Topics tagged with 'Science'
German court rejects farmer's climate suit vs Volkswagen
27 Feb 2023
A German court on Friday rejected a farmer's bid to force automaker Volkswagen to end the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2030.
NIWA scientists disturbed by lack of sea ice on Antarctic journey
24 Feb 2023
Media release - Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have returned from a six-week voyage to Antarctica.
Carbon-absorbing underwater meadows planted
24 Feb 2023
Five million seagrass seeds will be planted off Wales' coast to create climate change-fighting underwater meadows.
Genetically modified trees are taking root to capture carbon
23 Feb 2023
A start-up has created poplar trees that are genetically engineered to grow larger and suck up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than standard trees do. This month, workers planted rows of these poplars in southern Georgia, kicking off the company’s plan to revolutionize forestry.
The climate benefits of a four-day workweek
22 Feb 2023
There's growing interest in the benefits of a four-day workweek for productivity and employee wellbeing, but the picture is more complicated when it comes to climate change.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change
21 Feb 2023
The adverse effects of climate change have impacted numerous areas of human health and well-being. In most parts of the world, women are least able to mitigate such changes, so they are an appropriate focus in a recent research paper.
Rationing: A fairer way to fight climate change?
21 Feb 2023
World War II-style rationing could be an effective way to reduce carbon emissions, according to new research from the University of Leeds.
Nearly 30 dangerous feedback loops could permanently shift the Earth’s climate: scientists
20 Feb 2023
Dangerous climate feedback loops are increasing global warming and risk causing a permanent shift away from the Earth’s current climate, according to a new study.
Outcry as scientists sanctioned for climate protest
16 Feb 2023
More than 2000 researchers from around the world have signed a letter asking the American Geophysical Union (AGU) to reverse actions it took against two scientists who briefly protested at its annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois, in December.
Global inequality must fall to maintain a safe climate and achieve a decent standard of living for all: researchers
16 Feb 2023
Energy consumption is essential for human well-being, but there is enormous inequality in energy use worldwide. The top 10% of global energy consumers use roughly 30 times more energy than the bottom 10%.
Supporters of a controversial climate solution say it could be key. Critics believe it is the path to catastrophe
14 Feb 2023
When US startup Make Sunsets released two weather balloons into the skies above Mexico's Baja California peninsula last year, it kicked up a fierce debate about one of the world's most controversial climate solutions.
Carbon emissions from fertilisers could be reduced by as much as 80% by 2050
10 Feb 2023
Researchers have calculated the carbon footprint for the full life cycle of fertilisers, which are responsible for approximately 5% of total greenhouse gas emissions—the first time this has been accurately quantified—and found that carbon emissions could be reduced to one-fifth of current levels by 2050.
Using wealth to insulate yourself from climate change
9 Feb 2023
While the days of overt climate denial are mostly over, there's a distinct form of denial emerging in its stead. PhD candidate Hannah Della Bosca, from the Sydney Environment Institute, explores the phenomenon of implicatory denial
Climate crisis drives more days of extreme wildfire risk in NZ
7 Feb 2023
As Aotearoa approaches the height of wildfire season, climate change means increasing forest fire risk – for at least an extra 30 days a year as the air gets thirstier, according to the latest science.
Water crises due to climate change: More severe than previously thought
3 Feb 2023
Climate change alters the global atmospheric circulation, which in turn alters precipitation and evaporation in large parts of the world and, in consequence, the amount of river water that can be used locally.
An El Niño is forecast for 2023. How much coral will bleach this time?
3 Feb 2023
Scientists remember the years between 2014 and 2017 as a particularly bad time for coral reefs. Elevated temperatures fueled by an El Niño climate pattern harmed about three-quarters of the world’s reefs in both hemispheres, forcing corals to release their life-sustaining zooxanthellae and turning them ghostly white in a process known as coral bleaching.
MIT study finds huge carbon cost to self-driving cars
2 Feb 2023
The widespread adoption of self-driving cars will create a major bump in carbon emissions without changes to their design, a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found.
Why increasing soil carbon is overrated
2 Feb 2023
Dutch researchers have found that yield effects of increasing soil carbon are inconsistent, ranging from negative to neutral to positive.
Scientists now know why methane mysteriously surged during lockdowns
2 Feb 2023
The world largely came to a halt in 2020 when extensive COVID-19 lockdowns were issued, which temporarily caused a global decline in greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the slowdowns in highly polluting sectors like aviation and manufacturing, methane emissions mysteriously climbed.
Earth is on track to exceed 1.5C warming in the next decade, study using AI finds
1 Feb 2023
The world is on the brink of breaching a critical climate threshold, according to a new study published on Monday, signifying time is running exceedingly short to spare the world the most catastrophic effects of global heating.
Solar farms put cow comfort and crop yield ahead of harvesting electrons
1 Feb 2023
Solar arrays that promise to generate happier, healthier cows and crops, while producing cheap electrons on the side, are being put into practice in France, following a series of government-led energy tenders with a difference.
How supermarket freezers are heating the planet, and how they could change
30 Jan 2023
Climate-conscious shoppers may buy local food and try to cut packaging waste, but those efforts could be negated by potent greenhouse gases leaking from supermarket fridges.
Re-carbonising the sea: Scientists to start testing a big ocean carbon idea
27 Jan 2023
Imagine showers of little green sand grains drifting through the ocean: collecting on coral reefs, rolling off the backs of whales, sprinkling schools of tuna — and helping to save all those creatures, and humanity, too. At least that’s the idea.
How ancient seeds from the Fertile Crescent could help save us from climate change
26 Jan 2023
Inside a large freezer room at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, tens of thousands of seeds are stored at a constant temperature of minus 20 degrees celsius.
Comparing airfares instead of seat size fairer indicator of passenger carbon emissions: study
26 Jan 2023
Allocating passenger aircraft emissions using airfares rather than travel class would give a more accurate idea of individual contributions, finds a study led by UCL.
The voracious appetite of forest elephants can coax forests into storing more carbon
26 Jan 2023
Elephants been called a lot of things: the world’s largest land creatures, imperiled, majestic, charismatic. Now scientists have a few more terms for describing them: foresters and climate champions.
Adapting growing seasons to climate change can boost yields of world’s staple crops
25 Jan 2023
Rising global temperatures due to climate change are changing the growth cycles of crops worldwide. Recent records from Europe show that wild and cultivated plants are growing earlier and faster due to increased temperatures.
Scientists develop cheapest carbon capture system to date
25 Jan 2023
US researchers have developed a cost-efficient method that successfully captures CO2 and converts it into one of the world’s most widely used chemicals: methanol.
A few pieces of good news on climate change (and a reality check)
24 Jan 2023
Emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change reached a new peak in 2022, according to early estimates. And climate disasters seem to be hitting at a breakneck pace. In 2022, the world experienced record heat waves in China and Europe, and devastating floods in Pakistan killed over 1,000 people and displaced millions.
Logged forests may be carbon emitters for years
24 Jan 2023
If you’ve ever been offered the opportunity to donate money to plant a tree to offset a purchase, you’ve probably guessed that trees naturally store carbon. Forests are an invaluable source of carbon storage around the world; one would assume that forests that have been cut down but are regrowing trees are also regaining their capacity to store carbon.
Climate change is transforming the Arctic
22 Dec 2022
A typhoon, smoke from wildfires and increasing rain are not what most imagine when thinking of the Arctic. Yet these are some of the climate-driven events included in a detailed annual update on the transformation of the once reliably frozen, snow-covered region which is heating up faster than any other part of the world.
Climate change can be beaten - why some scientists are hopeful
20 Dec 2022
Can our planet recover from climate change? The Conversation commissioning Editor, Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, asked scientists to share the reasons they believe there is hope.
Climate action delivers air quality & health gains in India
20 Dec 2022
New research shows how city actions to address climate change in India can deliver health benefits from cleaner air.
Whales could be a valuable carbon sink: scientists
16 Dec 2022
Whales influence the amount of carbon in our air and oceans, and may help reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, according to new research by US and New Zealand scientists.
Climate change will impact mountains on a global scale
16 Dec 2022
According to research, climate change will have a severe effect on mountain landscapes and human activities, increasing the likelihood of avalanches, river floods, landslides, debris flows, and lake outburst floods.
Can sending fewer emails or emptying your inbox really help fight climate change?
16 Dec 2022
The massive carbon footprint left behind by emails has been widely discussed by the media, but most of the time these discussions are exaggerated.
‘Half the world’s languages could be lost to climate change’
15 Dec 2022
By 2100, at least half the world’s 7,000 languages could go extinct due to climate change.
Researchers chart a path to carbon-negative plastic
15 Dec 2022
If current trends and policies continue, global plastic demand will double by 2050 and triple by 2100, with similar increases in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study.
Fusion breakthrough could be climate, energy game-changer
14 Dec 2022
Scientists announced Tuesday that they have for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it — a major breakthrough in the decades-long quest to harness the process that powers the sun
Large wild herbivores may help slow climate change
14 Dec 2022
Large animals, especially herbivores such as elephants, are often seen as being destructive of vegetation, so are not thought of as a nature-based climate solution. Scientists are proving otherwise.
The world's permafrost is rapidly thawing and that's a big climate change problem
13 Dec 2022
An international study has predicted that permafrost thaw could contribute as much greenhouse gases to our atmosphere as a large industrial nation by the end of the century.
Climate change stokes new norm of extreme Australia weather
12 Dec 2022
Extreme weather events such as bush fires and flooding are set to become the norm in Australia, a new report shows.
Rising temperatures causing distress to foetuses: study
9 Dec 2022
Rising temperatures driven by climate breakdown are causing distress to the foetuses of pregnant farmers, who are among the worst affected by global heating.
New marine research and education facility for Tauranga brings climate into focus
8 Dec 2022
A newly approved marine research and education facility for Tauranga will support study into Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine environment and the effects of climate change.
The 30% goal: is bigger always better for biodiversity?
8 Dec 2022
The UN biodiversity conference now meeting in Montreal is considering a proposal to commit to putting 30 percent of land and sea under protection by 2030. Some ecologists warn that focusing too much on the size of protected areas risks missing what most needs saving.
Scientists should ditch terminology that obscures climate change’s true dangers
6 Dec 2022
A lot of today’s widespread confusion about climate change – some of it unwitting, some of it deliberately cultivated – stems from the critical miscommunication of two little words: risk and uncertainty.
Does marine conservation mitigate climate change?
5 Dec 2022
Marine protected areas act as a safeguard for oceans, seas, and estuaries. These regions help in the preservation of the plants and animals that are native to these waters, but the advantages of protected areas go well beyond their boundaries.
Climate change amplifies risk of ‘insect apocalypse’
2 Dec 2022
For most of us, the world’s insects are doubly vital to our well-being, a growing body of research is finding. But warnings by scientists of a probable insect apocalypse are steadily growing more frequent and urgent.
Earth Is “unequivocally” in midst of climate emergency: scientists
1 Dec 2022
The Earth’s vital signs have deteriorated to the point that “humanity is unequivocally facing a climate emergency,” according to a study recently released by a worldwide coalition of scientists.
An ecological rule breaker shows the effects of climate change on body size
30 Nov 2022
The Northern Treeshrew, a small, bushy-tailed mammal native to South and Southeast Asia, defies two of the most widely tested ecological “rules” of body size variation within species, according to a new study coauthored by Yale anthropologist Eric J. Sargis.
Lobby group launches ‘blueprint’ for ocean management reform
Thu 18 Sep 2025
The Environmental Defence Society yesterday released its plan to tackle widespread ecological decline in our oceans.
Carbon price steady after failed quarterly auction
Tue 16 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The carbon price has continued to trade in its familiar moribund range in the high $50s following last week’s failed quarterly auction, with ample supply still trading on the secondary market at about $10 below this year’s $68 auction floor.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
UK foreign aid for nature hits £800m record due to cash for carbon credits
Tue 16 Sep 2025
The UK’s climate-aid spending on “nature protection and restoration” reached record levels of nearly £800m last year, according to government figures obtained by Carbon Brief.
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
No bidders front to carbon auction - again
10 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Today’s quarterly carbon auction was a non-event yet again, making it the third consecutive auction this year with no bidders, with the secondary market price still limping along at nearly 20% below the auction floor.
IEA reiterates ‘no new oil and gas needed’ if global warming is limited to 1.5C
Thu 18 Sep 2025
The world would not need to invest in new oil and gas projects if demand for the fuels fell in line with the 1.5C limit on global warming, says the International Energy Agency.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
Mon 15 Sep 2025
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
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.”
Watts not considering removing electricity from ETS
Tue 16 Sep 2025
Energy and Climate Change Minister, Simon Watts, says he is “not currently considering” removing electricity generation from the Emissions Trading Scheme, as proposed by NZ First Minister Shane Jones.
Gentailers told to behave as ministers weigh Frontier review
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The chief executives of Contact, Meridian, Mercury and Genesis met Energy and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts on Thursday for their regular monthly session.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Science cuts will hold back climate research
Wed 17 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | A crisis in government-backed science funding is worsening, with dire implications for climate research in New Zealand, according to experts from the scientific community.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Indigenous forest 'islands' could help transition exotic plantations to native bush
11 Sep 2025
Native forest 'islands' within exotic plantations might be the key to transitioning plantations from exotic to Indigenous, according to new research.
Decline in global oil and gas field output accelerating, IEA says
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The decline in output from mature global oil and gas fields is accelerating amid greater reliance on shale and deep offshore resources.
A modest geothermal strategy
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.
Why mega-polluters have little to fear from the European Central Bank and its new climate policy
12 Sep 2025
The European Central Bank plans to raise borrowing costs for climate offenders – but a new FTM analysis shows that big polluters such as Shell will barely feel it.
Media round-up
5 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The great methane debate; law change scuppers legal challenge to irrigation scheme consent; and what are the energy and climate implications of the $7.5 billion Amazon Web Services data centre deal?
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.
Media round-up
29 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Changes to road user charges will increase New Zealand's emissions; Climate Change Minister Simon Watts promises better access to hazard data for homeowners; and Kiwis borrow over $1 billion in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars.
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.
Young activists won a landmark state climate trial. Now they’re challenging Trump’s orders
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Young climate activists and their attorneys who won a landmark global warming trial against the state of Montana are trying to convince a federal judge to block President Donald Trump’s executive orders promoting fossil fuels.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
Govt tweaks offshore energy bill with 'declared areas' model
Wed 17 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government is making changes to the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to address offshore wind developers' concerns about competing for space with other industries.
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 steady ocean pattern just failed for the first time ever observed
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The failure of the Gulf of Panama’s seasonal upwelling system has left scientists wondering what happens next.
Watts full-throated in National’s support for Paris
10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts came to this week’s Climate Change and Business Conference with nothing to announce.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
‘Plastic Cup’ competitions are cleaning up rivers in Hungary
1 Sep 2025
Afloat on DIY boats, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube and its tributaries.
Can certificates solve NZ's heavy vehicle emissions problem?
Thu 18 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Sustainable Business Council has launched a new framework for a national system to cut freight emissions.
Climate change collaboration and competition law
Thu 18 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The revamped competition law regime needs to be able to take into account the benefits of companies that collaborate for action on climate change, says the panel that reviewed both the Commerce Commission and the Commerce Act.
Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says
8 Sep 2025
Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate.
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.
One city’s race to ‘solarise everything we possibly can’
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Bordeaux is quickly transforming itself into France’s top solar-powered city, banking on innovations like transparent panels that preserve its historic architecture.
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’.
Ara Ake backs 13 projects to unlock NZ’s energy flexibility
11 Sep 2025
Media release | Ara Ake has approved over $600,000 in funding from the National Flex Discovery Fund for 13 flexibility service providers (FSPs).
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.
Most EU carmakers on track to meet emission targets: study
10 Sep 2025
Almost all European carmakers are on track to meet EU emission targets after winning a reprieve this year as electric vehicles (EV) sales pick up, a study showed.
Hotter, longer, more frequent: NZ’s escalating heat risk
26 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Heat extremes in New Zealand will intensify faster than previously thought, according to a new study.
Echo Tech secures growth investment to tackle NZ's e-waste crisis
Mon 15 Sep 2025
Media release | Echo Tech Limited, New Zealand’s leading provider of e-waste recycling and IT asset recovery services, is proud to announce a strategic investment from growth equity firm Altered Capital.
La Niña set to prolong NZ hydro shortfall
9 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With La Niña favouring a drier-than-normal spring across much of the South Island, hydro lakes are unlikely to recover without substantial rain and late snowmelt – keeping national storage levels below average.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Which countries are scaling solar and wind the fastest?
12 Sep 2025
The leaderboard is quite different depending on what metric you look at.
