Topics tagged with 'Science'
Greenland’s ice loss likely to hit 12,000-year high
6 Oct 2020
By the end of this century Greenland’s ice loss will probably be higher than in any century during the last 12,000 years.
Super-enzyme eats plastic super-fast
1 Oct 2020
A super-enzyme that degrades plastic bottles six times faster than before has been created by scientists and could be used for recycling within a year or two.
Lentils can feed the world – and save wildlife too
29 Sep 2020
UNITED STATES scientists have worked out how to feed nine billion people and save wild life from extinction, both at the same time – thanks to healthy lentils.
Melting Arctic needs new name to match reality
17 Sep 2020
Change in the far north is happening so fast that soon the Arctic won’t be arctic any more.
Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction
15 Sep 2020
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH returns to television screens this with a landmark new production - but the tone is very different from his usual work.
Using rocket science to green transport
15 Sep 2020
French energy company Engie is teaming up with aerospace firm the ArianeGroup to steal a march on its rivals in the hydrogen production business, by drawing on expertise gained through Europe’s space programme.
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.
New grass could cut methane from farm animals
11 Sep 2020
Developers of a new ryegrass say it could cut methane emissions from animals by nine per cent.
Climate change, migration and a deadly disease
11 Sep 2020
For thousands of years, an unknown virus lingered quietly among the wild ruminants of South Africa.
CONSERVATION CRISIS: two reports bring bad news for wildlife
11 Sep 2020
International conservation organisation WWF says the world's populations of wildlife have fallen 68 per cent since 1978, and a leaked United Nations report shows that none of the 2020 biodiversity goals have been met.
Green hydrogen breakthrough uses sun and water from the air
9 Sep 2020
Researchers have found a way to combine solar PV and water harvested from the air to produce low-cost green hydrogen, and are gearing up to put the zero-emissions fuel to the test in cars on Sydney roads.
Shorter lifespan of faster-growing trees will add to climate crisis, study finds
9 Sep 2020
Live fast, die young is a truism often applied to rock stars but could just as easily describe trees, according to new research. Trees that grow rapidly have a shorter lifespan, which could spell bad news for tackling the climate crisis.
Warming climate brings record winter temperatures
4 Sep 2020
This winter was the warmest on record in New Zealand and is in line with scientific predictions about climate change, scientists say.
Farmers should be rewarded for all carbon, including soil, says Shaw
3 Sep 2020
If climate minister James Shaw has his way, putting a carbon charge on agriculture should be as straight-forward as farmers doing a quick calculation to show whether they’re in the black or the red on greenhouse gas emissions.
Plant world feels effect of growing climate heat
3 Sep 2020
From one end of the Americas to the other, climate heating is subjecting the plant world to radical change, with cold-resistant species increasingly yielding place to those that welcome the rising warmth.
Arctic fires have released 205 megatonnes of CO2 this year alone
2 Sep 2020
The amount of carbon dioxide emitted by Arctic wildfires this year is already 35 per cent higher than the figure for the whole of 2019.
National climate pledges must be increased well before COP, Guterres tells nations
31 Aug 2020
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has repeated calls for countries to increase their 2030 emissions reduction targets – and to do it soon.
ANTARCTICA: 60% of ice shelves at risk
28 Aug 2020
Approximately 60% of Antarctica’s ice shelves could be vulnerable to fracture, accelerating the loss of the Antarctic ice sheet and increasing sea-level rise, according to a paper.
Chemical recycling promising for circular economy - EU
28 Aug 2020
So-called “chemical recycling” holds the promise of isolating toxic substances contained in plastics, which are now banned in Europe, making it possible to retrieve feedstocks that can be used to manufacture products which are as good as new.
New sustainability head at Pâmu
27 Aug 2020
Pâmu has appointed Lisa Martin to the executive leadership team in the newly created role of general manager of sustainability and farming systems.
Changing oceans reveal clear human thumbprint
27 Aug 2020
Humankind has already begun to reshape the biggest available living space on the planet and to leave its mark in the changing oceans.
Children raised in greener areas have higher IQ, study finds
26 Aug 2020
Growing up in a greener urban environment boosts children’s intelligence and lowers levels of difficult behaviour, a study has found.
Soaring costs of extreme weather
26 Aug 2020
The costs of wildfire, hurricanes, floods and droughts have quadrupled since 1980, a new report shows.
Using microbes to clean up electronic waste
20 Aug 2020
If you were to stack up all the electronic waste produced annually around the world it would weigh as much as all the commercial aircrafts ever produced, or 5000 Eiffel towers.
Helping Chile cut emissions could help us
18 Aug 2020
New Zealand and Switzerland are helping Chile develop an emissions reduction programme that could pay dividends for this country.
Death valley hits world-record temperature
18 Aug 2020
What could be the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth - 130F (54.4C) - may have been reached in Death Valley National Park, California.
Greenland's ice sheet at 'point of no return'
18 Aug 2020
Greenland's ice sheet has reached the point of no return and would continue to melt even if the climate crisis were halted, scientists are warning.
UK facing worst wheat harvest since 1980s, says farmers' union
18 Aug 2020
Britain's wheat harvest is likely to be down markedly this year, according to the National Farmers’ Union, capping a tumultuous year for British farming after consecutive seasons of extreme weather.
Covid-19 pushes back global overshoot day
17 Aug 2020
Earth Overshoot Day – the day each year on which human activity has used up all the resources the planet generates in a year and is moving into debt – has been pushed back by the covid-19 pandemic shutdown.
Woolly rhinos wiped out by climate change
14 Aug 2020
Although overhunting led to the demise of some prehistoric megafauna after the last ice age, a new study found that the extinction of the woolly rhinoceros may have been caused by climate change.
CLIMATE CRISIS: Last decade was the hottest on record
13 Aug 2020
The past decade was the hottest ever recorded globally, with 2019 either the second or third warmest year on record, as the climate crisis accelerated temperatures upwards worldwide, scientists have confirmed.
Cod are disappearing because of global warming
13 Aug 2020
PEOPLE who love eating cod might have to change their preferences soon - according to new research published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, global warming may cause a decline in cod populations.
Gene manipulation using algae could grow more crops with less water
12 Aug 2020
Tobacco plants have been modified with a protein found in algae to improve their photosynthesis and increase growth, while using less water, in a new advance that could point the way to higher-yielding crops in a drought-afflicted future.
Climate science’s worst case is today’s reality
11 Aug 2020
A trio of US researchers has grim news for people worried about climate science’s worst case outcome. Forget about the other options. The worst case is already happening.
FRIDAY POLITICS: It's a choice of slow or slower
7 Aug 2020
Young protesters are targeting both Labour and National with sit-ins in Dunedin today, saying both have failed to address the climate crisis.
Nation's first waste-to-gas plant proves a point
6 Aug 2020
Construction of New Zealand’s first large-scale waste-to-biogas plant shows the country could eliminate greenhouse gas emission caused by food rotting in rubbish dumps, the Bioenergy Association says.
EU can and must cut emissions by more than 55% by 2030
6 Aug 2020
The European Commission is proposing strengthening its 40 per cent greenhouse gas emission reduction target to 50 per cent or 55 per cent on 1990 levels in the next 10 years, but this doesn't meet the minimum level of ambition that climate science, and the EU’s own climate-neutrality goal, say is needed.
Satellites find new colonies of emperor penguins
6 Aug 2020
Satellite observations have found a raft of new emperor penguin breeding sites in the Antarctic - welcome news as the species faces increasing pressure from climate change.
EMISSIONS DOWNER: We must make them lower
5 Aug 2020
New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions could be about a fifth lower this year than last year because of covid-19, an international science consortium says.
YOUNG v OLD: The battle goes on in the forest
5 Aug 2020
Are young trees or old forests more important for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it?
Scientists pull 100-million-year-old microbes from sea
31 Jul 2020
Microbes buried beneath the sea floor for more than 100 million years are still alive, a new study reveals.
WORTH NOTING ...
28 Jul 2020
Today is the last day to enter the Sustainable Business Awards – get yours in by 5pm.
Big Hydro not the only way, says energy expert
27 Jul 2020
Paying industry not to use electricity during peak demand should be considered as an alternative to a multi-billion-dollar new hydro scheme, an energy expert says.
Farm growth pushes up Canterbury gas emissions
23 Jul 2020
Agricultural intensification is pushing up Canterbury’s greenhouse gas emissions - but it's a different story in most other regions.
Niwa crew goes wrestling with the buoys
22 Jul 2020
Coronavirus border restrictions mean six Niwa staff face four straight months at sea in a bid to keep an international ocean research project afloat.
We might meet Paris, say officials
21 Jul 2020
New Zealand’s 2030 emissions reduction target might be consistent with the Paris Agreement – it all depends on how you look at it, officials have told the Government.
Climate-science denial is feeding the covid-19 pandemic
21 Jul 2020
After the fossil fuel industry spent hundreds of millions of dollars undermining climate science, it’s easy to see how epidemiology came next.
Australian flying car wins $1m grant
20 Jul 2020
The New South Wales government has awarded almost $1m from a regional grants fund to a company developing what deputy premier John Barilaro describes as an electric flying car.
Methane levels have hit a scary record high
16 Jul 2020
While the world has been focused on a global pandemic and widespread protests, another crisis is gathering in the atmosphere.
OPINION: Coconut oil production threatens five times more species than palm oil
9 Jul 2020
By ERIK MEIJAARD | Born in the Netherlands and brought up in Germany, it wasn’t until I was 21 that I met my first coconut.
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
Fri 1 Aug 2025
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
Fri 1 Aug 2025
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
Fri 1 Aug 2025
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?
Fri 1 Aug 2025
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
Fri 1 Aug 2025
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
Fri 1 Aug 2025
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.
