Topics tagged with 'Science'
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.
Young scientist sets sights on future of the mozzie
20 Dec 2013
The potential impact of climate change on insect predator-prey interactions is being investigated by a University of Canterbury postgraduate scholarship-winning student.
Study points finger at troublesome native birds
6 Dec 2013
Pukeko, kaka and gulls are the native bird species most likely to cause problems in New Zealand’s cities in the future, according to new research.
What Tim Groser told the world at Warsaw
22 Nov 2013
Climate Change Minister Tim Groser has put New Zealand’s emissions-reduction credentials to the COP19 gathering in Warsaw.
Local bodies need no-till, says scientist
22 Nov 2013
New Zealand local authorities are missing something when they prepare their environmental policies, a no-till advocate says.
Take a searching look at our rivers ... and be in the draw to win a copy of this book
22 Nov 2013
DAVID YOUNG has updated his 1986 historical geography Faces of the River. His new book is entitled, Rivers: New Zealand’s Shared Legacy, from Random House. In the politically and ecologically altered landscapes of the past quarter-century, almost nothing remains the same. This is especially true of our river systems, and especially of our lowland rivers. To go in the draw to win a copy of Rivers just email [email protected] with 'rivers' in the subject line.
Welcome to the Bill and Gerry Climate Change Show ...
15 Nov 2013
The Government is under fire over its apparent lack of belief in human-induced climate change, with two of the country’s most powerful politicians calling the science into question.
Our ministers ill-informed, says top scientist
15 Nov 2013
The New Zealand Government is ignoring “inconvenient” evidence about climate change, says a leading international climate scientist.
EDITORIAL: The message is clear ... we have a government of climate deniers
15 Nov 2013
By editor ADELIA HALLETT. The reason for the Government’s failure to take decisive action on the biggest issue facing us became clear this week; it still doubts the science behind anthropogenic climate change.
Here we go again ... still talking
15 Nov 2013
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification executive secretary MONIQUE BARBUT warns of imminent social chaos if we continue to ignore the impacts of climate change:
Why it's important that we do our bit
15 Nov 2013
With COP19 under way in Warsaw, CARBON MARKET SOLUTIONS looks at the background to international climate change agreements:
LanzaTech wins praise for China operation
8 Nov 2013
LanzaTech’s steelmill-waste-to-bioenergy plant in Beijing has earned recognition from international sustainability certifier RSB.
Massey scientists unlock plant secrets
8 Nov 2013
Massey University researchers have the first convincing evidence that inter-breeding between closely related species (hybridisation) can aid plants during periods of environmental change.
WEB WIRE ... news from the world of carbon
25 Oct 2013
US cuts emissions, India fights air charge, EU conservation threat, California joins Chinese, wine worries, ocean gliders.
Why Branson believes businesses must act on climate change
18 Oct 2013
The key to tackling climate change is to see it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle, says billionaire Virgin group founder Sir Richard Branson.
Where's the Kiwi vision, asks IPCC author
11 Oct 2013
New Zealand could substantially cut greenhouse emissions from transport but lacks the vision to do so.
Expert dismisses Wellington rail plan
11 Oct 2013
Wellington’s Public Transport Spine Study is not backed by science and should be dismissed, says an international expert in sustainability.
Aussies rush to back Flannery’s climate body
11 Oct 2013
The minute climate change champion Tim Flannery opened the doors of his independent Climate Council, Australians opened their wallets.
IPCC report means no more excuses for NZ
4 Oct 2013
The latest IPCC report on climate change removes New Zealand’s excuses for not taking strong action on the problems.
IPCC serious over sea levels
27 Sep 2013
By HOLLY RYAN, Science Media Centre. Rising sea levels will receive increased attention from climate scientists today when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveils its latest report on the state of the climate.
WEB WIRE ... news from the world of carbon
27 Sep 2013
Angela Merkel, Tony Abbott, airlines talk, IPCC leak, US trading, beating disease.
Norway helps farmers to diversify
27 Sep 2013
Norway has invested $US23.7 million to conserve and sustainably manage the world’s most important food crops to help farmers to cope with the effects of climate change and population increase.
Science sees human waste as weapon in war against climate change
20 Sep 2013
Human waste could be the next weapon in the fight against climate change, according to an Australian academic.
Start now, science chief tells businesses
13 Sep 2013
New Zealand’s chief science adviser says that businesses should not be distracted by apparent argument over the validity of anthropogenic 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
Today 11:30am
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?
Thu 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
Today 11:30am
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
Today 11:30am
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
Today 11:30am
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
Thu 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
Today 11:30am
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
Today 11:30am
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
Today 11:30am
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
Today 11:30am
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.
