Topics tagged with 'Science'
World’s vanishing glaciers are putting millions at risk
24 May 2017
In the next 25 years, more than half of all of Switzerland’s small glaciers will disappear − and Canada could lose 70 per cent of the volume of its frozen rivers by 2100.
Cuts now will take heat out of climate shocks
23 May 2017
Substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions now will prevent New Zealanders alive today being exposed to temperatures they have never experienced before, says the New Zealand lead author of research published today.
Warming world threatens our ancient forests
16 May 2017
Failing to hold climate warming to 1.5deg could spell disaster for New Zealand’s ancient West Coast podocarps forests, new research shows.
Oceans are running out of oxygen ... and quickly
12 May 2017
Circulation changes caused by warming waters and melting polar ice are the most probable explanations for the rapidly falling levels of oxygen in the ocean.
OPINION: We must plan for climate refugees
10 May 2017
What will New Zealand do when 12,000 climate refugees from Tuvalu arrive on its doorstep?
MICROBE MAGIC: How we can be mates with methane
8 May 2017
Ingenuity in laboratories worldwide is harnessing microbes, water and hot air to produce different types of renewable energy from greenhouse gas.
CLIMATE CONSCIENCE: Believing is half the battle
5 May 2017
If we believe that we can personally help to stop climate change with individual actions – such as turning the thermostat down – then we are more likely to make a difference, according to new research.
Next decade will be critical for climate targets
3 May 2017
European researchers stress urgency in tackling global warming to meet climate targets, and say the goal of a less than 2deg rise may be unrealistic.
Student gives Auckland investment message
2 May 2017
Another Auckland University student has turned what might have been the biggest moment of her life to date – graduation – into a protest against the university’s investment in fossil fuels.
Nitrite pollution puts warming waters at risk
2 May 2017
Nitrite pollution caused by rising temperatures is changing the chemistry of coastal waters, threatening more algal blooms and zones devoid of fish.
Government agrees dairying can't keep growing
28 Apr 2017
The Government is publicly acknowledging that the dairy industry is running into environmental limits.
Deep in the forest, there are trees giving off methane
28 Apr 2017
Scientists have long been aware of a forest’s ability to absorb carbon, but a new US study has discovered trees that emit methane.
CARBON CREEP: Suddenly, CO2 hits the 410ppm mark
21 Apr 2017
Chalk up another climate milestone … atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations hit 410 parts-per-million this week, the highest they’ve been in more than 15 million years.
Harvesting fertiliser from ‘bionic’ leaves
20 Apr 2017
The Harvard scientist who pioneered a “bionic leaf” that could generate the production of fuel has taken artificial photosynthesis a step further.
Climate change promises rough ride for airlines
19 Apr 2017
By TIM RADFORD | Keep that seat belt buckled − it could be a bumpy flight. New research predicts that severe clear air turbulence in the stratosphere could increase by 149 per cent because of climate change.
GLUCKMAN REPORT: It's clear our rivers need help
12 Apr 2017
New Zealand’s waterways are in trouble and climate change is making it worse, the Prime Minister’s chief science adviser is warning.
Complacency threatens climate change action
10 Apr 2017
The world is “meandering into a failed future” because of its unwillingness to take decisive action on climate change, a leading UK academic has warned.
Arctic meltwater ponds feed climate concerns
10 Apr 2017
Even in the white-out world of ice, the Arctic is growing greener. Plankton blooms below the frozen ocean and in Greenland’s icy mountains meltwater ponds become little ecosystems that will eventually enrich the ocean.
America’s farmers face uncertain future
7 Apr 2017
Spare a thought for the farmers of America: climate change is going to make their lives more difficult.
Extreme heat threat rises for megacities
5 Apr 2017
The area of the world, and the numbers of city dwellers, exposed to serious risk from extreme heat will multiply later this century even if the world’s nations keep their promise and contain global warming to 2deg or less, according to new research.
Carbon law could make Paris promise a reality
4 Apr 2017
By 2020, fossil fuels will no longer be subsidised by the taxpayer, anywhere in the world. And by then, carbon dioxide emissions worldwide will have started to fall.
Farms can grow production … and cut emissions
3 Apr 2017
Substantial reductions in the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions at a South Canterbury farm show environmental gains can be made hand in hand with a farm’s growth, government scientists say.
Dead Sea drill shows unprecedented drought
31 Mar 2017
Far below the Dead Sea, between Israel, Jordan and Palestinian territory, researchers have found evidence of a drought that has no precedent in human experience.
Soil microbes hold key to climate puzzle
30 Mar 2017
Climate scientists puzzled by the traffic of carbon between soil and air might have to think more deeply about the role played by soil microbes − the planet’s smallest inhabitants.
Upton favourite for Beehive climate watchdog post
29 Mar 2017
Former environment minister Simon Upton – who last week delivered a major report critical of New Zealand’s environmental performance – is likely to be the next Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Science links China pollution haze and climate change
27 Mar 2017
The future for China is likely to become increasingly unclear – and lurking behind the obscured outlook in the nation’s capital is the spectre of climate change.
Warming world shrinks prospects for mammals
27 Mar 2017
Scientists in the US have proved it yet again that, in a rapidly warming world, mammals face a diminished future.
Grassland lab raises the alarm on species loss
23 Mar 2017
Scientists in California who turned a patch of natural grassland into a laboratory have established a subtle link between flowering times and the mix of species in an ecosystem – indicating that global warming could change planetary biology and disrupt ecosystems in hitherto unsuspected ways.
US budget aims broadside at climate change
22 Mar 2017
If anything, it’s worse than expected: sweeping cutbacks to environmental programmes; an abandonment of efforts aimed at cleaning up air and water pollution around the US; and, most worrying for the world in general, an end to multimillion-dollar funding for satellite launches and other science projects aimed at tackling climate change.
There's nothing like a healthy diet to beat climate change
16 Mar 2017
Scientists have worked out how to combat climate change and improve human health, one mouthful at a time.
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.
Auckland Council opens $1m Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund
4 Feb 2026
Community groups across Tāmaki Makaurau are being invited to apply for a new $1 million Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund, designed to support locally led action on climate change, disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
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.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
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.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
IPBES: Four key takeaways on how nature loss threatens the global economy
Wed 11 Feb 2026
The “undervaluing” of nature by businesses is fuelling its decline and putting the global economy at risk, according to a major new report.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
$8.9m research project to map future ocean change around Aotearoa
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The major research project aims to better understand how warming oceans are driving extreme weather events around New Zealand, from heavy rainfall to tropical cyclones.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
Australian ministers met Japanese gas companies 20 times amid fossil fuel lobbying push
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australian government ministers met Japanese gas company executives more than 20 times in the last term of parliament as Labor encouraged investment in the fossil fuel industry.
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.”
US is canceling almost $30 billion in Biden-era energy loans
27 Jan 2026
The Trump administration said it’s canceling almost $30 billion of financing from the Energy Department’s green bank after reviewing transactions approved under former President Biden.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Court rejects challenge to Minister and Commission over climate targets
28 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Supreme Court has rejected Lawyers for Climate Action’s bid to challenge the Climate Change Commission and former Climate Minister James Shaw over climate targets, ending a long-running case which had been working its way through the courts since 2021.
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.
A turning point for our ocean: why the High Seas Treaty matters for the Pacific
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: UNDP | The global ratification of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty marks a decisive moment in international cooperation and ocean governance. Referred to as the High Seas Treaty, the agreement establishes a legally binding framework to protect marine biodiversity in areas of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction.
Out of Paris, but will the US formally quit the UN climate regime?
30 Jan 2026
The Trump administration has decided to withdraw the US from the broader UN climate convention, raising questions about the legality of the move and what it means in practice.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Rushed resource management reform bills unworkable: Environmental Defence Society
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Environmental Defence Society says significant amendments are needed to the government’s Natural Environment and Planning Bills, warning the proposed reforms risk weakening environmental limits, public participation, and regulatory certainty.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
Australia's renewables boom delivers coveted power price payoff
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australia's wholesale electricity prices fell to the lowest in four years in 2025, bucking the rising price trends seen elsewhere and validating claims that renewables-heavy power system overhauls can help lower consumer power costs.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
Vanuatu introduces draft UN resolution on ICJ demanding full climate compensation
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Media release: Vanuatu Government | Vanuatu has introduced the zero draft of a United Nations General Assembly resolution to endorse the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change, delivered on 23 July 2025.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
World's first 20 MW offshore wind turbine powers grid in China
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The world's most powerful offshore wind turbine has begun feeding electricity into the grid off the coast of southeast China, marking a major technological leap in the country's wind power industry.
