net zero emissions by 2050
27 Oct 2021
Leading global coal and gas supplier Australia has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Rich countries break $100bn annual climate pledge
27 Oct 2021
The world’s richest countries admitted Monday that they broke a promise to deliver $100 billion a year to developing nations to help them cope with climate change.
Wealthy countries spending more on border security than climate aid
27 Oct 2021
Wealthy countries are giving more money to defence contractors to beef up their border security than to fulfilling their climate aid commitments, a new study has found.
UN praises updated NDCs but still"nowhere near goal"
27 Oct 2021
Media release - New or updated climate action plans by governments can be effective in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but greater efforts are needed to keep global warming at bay, the UN climate change office says.
New Zealand might not announce its NDC until after COP26: Shaw
26 Oct 2021
Climate change minister James Shaw told an online forum last week that he wasn’t sure whether he would be announcing a renewed Nationally Determined Contribution before or even at next month’s COP26 Conference in Glasgow.
Why 25 previous conferences have failed to stop climate change
26 Oct 2021
THERE have been 25conferences under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change since the body first met in 1995. Over that period, some 894 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, about 37% of all greenhouse pollution in human history, has been emitted.
India wants compensation for climate damage caused by rich nations
26 Oct 2021
India is seeking payment for the losses caused by climate disasters, its environment ministry said while laying out the country's positions on critical issues that will be negotiated at the United Nations' COP26 climate summit in the coming weeks.
Document leak reveals nations lobbying to change key climate report
22 Oct 2021
A huge leak of documents seen by BBC News shows how countries are trying to change a crucial scientific report on how to tackle climate change.
Urban rewilding combats global biodiversity decline
Wed 28 May 2025
Media release | A new study led by the University of Sydney reveals how cities around the world are restoring wildlife to their former habitats in the face of ongoing urban sprawl.
US dairy farmers consider return on climate-smart milk
22 May 2025
The approach is just one of many dairy practices now considered “climate-smart” because they could cut production of climate-warming gases.
Greenwashing is rife in Australia, but could its days be numbered?
Wed 28 May 2025
COMMENT: Have you ever ticked the box to “fly carbon neutral”, had something delivered via “carbon-neutral shipping” or chosen to pay a bit extra to buy “carbon-neutral gas” from your energy retailer?
Help sustainable aviation fuels take off or delay targets, airlines warn EU
20 May 2025
Earmarked funding, risk-reduction tools, and simplified imports top Airlines for Europe’s wish list for the EU’s upcoming Sustainable Transport Investment Plan.
Govt's RMA overhaul sparks fears for nature and climate
Fri 30 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has opened public consultation on the biggest overhaul of environmental planning rules in New Zealand’s history, with critics warning it puts nature and climate at risk in favour of fast-tracked development and industry expansion.
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.
Govt mulls status quo for ETS auction settings
Thu 29 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has released its consultation on the Climate Change Commission’s latest advice on Emissions Trading Scheme auction settings and volumes, putting forward the option to ignore the commission’s advice to boost auction volumes from 2028-2030.
Pacific Island nations support China's Taiwan claims at high-profile foreign ministers' meeting
Fri 30 May 2025
Pacific nations have backed China's claim over Taiwan during a high-profile meeting, but have shied away from directly endorsing Beijing's push to "reunify" the democratically ruled island with the mainland.
Carbon price too low to fund carbon capture
20 May 2025
The government’s climate target to 2030 is at risk, after revelations that a carbon capture project which the government was relying on to deliver one third of its carbon reductions, might not go ahead.
Fight over coal mine heats up
Fri 30 May 2025
Forest & Bird is calling on the government to create a new scientific reserve covering the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast, which would stop a fast-tracked coal mine.
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.
Owning a green home could cut mortgage payback time by two years
9 May 2025
A green certified home plus a green mortgage and associated energy bill savings could save Kiwi families up to $98,800 over the course of their mortgage - the equivalent of being mortgage-free several years early, according to new research.
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.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
Thu 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.
Could ‘orange’ hydrogen be NZ’s key to net-zero?
Fri 30 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand could be sitting on resources for a thriving multi-billion-dollar, low-carbon hydrogen economy, which might even be capable of creating a net reduction of carbon dioxide, according to scientists.
Govt budgets $200m for would-be gas investors
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | Energy Resources Aotearoa has welcomed the government's plan to co-invest $200 million in fossil gas expansion, while environmental and climate groups have reacted with horror.
Glacier collapse buries most of Swiss village
Fri 30 May 2025
The Swiss village of Blatten has been partially destroyed after a huge chunk of glacier crashed down into the valley.
Oceans Commission must have teeth – minister
14 May 2025
If an Oceans Commission were to be established under the government it would need genuine powers to make change, says Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones.
Water crisis on the horizon?
Mon 26 May 2025
Media release | Sewage contaminating Auckland oyster farms highlights the “dire state” of water infrastructure in Aotearoa, says University of Auckland Associate Professor Daniel Hikuroa.
Why expensive gas – not net-zero – is keeping UK electricity prices so high
Wed 28 May 2025
The UK’s high electricity prices have become intensely political, with competing claims over the cause of rocketing bills and how best to get them down.
Hotter and deeper: how NZ’s plan to drill for ‘supercritical’ geothermal energy holds promise and risk
2 Apr 2025
By David Dempsey, University of Canterbury | New Zealand’s North Island features a number of geothermal systems, several of which are used to generate some 1,000 MegaWatts of electricity. But deeper down there may be even more potential.
Electrification challenge for politicians, regulators
Tue 27 May 2025
Rewiring Aotearoa is calling for stronger political leadership to bring its vision of a cheaper, cleaner and stronger energy system to life, with the launch of its policy manifesto today.
Nelson backs ‘ambitious’ emissions target, but mayor nervous
Mon 26 May 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson’s mayor has been accused of “pouring cold water” on ambitious greenhouse gas emission targets proposed for the city.
Energy Australia is in court accused of greenwashing. What is the case about and why is it significant?
16 May 2025
Climate group alleges energy giant misled 400,000 customers about ‘Go Neutral’ product, arguing that carbon credits don’t actually remove emissions.
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.
While govt ‘refreshes’ fund for low carbon trucks, are transport emissions set to accelerate?
Wed 28 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has announced it is updating the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund, however cuts to funds to decarbonise transport in last week’s budget, and potential changes to road user charges, could stall transport emissions reductions.
Climate change could drive surge in foreclosures and lender losses, new study finds
22 May 2025
Extreme weather linked to climate change could spell financial ruin for many American homeowners and lead to billions in losses for lenders, a new study finds.
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.
Energy Australia apologises to 400,000 customers and settles greenwashing legal action
22 May 2025
Energy retailer says carbon offsetting ‘not the most effective way’ to reduce emissions.
Kiwi cleantech companies on the world stage
Tue 27 May 2025
Six New Zealand 'cleantech' companies were in Singapore earlier this month, along with a venture capital firm and the MacDiarmid Institute, to meet investors and multinational partners.
Carbon News launches price index
24 Jun 2024
Today’s issue is the first to feature Carbon News’ own carbon price index for secondary market spot prices for NZUs on New Zealand’s compliance market.
New research reveals NZ’s natural resource footprint
Thu 29 May 2025
Media release | New research from the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment reveals that about 107 million tonnes of natural resources were required to produce the goods and services consumed by New Zealanders in 2019 – approximately 21 tonnes per person on average.
World’s nations to gather in France to tackle what UN says is a global emergency in the oceans
Fri 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.
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.
NZ's first chance in 20 years to catch up on waste
Fri 30 May 2025
Media release | The government has announced proposals for updating the Waste Minimisation Act and the Litter Act. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Kiwis have a chance to catch up with other countries to reduce our waste and litter.
Dismissals 'massive win' for climate movement
13 May 2025
The outstanding charges against 25 climate activists who disrupted traffic in Wellington have been dropped, a move the group calls a win for the climate movement.
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.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
Thu 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.
A fungus that can ‘eat you from the inside out’ could spread as the world heats up
Tue 27 May 2025
Infection-causing fungi responsible for millions of deaths a year will spread significantly to new regions as the planet heats up, new research predicts — and the world is not prepared.
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".
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.
More than 1 in 4 cars sold globally in 2025 expected to be EV: IEA report
Mon 26 May 2025
According to the Global EV Outlook 2025 report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), 2025 is set to be big for EV sales. The report predicts that about one in four cars sold worldwide this year will be electric, despite overall market uncertainties.
Europe’s next climate target may already have been agreed in Berlin
Wed 28 May 2025
Germany’s new coalition has adopted a climate stance shaped by talks with the EU’s top climate official, signalling where the bloc may land on a likely upcoming 2040 emissions target.
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.
Tropical forest loss hit new heights in 2024; fire a major driver in Latin America
23 May 2025
Tropical forest loss skyrocketed in 2024, with vast swaths of primary forest consumed by fire, according to new satellite data.
NZ moving too slowly to decarbonise – former commission chair
22 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand's energy transition is too slow and too controlled by vested interests, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
