Topics tagged with 'Science'
Emperor penguins faced with extinction
4 Aug 2021
IF current global warming trends continue, Antarctica’s sea ice will decline at a rate that will reduce emperor penguin numbers to the point that almost all colonies will become quasi-extinct by 2100, writes scientist Stephanie Jenouvrier in the Conversation.
UN climate panel models show 'implausibly fast' warming
4 Aug 2021
Next week, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will unveil its latest scientific assessment, widely considered the most authoritative review of climate research.
Best way to tax carbon at the border
3 Aug 2021
As more world leaders consider levying border taxes on climate-damaging goods, a new study looks at ways it can be done in countries—including the United States—that haven’t established a domestic market for carbon emissions.
‘No eureka moment’: the evolution of climate science
3 Aug 2021
What if Earth's atmosphere was infused with extra carbon dioxide, mused amateur scientist Eunice Foote in an 1856 research paper that concluded the gas was very good at absorbing heat.
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.
Govt weakens climate legislation, strips CCC’s powers
Today 12:00pm
By Liz Kivi | The Government has announced sweeping changes to key climate legislation, including stripping the independent Climate Change Commission of one of its core roles, and removing the requirement that Emissions Trading Scheme settings align with international climate targets.
Govt delays will damage carbon market confidence, experts warn
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Emissions Trading Scheme experts have warned the Government that its move to delay decisions on the country’s emissions budgets will further undermine confidence in an already weak carbon market.
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.
Celebrities slam mining plans
28 Oct 2025
Actor Sam Neill has slammed plans for a gold mine in Otago, while Denniston Rose author Jenny Pattrick is backing a petition that would stop a coalmine on the West Coast.
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.
Another hit to market as Govt uncouples ETS from international climate target
Today 12:00pm
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s surprise move to break the connection between the Emissions Trading Scheme and New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target is a brutal hit to confidence in an already moribund market.
UNEP: New country climate plans ‘barely move needle’ on expected warming
Today 12:00pm
Executive director Inger Anderson made the comments as UNEP published its 16th annual assessment of the global “emissions gap”.
Carbon price drops, now trading 30% below auction floor
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Secondary carbon market prices took a sharp downward turn last week, with traders blaming a continued lack of interest from buyers.
Scrutiny on energy security
Mon 3 Nov 2025
A special debate in Parliament put the Government’s energy security agenda under scrutiny, with parties splitting sharply over the role of gas, the place of an LNG import terminal, and how far to push market reform to ease pressure on power bills.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
Fri 31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Record heat, worsening climate impacts and global backsliding on emission reduction commitments have left some New Zealand climate experts with little optimism as COP30 approaches.
$235 billion worth of NZ buildings exposed to flooding
Thu 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.
Brazil opens three weeks of COP30-linked climate events
Tue 4 Nov 2025
Brazil on Monday opens three weeks of events linked to the COP30 climate summit, hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming
Hutt City Council slashes gas emissions
Mon 3 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Hutt City Council is set to cut its gas emissions by 60% by 2026 as it speeds up phasing out fossil fuels from public facilities.
From nuisance to crisis: New report on pest wasps In Aotearoa
24 Sep 2025
Media release: Moths and Butterflies NZ Trust | Just published is the Final Report of the Pest Wasps Survey carried out by the Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust (MBNZT) offering a comprehensive look at New Zealanders’ awareness, experiences, and attitudes toward wasps and the growing ecological, health, and social issues associated with them.
Auckland Council toughens up on building in flood risk areas
Today 12:00pm
Media release: Auckland Council | From Monday 3 November 2025, stronger planning rules take effect in Auckland to better protect people and property from natural hazards.
NZ marine heatwaves could double in intensity under high-emissions pathway
16 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show marine heatwaves will grow more intense around the North Island and more frequent around the South Island as the climate warms – raising risks for fisheries, aquaculture, coastal ecosystems and tourism.
Media round-up
Fri 31 Oct 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A controversial seabed mining project could lead to sediment flows knocking over rigs and damaging wind turbines; weather-related insurance claims climb; and is the government playing Russian Roulette with our future over methane targets?
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.”
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
Tue 4 Nov 2025
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
No major banks have yet committed to stop funding new oil, gas and coal, research finds
24 Oct 2025
‘The objectives of the Paris agreement are slipping further out of reach,’ say researchers.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
Today 12:00pm
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
29 Oct 2025
A newly formed private consortium has emerged with plans to finance and build the massive Lake Onslow pumped-hydro project, despite the coalition government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
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.
Vero warns losses to rise 26% by 2050 over extreme weather
29 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Extreme weather could drive a 19–26% spike in annual insurance losses by 2050, fuelled by rising seas and more intense flooding, according to Vero’s latest Climate-Related Disclosures Report.
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.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
Tue 4 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
Nelson commuters urged to ditch car once a week
22 Oct 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Nelson has a bold carbon emission reduction target and residents are being encouraged to leave the car at home one day a week to help meet it.
Supermarket fast-track a ‘cynical ploy’, risks climate and environmental protections
Today 12:00pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s “express lane for supermarkets” announcement has been met with fierce backlash, with critics calling the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill a Trojan horse that strips environmental protections, sidelines communities, and hands sweeping powers to ministers at the expense of democracy.
Boost for voluntary carbon markets in Watts’ surprise package
Today 12:00pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Voluntary carbon market development gets a solid push in the package of climate change legislative reforms dropped by Climate Change Minister Simon Watts early last evening.
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.
Climate impacts hit NZ with increasing wild weather
23 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand is facing a triple whammy of climate impacts today, with severe winds and rainfall predicted for much of the country while some areas are still dealing with wildfires ignited earlier in the week.
Carbon Finance Program upscales efforts to close climate investment gap in climate vulnerable nations
22 Oct 2025
Media release | The Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) will work with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to upscale the Carbon Finance Program in reach and impact, supporting more climate-vulnerable countries to host high-integrity carbon projects that yield tangible climate, nature, and sustainable development benefits.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
Fri 31 Oct 2025
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
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.
Here comes the sun: solar surge gathers pace
Tue 4 Nov 2025
More than $700 million of new solar investment advanced last week, underscoring the pace of the renewable buildout.
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.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
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.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
Fri 31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Fix it, don't ditch it: University of Auckland hosts first Repair Cafe
9 Oct 2025
Media release - Auckland University | The University's first-ever Repair Cafe is bringing students and staff together to give broken items a new lease on life, while promoting a culture of repair and reuse.
Council buys dairy farm to help clean up Lake Rotorua
21 Oct 2025
Bay of Plenty Regional Council has bought a 266-hectare dairy farm in the Lake Rotorua catchment and plans to retire it from production to reduce nitrogen entering the lake.
Adaptation plan at odds with public sentiment: survey
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s position on climate adaptation buyouts shows a disconnect with public opinion, according to survey findings from insurer Suncorp NZ.
‘Damp squib’ – Govt energy plan slammed for locking in fossil fuels
2 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Critics across business, climate groups and the opposition say the Government’s electricity reforms duck structural change, double down on LNG and gas, and offer little relief for soaring power prices – warning of an “expensive white elephant", deeper energy poverty and a missed chance to scale renewables.
