Topics tagged with 'Science'
Surge in Arctic temperatures melting Greenland's ice
2 Aug 2021
Greenland is experiencing its most significant melting event of the year as temperatures in the Arctic surge. The amount of ice that melted on Tuesday alone would be enough to cover the entire state of Florida in two inches of water.
Reducing emissions could save tens of millions of lives
30 Jul 2021
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions quickly would save tens of millions of lives worldwide, a new study finds
Earth’s vital signs worsen
29 Jul 2021
Twenty months after more than 11,000 scientists declared a global climate emergency, establishing a set of benchmarks for the planet’s health, an international coalition says its update on those vital signs “largely reflect the consequences of an unrelenting ‘business as usual’ approach to climate change policy”.
Scientists back matauranga Maori's role in climate research
28 Jul 2021
Matauranga Maori (traditional Maori knowledge) has a vital part to play in finding solutions to a myriad of urgent problems - including climate change - according to the New Zealand Association of Scientists.
Mussel shells could filter NZ waterways
27 Jul 2021
Waste mussel shells could become a low-tech, natural tool to filter pollutants from New Zealand waterways if field testing by University of Canterbury engineers proves successful.
Climate scientists meet as fires, floods and heatwaves batter Earth
27 Jul 2021
More than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists will begin meeting this week to finalise a landmark report summarising how Earth's climate has already changed, and what humans can expect for the rest of the century.
New study confirms 'The Limits of Growth' are real
27 Jul 2021
A new study by a director at one of the largest accounting firms in the world has found that a famous, decades-old warning from MIT about the risk of industrial civilisation collapsing appears to be accurate based on new empirical data.
Climate change action will create millions of jobs
26 Jul 2021
Hitting global climate target could create eight million energy jobs mainly in the renewable energy sector, a new study says.
World Heritage Committee 'postpones the inevitable' with Great Barrier Reef decision
26 Jul 2021
The Conversation: After much anticipation, the World Heritage Committee on Friday decided against listing the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger”.
The huge sequestration potential of regenerative farming
23 Jul 2021
By some estimates, if the 1.2 billion acres of American agricultural land (more than half of the U.S. land base) transitioned towards regenerative farming practices, it could sequester up to 20 percent of the carbon required to reach the Biden administration's goal of fully offsetting America's carbon emissions by 2050.
Fully renewable energy feasible for Samoa: Otago study
23 Jul 2021
Media Release - The future of Samoa’s electricity system could go green, a University of Otago study has shown.
Men are the carbon hogs
22 Jul 2021
When it comes to climate change, male consumers may get a bit more of the blame than their female counterparts. Men spend their money on greenhouse gas-emitting goods and services, such as meat and fuel, at a much higher rate than women, a new Swedish study found.
Rooting pigs responsible for as much carbon as 1.1 million cars
21 Jul 2021
The rooting of feral pigs globally releases around 4.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of 1.1 cars – a new study has found.
Climate-driven changes in clouds are likely to amplify global warming
21 Jul 2021
New research, using machine learning, helps project how the buildup of greenhouse gases will change clouds in ways that further heat the planet.
All pua to California's abalone rescuers
21 Jul 2021
In Big Sur, scientists are rescuing the abalone from landslides caused by the Dolan Fire, and moving them to safety in new neighborhoods where “resident abalone” already thrive
Progress being made on lowering cost of green hydrogen
21 Jul 2021
For decades, researchers around the world have searched for ways to use solar power to generate the key reaction for producing hydrogen as a clean energy source -- splitting water molecules to form hydrogen and oxygen. However, such efforts have mostly failed because doing it well was too costly, and trying to do it at a low cost led to poor performance.
Increase in number of slow moving storms linked to climate change
19 Jul 2021
Climate change is driving a large increase in intense, slow-moving storms, a new study by Newcastle University and the Met Office has found.
Amazon rainforest releasing more carbon than it stores
15 Jul 2021
Over the last several years researchers have said that the Amazon is on the verge of transforming from a crucial storehouse for heat-trapping gasses to a source of them, a dangerous shift that could destabilize the atmosphere of the planet.
Significant number of Kiwis overestimate sea-level rise
14 Jul 2021
The Conversation - Following a recent storm surge in Wellington, some media coverage expressed surprise that 30cm of sea-level rise – an unavoidable amount projected to happen by the middle of this century – would turn a one-in-100-year coastal flood into an annual event.
Weather events shown to be climate change related in record time
14 Jul 2021
Scientists linked June's North American heat wave to climate change in nine days. Their work could revolutionize how we talk about climate, according to Time Magazine.
Technology boosts efforts to curb tree loss in Amazon
14 Jul 2021
Technology can help indigenous communities to significantly curb deforestation, according to a new study.
Data reveals alarming increase in greenhouse gases
5 Jul 2021
More greenhouse gases were produced in 2018 than any previous year, despite more than 20 countries reducing their carbon emissions since 2000, research from UNSW Sydney and their collaborators has shown.
Heatwave deaths could skyrocket in future
5 Jul 2021
Some scientists see a day when heat-related deaths may match those of all infectious diseases.
IPCC leaked report offers grim picture
24 Jun 2021
A leaked IPCC report suggests global heating is increasingly likely to trigger tipping points in Earth’s natural systems.
Arctic research shows ozone layer under threat again
24 Jun 2021
The coordinated international approach to dealing with the threat to the ozone layer is often cited as evidence that tackling climate change is possible. But new research shows the ozone layer is again under threat.
Billions needed for agricultural research to avoid chronic hunger
23 Jun 2021
In order to prevent the impacts of climate change from pushing an additional 78 million people into chronic hunger by 2050, annual global investments in agricultural research and development will need to increase by US $2 billion, according to a new study.
Fighting nature loss benefits climate: IPCC
22 Jun 2021
A new IPCC report shows the importance of addressing nature loss as part of the fight against climate change.
New technology won't save us
21 Jun 2021
Existing plans to limit global warming rely too much on “increasingly unrealistic assumptions” that societies will be able to remove huge amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, a new study has found.
Climate Change Commission faces possible legal challenge
15 Jun 2021
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ are considering bringing a judicial review against the Climate Change Commission on the grounds that its recently released final advice to the government is incompatible with keeping global warming to 1.5c.
Fighting climate change one maggot burger at a time
15 Jun 2021
Fancy maggot burgers for dinner? Eating animals and plants which revolt many of us could cut hunger caused by climate change.
Getting people out of their cars a top priority
14 Jun 2021
The lead author of a 2016 Royal Society report that recommended a feebate scheme says yesterday’s announcement is welcome news but getting people out of their cars remains a top priority.
Plantation forests not the solution for climate change: UN Report
11 Jun 2021
Plantations of a single species of non-native tree "are a disaster" for climate change according one of the co-authors of a major new report.
NIWA's climate change game
11 Jun 2021
Media Release - Farmers visiting NIWA’s Fieldays stand at Mystery Creek next week have the opportunity to see into their future by playing a game that dices with climate change.
Carbon dioxide levels hit 4.5 million-year high
8 Jun 2021
The amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has reached its annual peak, climbing to 419 parts per million (ppm) in May.
Pests increase due to climate change
4 Jun 2021
Media Release - Climate change is making pests which ravage important agricultural crops even more destructive, heightening threats to global food security and the environment, a UN-backed study published this week found.
Melting Himalayas point to problems worldwide
3 Jun 2021
In April, mountaineers began tackling Everest for the first time since the pandemic began, but climate change in the Himalayas and other mountain ranges around the globe is making climbing more dangerous.
Eighty two per cent of heat deaths in Honolulu due to global warming
2 Jun 2021
More than one-third of the world’s heat deaths each year are due directly to global warming, according to the latest study to calculate the human cost of climate change.
Electricity-eating bacteria could help store carbon
1 Jun 2021
GLOBAL OCEANS absorb about 25 per cent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. Electricity-eating bacteria known as photoferrotrophs could provide a boost to this essential process.
Cycling’s carbon crushing credentials
31 May 2021
With hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians “liberating” two lanes of the Auckland harbour bridge yesterday, and Wellington City Council committing to doubling its budget for bike paths last week, cycling is taking centre stage in the fight against climate change.
Blue carbon sinks on the rise
31 May 2021
Researchers on a boat off the southern coast of Australia recently began throwing some 50,000 bags of sand into the ocean. Their goal is to restore about two dozen acres of seagrass on the ocean floor that will suck carbon out of the atmosphere.
Earliest known war driven by climate change
28 May 2021
A new study suggests the earliest known evidence of organised warfare - the 13,000 years old remains of a massacre in Jebel Sahaba, Egypt - was the result of climate change.
Ain't no convincing the sceptics
28 May 2021
Climate sceptics who aren't persuaded by the existing evidence from climate change are unlikely to change their minds for many years, according to a newly published quantitative study by a University of Oregon environmental economist
Pope plans to attend COP26
27 May 2021
Pope Francis, who has repeatedly called for action against climate change, is hoping to attend the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November.
Tiny life forms with huge job
20 May 2021
Some of the tiniest life forms in the sea are playing a mighty role in protecting life on Earth. Scientists have discovered that microscopic plants called diatoms absorb 10-20 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year as they float on the surface of the ocean. That’s equal to the amount of carbon captured annually by all of the world’s rainforests.
E-bikes subsidies pay dividends
19 May 2021
A new study has revealed that subsidies for electric bikes are more cost-effective than electric vehicle incentives when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars.
Aussie scientists call for zero pollution target
18 May 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - A group of eminent scientists has urged Australian governments, Federal and State, to adopt a zero pollution target for air, water and land.
Dams could be releasing immense amounts of carbon
18 May 2021
Dams were once thought to sequester carbon in the sediment that piled up in their reservoirs. But new research based on 30 years’ worth of data, suggests they may release potentially huge amounts of carbon, and the problem may only be getting worse.
Mangroves are carbon storage powerhouses
18 May 2021
Coastal mangrove forests are carbon storage powerhouses, tucking away vast amounts of organic matter among their submerged, tangled root webs.
Asia’s cities are worst hit in warming world
18 May 2021
Climate change, water shortage and pollution are worst for Asia’s cities, researchers say. The rest of us have a lucky escape.
New Aussie battery touted as game-changer
17 May 2021
Range anxiety, recycling and fast-charging fears could all be consigned to electric-vehicle history with a nanotech-driven Australian battery invention.
Governments must vote in favour of moratorium on deep sea mining
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Media release - Greenpeace | The 30th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has ended with Greenpeace saying governments are continuing to fall short in protecting the deep sea.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
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.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
Tue 29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
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.
Carbon prices slide as market awaits ETS decision
Today 11:45am
By Liz Kivi | Volatility has returned to the secondary carbon market, with prices sliding again after plateauing in recent weeks, as the market waits for government decisions on Emissions Trading Scheme settings.
The US is sitting out the most consequential climate summit in a decade. It may offer a victory to China
Today 11:45am
The Trump administration fired the last of the US climate negotiators earlier this month, helping cement America’s withdrawal from international climate diplomacy. It may also have handed a huge victory to China.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
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.
Coal use drove recent emissions increase
Today 11:45am
Increased use of coal for electricity generation was a large driver for an increase in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in the last quarter.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
Today 11:45am
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
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.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
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.
Bill to restart oil and gas exploration clears final hurdle
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s Crown Minerals Amendment Bill is set to become law after passing its third reading in parliament last night, with critics calling it humiliating for the climate minister and an embarrassment to New Zealand's international reputation.
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.
Warmer than usual weather ahead, wetter in north and east, as La Niña signals strengthen
Today 11:45am
Media release – Earth Sciences New Zealand | Seasonal Outlook Climate August to October 2025 suggests warm, damp weather, with La Niña’s possible return.
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.
Wilding pines threaten Molesworth Station
Mon 28 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Without increased support, the unchecked spread of wilding pines will continue to creep across Marlborough’s high country – putting iconic landscapes and one of New Zealand’s top five biodiversity hotspots at serious risk, according to an expert.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
Thu 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.
A modest geothermal strategy
Thu 31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
European Central Bank to consider 'climate factor' when lending to banks
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The European Central Bank will add climate change considerations to its lending operations from late 2026, raising pressure on banks to channel financing towards greener sectors as the euro zone seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
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.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
Tue 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.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
Multi-day protest continues at coal mine
Wed 30 Jul 2025
Bathurst Resources has been forced to truck coal from its Stockton mine as climate activists occupy coal buckets at the mine for a third day.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
Thu 31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Toxic algae are turning South Australia’s coral reefs into underwater graveyards
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia’s coastline.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
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”.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
Mon 28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
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.
Tilting at windmills? Trump’s claims about turbines fact-checked
Thu 31 Jul 2025
The US president has taken a swipe at wind power as the blades visible from his Turnberry golf course turn.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport 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.
EV sales fall, but it’s complicated
Tue 29 Jul 2025
Imports of fully electric vehicles fell over 50% in value during the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the year ended June 2024, according to Stats NZ.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
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.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
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.
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.
