Topics tagged with 'Science'
Business-deal science under attack
13 Jun 2014
The practice of business paying state scientists to give evidence in resource hearings is under fire.
Scientists find simple way to produce biofuel
13 Jun 2014
Scientists in the United States claim they have developed a simple, one-step process that turns plant tissue into biofuel.
American students claim to clean the air with roof tiles
6 Jun 2014
California science students say they have created a roof tile coating that when applied to an average-sized residential roof breaks down the same amount of smog-causing nitrogen oxides per year as a car driven 11,000 miles.
Greens: Climate change biggest issue world has faced
3 Jun 2014
"They used to call climate change the biggest issue of our time; more recently, I've heard it described as the biggest issue of all time." Green Party co-leader RUSSEL NORMAN on why his party will replace the Emissions Trading Scheme with a carbon tax:
Seeds for all seasons when farmers get together
23 May 2014
Small-scale farmers from as far apart as Peru, China and Bhutan have agreed to share indigenous crop varieties in a pioneering initiative to help adaptation to climate change.
Methane hydtrates are a whole new world
23 May 2014
Last year, Japanese scientists announced they had for the first time extracted gas from offshore deposits of methane hydrate, an ice-like substance made of natural gas trapped inside water crystals.
Drought lines up corn for a fall
16 May 2014
Maize yields are on the increase in the United States − but so is the crop’s sensitivity to drought. Scientists calculate that, as things stand, crops could lose 15 per cent of their yield within 50 years.
You could bill the beef, scientists tell Brazil
16 May 2014
Scientists have come up with a new prescription to address the Amazon rainforest’s health problems: reduce deforestation more efficiently by taxing freerange beef.
Can we harness the might of magma?
16 May 2014
Can enormous heat deep in the earth be harnessed to provide energy for us on the surface? A promising report from a geothermal borehole project that accidentally struck magma – the same fiery, molten rock that spews from volcanoes – suggests it could.
Why Australia has something to worry about
9 May 2014
The state of Australia’s environment is a real worry – the report cards exist to prove it.
Scientists answer soil microbes questions
9 May 2014
Scientists from the United States, China and Ireland may have settled one big question about climate change: don’t rely on the soil microbes to help to damp down the temperatures.
Food crops might lose their bite, says report
9 May 2014
Food crops might become less nutritious as climate change kicks in, new research has found.
Australia explains how emissions plan will work
2 May 2014
The Australian Government has released its Emissions Reduction Fund White Paper, setting out what it calls a cost-effective, practical and simple approach to reduce national emissions without a multi-billion dollar carbon tax.
The energy revolution is jammed in reverse
24 Apr 2014
Keeping the rise in global average temperatures to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels will not be prohibitively expensive, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says, though it won't be easy.
Climate change means the skids are under skiing
17 Apr 2014
Skiing on New Zealand’s highest skifields will be viable for another generation – but possibly not for longer than that - thanks to climate change.
Politicians leading us on a path to catastrophe, warns former PM
11 Apr 2014
Politicians too afraid of losing votes to talk about climate change are sentencing humanity to catastrophe, says former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer.
NZ climate change film goes global
11 Apr 2014
A global agreement for the educational market has been secured for the New Zealand film Thin Ice – the Inside Story of Climate Science.
Academic gets funds for drought studies
11 Apr 2014
A Waikato University doctoral student has won a scholarship to investigate the on-going inpacts of drought on dry-land farming.
Airlines wrestle with demands of climate change
11 Apr 2014
By LYNETTE DRAY.- Although aviation emissions contribute only 3 to 5 per cent of the total impact on the planet’s climate, this is steadily growing and is a surprisingly intractable problem to solve.
Tax credits deal fuels LanzaTech move to Illinois
4 Apr 2014
NEW ZEALAND clean-tech company LanzaTech has been lured to Illinois with more than $US1 million worth of tax credits.
Make sure you watch your back when the heat goes on
4 Apr 2014
By ALEX KIRBY.- A warming climate is closely related to political and social instability and a higher risk of conflict, according to American scientists.
No-action Abbott stalls climate policy decisions
4 Apr 2014
By PROF NICK ROWLEY.- In Australia, any sense of the need for an urgent policy response has stalled, despite this week’s reminder from the IPCC of the threats the country faces – not to mention the warming already seen and the increase in extreme climate events.
New investors pump $70m into LanzaTech
28 Mar 2014
NEW ZEALAND-BORN LanzaTech has attracted an extra $70 million in investment
Time for the Big Three to take Big Action
28 Mar 2014
WITHIN the course of five days, Brussels will play host to Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. As the international community looks to keep global warming under 2°C, these leaders must insist on the same, writes NATALIE ALONSO, of Oxfam.
Australia poised for carbon policy tussle
28 Mar 2014
By MICHAEL HOPKIN.- A Labor-dominated Senate committee has set the stage for the post-July tussle over carbon policy, recommending that Australia commit to much deeper emissions cuts than the current 5 per cent target, and advising against scrapping carbon pricing.
Let's get together, says UK energy expert
21 Mar 2014
Huge potential exists for New Zealand and Britain to collaborate on the science and technology of renewable energies, says the British Foreign Office chief scientific adviser.
Climate scientists 3, economists 0
21 Mar 2014
Hold up the trophy. Open the champagne. Climate scientists have easily won the game. According to a recent study, when it comes to the accuracy of forecasts and projections, the climate side is much better at the game than the economists’ team, says KIEREN COOKE.
Should climate deniers be brought to book?
14 Mar 2014
Is misinformation about the climate criminally negligent, asks Rochester Institute of Technology Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LAWRENCE TORCELLO.
Eight ways to better manage our livestock
14 Mar 2014
By TIM RADFORD.- British and international scientists have proposed eight strategies to make cattle and sheep-farming more sustainable, to make both the animals and people who depend on them healthier, and to reduce the strain on the planet.
Did Genghis Khan ride to world domination on the back of climate change?
14 Mar 2014
Climate change – already implicated in the fall of Bronze Age civilisations in the Mediterranean and in the Indus Valley - may also account for the rise of one of the most fearsome empires in history.
Australia hotting up, say scientists
7 Mar 2014
Temperatures across Australia were, on average, almost 1°C warmer than they were a century ago, according to a new report.
Antarctic sea changes could bring big problems
7 Mar 2014
By TIM RADFORD.- Global warming could have dramatic consequences for ocean circulation in the Antarctic, according to new research.
Sustainability graduates make their mark
7 Mar 2014
Now in its fourth year, Otago Polytechnic’s Graduate Programmes in Sustainable Practice is providing New Zealand companies, organisations and a variety of projects with graduates qualified in implementing sustainable practice.
Livestock diet can cut emissions, says study
28 Feb 2014
By TIM RADFORD.- Here’s a way to make cattle emit lower volumes of methane through their digestive tracts: give the beasts a higher-quality diet.
And the answer is ...
28 Feb 2014
Answers to the 20 big questions about climate change - is it real, how do we know humans are causing it, does it matter, and more - have been provided this week by Britain and America's top scientists.
Sea-level rises threaten island havens
28 Feb 2014
Decades of work to create safe island havens for some of the world’s rarest species could be undone if sea levels rise as high as climate scientists predict, according to a new study.
Blocking the sunlight has a dark side
21 Feb 2014
By TIM RADFORD. Finding a technology that would let us counteract the effects of climate change is a cherished dream. But if there is a cure, it could be worse than the disease, scientists say.
Scientists find key methane micro-organism
21 Feb 2014
Scientists from The University of Queensland have discovered a microbe that is set to play a significant role in future global warming.
Pacific holds key to climate change’s ‘missing warmth’
14 Feb 2014
Australian and US scientists think they know where a lot of global warming has been concentrated: it has been tucked away below the surface waters of the western Pacific.
Earth Law move perfect for us, says academic
7 Feb 2014
New Zealand is well-positioned to move into an emerging international Earth-centred legal regime because of Maori culture, an environmental law lecturer says.
Why the big boys are serious about carbon pricing
7 Feb 2014
Several of the largest international oil companies, along with other major companies, are taking the prospect of international carbon pricing seriously, writes BARRY NAUGHTON.
Hang on, isn't carbon-happy China just making stuff for us?
7 Feb 2014
Is it fair that China is blamed for the carbon dioxide emissions it generates to manufacture products destined for the West? asks Glen West, of the Center for International Climate and Environment Research.
Engineers claim solar cell breakthrough
7 Feb 2014
California engineers have invented a new process for manufacturing highly efficient photovoltaic materials that shows promise for low-cost industrial production.
Think or swim ... that's our climate change choice
31 Jan 2014
Making people think about the impact climate change could have on their homes makes them more likely to take action to prevent it, researchers say.
All power to Scottish tides, say engineers
31 Jan 2014
Renewable tidal energy sufficient to power about half of Scotland could be harnessed from a single stretch of water off the north coast of the country, engineers say.
The war on science: Why we should be very afraid
24 Jan 2014
Climate scientist Dr JIM SALINGER on why we should be very worried by attempts to discredit data showing New Zealand's climate is warming:
Tiny sensors will allow bees to tell us their troubles
24 Jan 2014
Thousands of honey bees in Australia are being fitted with sensors as part of a world-first research programme to monitor the insects and their environment using a technique known as 'swarm sensing'.
Study shows how to double renewable energy
24 Jan 2014
The global renewable energy share can reach and exceed 30 per cent by 2030 at no extra cost, says a new report.
Pulp politics bring tension to Tasmania
24 Jan 2014
KATE CROWLEY, Associate Professor of Public and Environmental Policy at the University of Tasmania, examines the tension between the economy and the environment in the state's politics:
Farmers put weight behind water storage
24 Jan 2014
Farmers say climate change means water storage is more important than ever.
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.
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.
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.
Taxonomy seen as key to shaping NZ’s voluntary nature credit market
Thu 30 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Experts say aligning the New Zealand Sustainable Finance Taxonomy with the development of voluntary nature credit markets could strengthen credibility, streamline investment, and support high-integrity environmental outcomes.
Devastation on repeat: How climate change is worsening Pakistan's deadly floods
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Rescuers and relatives searched knee-deep in water for the body of one-year-old Zara. She'd been swept away by flash floods; the bodies of her parents and three siblings had already been found days earlier.
‘Plain old dull’: NZU market continues to limp sideways
24 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | The NZU market has been “plain old dull” in recent months, with activity driven mainly by credit opportunities or a specific need to raise cash, according to Lizzie Chambers of trading platform Carbon Match.
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.
No high-level US representatives will go to UN climate talks, Trump officials say
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Decision to stay away from Cop30 meeting in Brazil underscores administration’s hostility to climate action.
All carrot, no stick for farmers on methane
17 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: The abandonment of methane emissions pricing and the adoption of a weaker target is effectively the last nail in the coffin of the historic cross-parliamentary consensus embedded in the Zero Carbon Act 2019.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
Wed 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.
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.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council welcomes new flood data
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Media release | Hawke’s Bay Regional Council welcomes the release of the National Flood Tool and accompanying data by Earth Sciences New Zealand. This is an important contribution to understanding the impacts of climate change for New Zealand.
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.”
Developing countries will need US$310 billion annually for climate adaptation by 2035
Fri 31 Oct 2025
Media release - UN Environment Programme: Slow climate adaptation is threatening lives and economies.
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.
Look out for these 8 big ag greenwashing terms at COP30
28 Oct 2025
Food and farming companies will claim agriculture is the solution to the climate crisis at the Brazil summit — even though food drives a third of global warming.
Coal imports up 650%
12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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
Wed 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.
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.
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.
Global oil demand won't peak until 2032, Wood Mackenzie report says
Fri 31 Oct 2025
“Global oil demand will not peak until 2032, two years later than earlier thought, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report on Wednesday that blames continued momentum in the use of hydrocarbons for transport and petrochemicals.”
Govt ‘captured by industry’ on methane – Carr
21 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr says that recent moves to weaken methane targets and halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing show the Government has been captured by industry.
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.
Ardern: 'We must not give up on 1.5'
Fri 31 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern says the world must not abandon the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal, warning that a decade on from COP21 “too many of the debates we thought were settled are still being had.”
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.
Experts warn new science curriculum sidelines climate urgency
Mon 3 Nov 2025
Climate change education has been pushed too late and too lightly in the Government’s draft science curriculum, experts say, with students not formally learning about climate change until Year 10.
Judge dismisses suit by young climate activists against Trump’s pro-fossil fuel policies
17 Oct 2025
Plaintiffs had ‘overwhelming evidence’ of climate crisis but a court injunction would be ‘unworkable’, ruling says.
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.
The Yangtze River is becoming the world’s largest electrified trade corridor
Thu 30 Oct 2025
The Gezhouba, a new 13,000-ton all-electric bulk carrier launched in Yichang, is more than a technical milestone. It is a sign that the electrification of inland shipping is moving from concept to inevitability.
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.
