Topics tagged with 'Science'
Costs of coastal climate damage set to climb
14 Mar 2017
By 2030, sea level rise driven by global warming could be costing the Netherlands city of Rotterdam $US240 million a year.
Scientists track down travelling droughts
14 Mar 2017
The biggest and worst droughts might not stay fixed in one place but can travel thousands of kilometres from their origin, according to a new study.
Baring Head records show CO2 on the rise
10 Mar 2017
Atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Southern Hemisphere continues to rise, with testing at Wellington’s Baring Head now consistently recording around 401 parts per million.
Forests still key to mitigating climate change
10 Mar 2017
Researchers have reminded the world’s governments that forests will play a vital role in mitigating the effects of climate change – provided policies are robustly pursued and reported with transparency.
Scientists in NZ eye fish and climate world first
7 Mar 2017
The effects of climate change on fish are being studied in a world-first trial at Niwa’s Bream Bay marine science centre.
Water and soil muddy thinking on carbon budgets
6 Mar 2017
Climate scientists, struggling with the enduring problem of the carbon budget, may have to think again as a result of new research findings.
Poison algal blooms in our waterways will worsen
1 Mar 2017
Climate change will mean more poisonous algal blooms in New Zealand’s rivers and lakes, a scientist is warning.
Flight to greener aviation fuel has hit turbulence
1 Mar 2017
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, one of the biggest hurdles is the world’s addiction to flying.
CLIMATE CASE: We need to know more ... and urgently
27 Feb 2017
New Zealand urgently needs to understand the likely impacts of climate change on the economy, environment and society, says a new government paper.
Canada’s glacial ice loss raises sea level
20 Feb 2017
Glaciers on Canada’s Queen Elizabeth Islands are melting at an ever faster rate. Between 2005 and 2015, ice loss accelerated massively from three billion tonnes a year to 30 billion, according to new research.
Will blazing a low-carbon path pay off for California?
20 Feb 2017
President Trump has made it clear he intends to dismantle the Obama administration’s policies for reducing US greenhouse gas emissions.
How your life could change without fossil fuels
17 Feb 2017
Here is a vision of the future in a warming world without fossil fuels:
Birds caught in climate-change traps
17 Feb 2017
Climate change may be about to set a trap for African penguins and send them foraging for food in places that the fish have departed, according to satellite trackers.
Why politicians think they know better than scientists
15 Feb 2017
One of the most unexpected political developments in recent months has been the political awakening of scientists in the United States.
Climate change research gets $2 million boost
14 Feb 2017
The Deep South National Science Challenge has announced funding totalling about $2 million for five new research projects to help New Zealanders to better understand their future climate.
Air conditioning drains US power supply
14 Feb 2017
America’s power supply could one day falter just when customers need it most.
Norway saves skiing with climate-friendly snow
14 Feb 2017
Ski resorts all over the world are increasingly turning to expensive snow-making machines as the climate warms. This method uses so much fuel that it contributes to global warming.
EDITORIAL: Numbers show the game is up
13 Feb 2017
By editor ADELIA HALLETT | Try these numbers: Humans are causing the climate to change at 170 times the natural rate. Our “carbon budget” to keep warming below 1.5deg will be used up in five years. New Zealand’s per person emissions work out to 18 tonnes a year each – nine times higher than the global allowance.
OPINION: Just another attempt to spread confusion
13 Feb 2017
Senior climate scientist PROFESSOR JAMES RENWICK goes looking for the facts in the latest so-called scandal about climate change.
Methane emissions higher than feared, say scientists
10 Feb 2017
Global methane emissions from oil production between 1980 and 2012 were far higher than previously thought – in some cases, as much as double the amount previously estimated, according to a new scientific study.
Seawater puts a dent in delta rice production
8 Feb 2017
Urgent action is being called for to prevent salt intrusion causing severe damage to rice production and loss of drinking water in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY: Can waste solve the waste problem?
3 Feb 2017
OPINION | Aurecon's manufacturing market director Tim Plenderleith takes a glimpse at the future of manufacturing in a resource-constrained world.
When the heat is on, we need city-wide plans to keep cool
1 Feb 2017
On top of another record hot year globally, and as heatwaves become more frequent and intense, our cities are making us even hotter.
Can we learn to leave our wild forests alone?
27 Jan 2017
Here is how to turn a forest into a carbon-consuming machine that will help to contain global warming. Leave it alone. Let it grow. Do not log it.
How tiny microbes are revolutionising big agriculture
27 Jan 2017
Walk into your typical US or UK grocery store and feast your eyes on an amazing bounty of fresh and processed foods. In most industrialised countries, it’s hard to imagine that food production is one of the greatest challenges we will face in the coming decades.
PACIFIC PROBLEM: Carbon cuts will not settle seas
24 Jan 2017
Even supposing the world does make dramatic reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, the fate of the small island states remains uncertain.
Global warming already causing local extinctions
21 Dec 2016
Climate change is already beginning to alter the natural world. A study of 976 plant and animal species worldwide – freshwater, terrestrial and marine – reveals that local extinctions have happened in 47 per cent of their natural ranges.
The stuff we've put on Earth weighs 30 trillion tonnes
15 Dec 2016
Scientists have calculated the mass of that unnatural achievement called the “technosphere”, demonstrating the scale of human activity that drives climate change.
Citizen power big help in the battle to protect water
14 Dec 2016
Citizen-science monitoring of water is a win-win for scientists and volunteers – one gains access to new data, and the other the skills and confidence to become involved in discussions over what is happening to their streams, new research shows.
Methane’s rapid spurt puts pressure on climate fight
13 Dec 2016
One year ago today, with huge relief, scarcely able to believe their achievement, world leaders finally agreed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
Anxious oil countries look at low-carbon future
13 Dec 2016
Squeezed budgets and rising energy demand will significantly heighten the demand and use of renewable and energy efficiency technologies across the Middle East, says a new white paper.
Unhealthy forests affect distant ecosystems
12 Dec 2016
Ecologists have demonstrated, once again, the global importance of healthy forests.
Tinkering with plants helps to boost crop yields
12 Dec 2016
Plant scientists in the US have devised a new way to enhance the efficiency of crops: tune up the biochemical machinery of plants such as wheat, rice, maize, or even cabbages, to make the best of the available light and so increase yields.
Climate deniers face scientific pushback
12 Dec 2016
People who argue that climate change is not happening or that the scientific case for it is overstated – climate deniers – should probably start preparing for a more robust response from scientists themselves.
Healthy soils could start at the dairy shed
8 Dec 2016
Bio-waste from places like dairy sheds can be used to transform degraded soils into top-producing land, research is showing.
GRITTY GIFT: Windborne dust is Africa's export to the world
6 Dec 2016
Climate scientists have identified Africa’s single biggest export – the windborne dust that fertilises the Amazon forests, nourishes life in the Atlantic ocean and softens the noonday blaze of the sun.
How NZ could become biofutures powerhouse
5 Dec 2016
New Zealand could easily become a Queensland-style biofutures superpower, local industry leaders say.
FUSION FUTURE: A time of transition and potential
5 Dec 2016
For centuries, humans have dreamed of harnessing the power of the sun to energise our lives here on Earth.
Cement develops an appetite for C02
5 Dec 2016
Three new studies illuminate the sheer complexity of the aspect of climate science known as the carbon cycle − how carbon dioxide gets into the atmosphere and out again.
Richer forest biodiversity could rake in billions
25 Nov 2016
Biodiversity is not just a conservationist ideal, it is a high-value strategy, according to new research. It makes forests more productive, and could deliver up to $500bn a year in wealth across the planet.
Forget Trump, global climate action is on the move
24 Nov 2016
International momentum for action on climate change is building, despite the United States electing Donald Trump president, says New Zealand’s climate change ambassador.
Bennett's new climate think-tank has work deadline
23 Nov 2016
A first report on how New Zealand can adapt to climate change – including environmentally sustainable economic growth - should be with the Government by May.
Air NZ flies high at sustainable business awards
18 Nov 2016
Air New Zealand is the supreme winner in this year’s Sustainable Business Network Awards, announced in Auckland last night.
World needs major emissions cuts by 2020, says report
17 Nov 2016
All key sectors– including commercial agriculture – must have major emissions cuts under way by 2020 if the world is to keep global warming within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5deg limit, a new report says.
Warming wreaks havoc with ecosystems
15 Nov 2016
Climate change has already begun to alter the world’s ecosystems – at sea, in rivers and lakes, and in the forests and meadows on land, according to an international team of scientists.
We might be better than we think at absorbing carbon
9 Nov 2016
New research reveals that the ability of New Zealand’s land biosphere to absorb carbon could be 50 per cent more than currently estimated.
Arctic Ocean could be ice-free before mid-century
8 Nov 2016
Two scientists have worked out what it would take to melt all the ice in the Arctic Ocean.
Why geo-engineering is unlikely to save the world
4 Nov 2016
The global watchdog responsible for protecting the world’s wealth of species, the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, has looked at the hopes for reining in climate change through geo-engineering.
LETTER: Stern Report 10 years later
2 Nov 2016
INTELLIGENCE for the carbon market, eh? - as you claim in today’s (Carbon News Oct 31) bit headed “Stern Words”.
Iceland turning up the heat on thermal energy production
1 Nov 2016
Iceland is about to tap into water as hot as lava. Several kilometres below ground, a drilling rig named Thor will soon penetrate the area around a magma chamber, where molten rock from the inner Earth heats up water that has seeped through the seafloor.
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.
