Topics tagged with 'Science'
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.
Australians shun climate-led diet changes
30 Nov 2022
Most Australians are refusing to say goodbye to meat despite a growing concern about climate change.
Land use change could improve climate, health, and food insecurity: research
29 Nov 2022
Growing more grains and vegetables could decrease greenhouse gas emissions, increase water quality, and solve looming food insecurity and health problems for millions of New Zealanders, according to new research from two National Science Challenges.
More flash floods set to hit Greater Wellington due to climate change
29 Nov 2022
A new report paints an alarming picture of climate impacts for Greater Wellington, with damaging downpours and potential floods becoming increasingly frequent, and seasonal rainfall likely to increase by up to 16% in some areas.
Cannabis plants could help in the fight against climate change
28 Nov 2022
A team of scientists from Hudson Carbon – a research center based in New York which studies carbon storage – cannabis plants could be the missing player in humanity’s fight against climate change, as hemp can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more than twice as effectively as trees.
What “longtermism” gets wrong about climate change
24 Nov 2022
In his new book What We Owe the Future, William MacAskill outlines the case for what he calls “longtermism.” That’s not just another word for long-term thinking. It’s an ideology and movement founded on some highly controversial ideas in ethics.
Take climate-changing aerosols seriously, scientists say
23 Nov 2022
The dangerous impacts of aerosol changes on vulnerable regions should have been a priority at COP27 after climate policymakers agreed a breakthrough deal to support these parts of the world, scientists have claimed.
Tracking CO2 emissions from space could help support climate agreements
23 Nov 2022
A global network of ground-based CO2 measurements began in 1957 and now consists of over one hundred stations around the world. Accurate and precise measurements from these stations have revealed a lot about changes in global atmospheric CO2 and Earth’s overall carbon cycle, but we can’t place these stations everywhere on Earth.
A climate scientist’s personal reckoning
22 Nov 2022
By Adam Sobel - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists | A decade ago, Hurricane Sandy changed New York City, forever. New Yorkers now viscerally understand our vulnerability in a way we didn’t before, and the barriers being built to protect us from future storms and sea level rise will reshape the city’s topography. But for me—a scientist who studies hurricanes and climate change, a New Yorker, and a human being—Sandy was a different kind of watershed moment.
New research reveals climate change origins of great barrier reef
15 Nov 2022
Media release - University of Canterbury | Sea-level changes caused by melting ice sheets hundreds of thousands of years ago triggered the formation of K’gari (Fraser Island) – the world’s largest sand island – and the creation of Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef, a new study has found.
Global carbon emissions at record levels with no signs of shrinking, new data shows
14 Nov 2022
Global carbon dioxide emissions from all human activities remain at record highs in 2022, and fossil fuel emissions have risen above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new analysis by an international body of scientists.
Belching lakes, mystery craters, ‘zombie fires’: How the climate crisis is transforming the Arctic permafrost
14 Nov 2022
Four years ago, Morris J. Alexie had to move out of the house his father built in Alaska in 1969 because it was sinking into the ground and water was beginning to seep into his home.
Growing rooftop spinach in CO2 recycled from building ventilation quadruples growth
10 Nov 2022
Researchers have grown a farm of rooftop vegetables bathed in the CO2-rich exhaust air from city buildings—a somewhat dystopian idea which nevertheless boosted plant growth by an incredible 400%.
Eight warmest years on record witness upsurge in climate change impacts
7 Nov 2022
The past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. Extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating flooding have affected millions and cost billions this year, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report.
Climate change will force up to 113m people to relocate within Africa by 2050: new report
7 Nov 2022
Adapting to a world that is warmer than today is a huge undertaking, even if the most ambitious temperature ceiling is met. Increasing climate risks mean that millions of Africans could be uprooted or trapped where they are due to climate change.
Carbon removal mustn’t become a new frontier for injustice
7 Nov 2022
As preparations accelerate for the UN climate negotiations in Egypt, Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), a largely under-acknowledged issue with widespread, widely varying implications, must be addressed.
What is blue carbon and why is it vital for mitigating Canada's carbon emissions?
7 Nov 2022
Marlow Pellatt spent time on Vancouver Island, taking samples of soil from deep underground and wading through water to understand the biodiversity in the area. To an onlooker, it may seem like he’s playing in mud, but he’s actually researching how important coastal ecosystems are in Canada’s fight against climate change.
Scientists look at biogas potential of partly digested grass
4 Nov 2022
Kiwi scientists are converting partly digested grass from the stomachs of slaughtered cattle into biogas, which they hope could be used to heat commercial greenhouses.
One third of glaciers in World Heritage Sites will disappear by 2050: new study
4 Nov 2022
A third of all glaciers in World Heritage Sites are on course to melt away by 2050, according to new research.
Half Rutherford Fellowships awarded to climate research
3 Nov 2022
Climate research is a major focus for New Zealand’s foremost scientists, with six of this year’s twelve Rutherford fellowships awarded to climate-related projects, to the tune of $4.8 million.
Whaling’s link to climate change
3 Nov 2022
Media release: Royal Society Te Apārangi | Whales can store vast amounts of carbon throughout their lifetime. When they die, they bring that carbon with them to the bottom of the sea, where they sustain the local food web or get buried, effectively trapping carbon for centuries to millennia.
Temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global average
3 Nov 2022
Temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global average over the past 30 years – the highest of any continent in the world.
Climate change will produce more rainbows
3 Nov 2022
If you’ve ever been to Hawaii, you know it has an abundance of rainbows. And maybe it’s no surprise that researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have been studying rainbows.
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.
Govt delays will damage carbon market confidence, experts warn
Today 12:00pm
By Liz Kivi | Emissions Trading Scheme experts have warned the Government that its move to delay decisions on the country’s emissions budgets will further undermine confidence in an already weak carbon market.
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.
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.
Brazil opens three weeks of COP30-linked climate events
Today 12:00pm
Brazil on Monday opens three weeks of events linked to the COP30 climate summit, hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming
‘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.
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.”
Bank of England must better address climate risk to tackle inflation
Today 12:00pm
The central bank is being urged to take a series of actions to better respond to environmental risks.
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.
Z Energy settles greenwashing case over ‘quitting petrol’ claims
Today 12:00pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Z Energy has settled a landmark greenwashing case over claims it misled the public about moving away from petrol – a result Lawyers for Climate Action NZ says delivers long-overdue accountability.
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.”
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.
Here comes the sun: solar surge gathers pace
Today 12:00pm
More than $700 million of new solar investment advanced last week, underscoring the pace of the renewable buildout.
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.
