Topics tagged with 'Technology'
It's all about microbes, say scientists
19 Jun 2019
Humans’ ability to survive and adapt to the changing climate might come down to microbes.
Businesses demand action, says UN climate chief
18 Jun 2019
Businesses are demanding the development of international carbon markets as the world battles a climate emergency, negotiators have heard overnight.
Fossil fuels ban helping, says energy innovator
13 Jun 2019
New Zealand's partial ban on new oil and gas exploration is driving the electricity market away from gas and towards renewables, says an energy market innovator.
Auckland lays out plan to combat climate crisis
12 Jun 2019
Auckland Council has unveiled a plan it says will prepare the city to cope with the impacts of climate change and cut its emissions.
Farmers not alone in methane mix, say Nats
10 Jun 2019
The farming sector isn’t the only industry that should be targeted for methane reductions, the National Party says.
$100 million Green fund ready to invest
30 May 2019
The Government’s $100 million Green Investment Finance fund says it is about to start investing.
You're welcome (not), Mayor Cull tells mineralists
30 May 2019
Dunedin mayor Dave Cull welcomed minerals sector executives to his city this week by telling them he backed the anti-fossil-fuel protesters trying to stop them.
OPINION: Plundering the planet
30 May 2019
By BRIAN EASTON | Can we consume limited resources forever? Is economic growth just a Ponzi scheme in which we borrow from the future? Is economic growth as we know it coming to an end?
Big emitters get together and make a plan
28 May 2019
New Zealand’s trade-exposed industrial emitters – who between them are given more than five million free carbon credits a year – have produced a plan to help to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Todd ups investment in renewable energy
28 May 2019
New Zealand’s largest private energy company is increasing its investment in renewables.
Protesters again take aim at mining industry
27 May 2019
The mining sector is positioning itself as part of the solution to climate change, as protesters gear up to disrupt the industry’s annual gathering this week.
Could your idea save the world?
27 May 2019
Got an idea to save the world? It might just qualify for support under a new billion-dollar scheme.
Lawmakers eye climate risk disclosure rules
24 May 2019
Companies in New Zealand could face compulsory climate-risk disclosure through new accounting standards.
National MPs chew over zero carbon bill
21 May 2019
National Party MPs are meeting this morning to decide whether they will support the Government’s zero carbon bill.
Pricing delay carries risks, says ETS expert
17 May 2019
The Government is exposing the country to significant risk by delaying changes to the carbon pricing regime, says one of the architects of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
METHANE MOVES: Give poos a chance
15 May 2019
Technologies like turning human waste into electricity could meet a large chunk of the Government's 2030 methane reduction target.
UN chief pushes case for carbon taxes
14 May 2019
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says income taxes should be replaced with carbon taxes.
OPINION: With methane, no time like the present
13 May 2019
Organic farmer and former Green Party co-leader JEANETTE FITZSIMONS says farmers can cut methane now while increasing farm profits.
Climate effort gets thumbs-up from UN chief
13 May 2019
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is praising New Zealand’s efforts on climate change.
HALFWAY HOUSE: PM changes our climate focus
24 Apr 2019
Jacinda Ardern’s nuclear-free-moment speech on the campaign trail during the 2017 general election struck a chord.
Q and A: The commissioner explains
27 Mar 2019
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton answers questions on yesterday’s report recommending big changes to the way New Zealand deals with greenhouse gas emissions.
Shaw about to reveal climate policy timetable
12 Mar 2019
The Government will release details of its climate change policy timetable on Friday.
Bioenergy body hails hospital move to wood
12 Mar 2019
A decision to replace two coal-fired boilers at Christchurch Hospital with boilers that burn wood will help to create confidence in the woody biomass market, the Bioenergy Association says.
Aussies polish off green (but not as clean) Kiwis
8 Mar 2019
It mightn’t be greener, but Australia is cleaner than New Zealand, a new report says.
Biomass energy could punch hole in emissions
28 Feb 2019
New Zealand could slash five million tonnes off its annual greenhouse gas emissions through the use of biomass energy in factories and for heavy transport, new figures show.
Nats make 'measured and reasonable' climate plan
25 Feb 2019
A National government might give fewer free carbon credits to trade-exposed industrial emitters but is unlikely to force a large-scale reduction in biological emissions from agriculture, according to a new paper.
NZ tumbles down climate-action rankings
8 Feb 2019
New Zealand has fallen down the international rankings for action on climate change.
Ardern will go all out for low-carbon economy
8 Feb 2019
Transitioning to a low-carbon economy is at the top of the Government’s budget priorities this year.
Industrial power challenges ETS deal for farmers
7 Feb 2019
A Labour-New Zealand First coalition agreement clause that guarantees farmers they will not pay as much as other sectors for their greenhouse gas emissions – if anything at all - is being challenged by one of our biggest industrial companies.
Scientists find Scuba system can contain coal gases
1 Feb 2019
The chemical process used by Scuba divers can efficiently strip carbon dioxide out of the residue of coal-fired electricity generation, scientists say.
Govt must show the way, says planning chief
30 Jan 2019
The head of the Planning Institute says the Government needs to step up and show the way for communities to plan for the impacts of climate change.
All farming gases must be cut, scientists say
19 Dec 2018
Cutting methane and nitrous oxide emissions from farming are critical to keeping the world to no more than 1.5deg of warming, scientists say in new research.
NZ and Europe to strengthen market cooperation
18 Dec 2018
New Zealand is to strengthen its carbon market ties with Europe.
Fewer animals is real answer, says forest group
14 Dec 2018
A group set up to advise the Government on the role of forestry in cutting greenhouse gas emissions says the real answer is reducing livestock numbers.
Government announces wide ETS changes
12 Dec 2018
A cap on emissions, a system to manage carbon credits supply and prices, the inclusion of permanent forests, and the possibility of a price a price floor are the major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme just announced by the Government.
JAMES SHAW: A year of living hopefully
10 Dec 2018
Climate minister James Shaw arrives in Poland today for international climate negotiations. This time last year he was a brand-new minister, just three weeks into the job and announcing on the world stage that New Zealand would be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Tarrant to head Green Investment Fund
5 Dec 2018
Angel investor and independent director Cecilia Tarrant is to head the Government’s $100 million Green Investment Fund.
We're on the move but dragging the doughnut
3 Dec 2018
New Zealand is one of three countries leading the charge to the new economy – but it’s got no right to call itself a developed country, says Doughnut Economics founder Kate Raworth.
Recycling alone not plastics solution
3 Dec 2018
Recycling alone will not solve New Zealand’s plastics pollution problem – the country needs to use less, a new report says.
We must farm fewer animals, say scientists
29 Nov 2018
A new science paper spelling out why animal agriculture will have to be severely curtailed if the Paris Agreement targets are to be met could have huge implications for New Zealand.
EDITORIAL: New UN report drops a bomb
28 Nov 2018
A report out today saying that global emissions are rising again because of economic growth should be the bomb needed to blast us out of our self-congratulatory complacency.
Hydrogen confuses Government, says National
28 Nov 2018
The National Party says the Government is “confused” over hydrogen technology and the use of natural gas.
Scientists see new energy value in our forests
19 Nov 2018
Forestry’s value to New Zealand’s climate change effort is not in carbon storage but in powering the low-carbon economy, says our leading forest research institute.
NZ scientists work on safer batteries
16 Nov 2018
New Zealand researchers have created a new plant-based electrolyte that could be the key to making safer and more environmentally friendly batteries.
Air NZ paves way for electric aircraft
9 Nov 2018
Air New Zealand is preparing the way to operate hybrid planes on its domestic regional routes.
Shipowners could face tougher emissions rules
8 Nov 2018
Ships operating in New Zealand might soon be liable to tough new rules on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Oil and gas exploration ban becomes law
8 Nov 2018
New oil and gas exploration is now banned from New Zealand’s waters and from most of its land.
Nitrogen inhibitors could return to the farm
5 Nov 2018
Nitrogen inhibitors could be in use on New Zealand farms again by 2020, farmers say.
Exploration ban close to becoming law
5 Nov 2018
The Government’s partial ban on new oil and gas exploration could become law this week.
NZ drops in global climate rankings as govt 'propels country backwards'
Wed 19 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand has fallen to 44th place in global climate rankings, with the country’s climate policy rated “very low” amid widespread rollbacks of environmental protections.
Govt rejects CCC’s advice on net-negative 2050 but makes no official announcement
Thu 20 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has rejected the Climate Change Commission’s advice to strengthen the country’s net zero 2050 target, but appears to have buried the news with its announcement about methane targets last month.
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.
NZ’s shameful new role as ‘international climate pariah’
13 Nov 2025
OPINION: New Zealand has ratcheted up its climate backsliding in the past month – losing any shred of climate credibility we once had and showing the world we’re giving up on a net zero future, writes Kayla Kingdon-Bebb.
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.
Govt’s rejection of CCC’s advice on climate targets undermines independent watchdog’s role, says opposition
Fri 21 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s latest dismissal of Climate Change Commission advice shows they have their heads in the sand about the reality of meeting climate targets, according to the Labour Party, while the Greens say Government decisions were an embarrassment on the world stage at COP30 this week.
COP30 climate talks evacuated after fire breaks out
Fri 21 Nov 2025
The UN climate talks COP30 have been evacuated due to a fire breaking out inside the venue in Belém, Brazil.
Mounting emissions due to Government decisions
Thu 20 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Coalition Government’s climate policies have added a whopping 26 million tonnes of emissions out to 2030, according to new analysis of Government projections.
Act-NZ First split over future of the energy sector
14 Nov 2025
Act leader David Seymour has set out an energy policy platform that diverges sharply from coalition partner NZ First, arguing New Zealand must accept coal-fired backup generation, consider nuclear power, remove political interference from the electricity sector and sell down the government’s majority stakes in the gentailers.
'Little to be hopeful about' – NZ scientists caution ahead of COP30
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
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.
Turkey set to host COP31 after reaching compromise with Australia
Fri 21 Nov 2025
The COP31 climate meeting is now expected to be held in Turkey after Australia dropped its bid to host the annual event.
‘We must keep 1.5 alive’ – Minister’s statement to climate summit
Wed 19 Nov 2025
By Liz Kivi | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has delivered New Zealand’s National Statement to this year’s United Nations climate summit, affirming the country’s commitment to international climate targets and saying “we must keep 1.5 alive.”
NZ’s energy system at a crossroads – report
Fri 21 Nov 2025
A new report says New Zealand’s rapid shift toward a 95% renewable electricity system is at a critical turning point, urging faster consenting, stronger firming solutions and better grid planning.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
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.
Foresters warn ETS reforms could fell innovation
Mon 17 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Elizabeth Heeg, chief executive officer for the Forest Owners Association, says forestry must not be stripped from the Emissions Trading Scheme, arguing that carbon income underpins forest management and rural resilience.
The hidden dangers in Canada’s oil and gas ambitions
Tue 18 Nov 2025
Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith thinks global demand for oil will grow to 2050, perhaps beyond, and the Alberta industry will be viable for a hundred years.
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.”
Oxfam urges NZ to renew climate funding as Pacific projects face closure
12 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Oxfam Aotearoa is calling on the Government to urgently renew New Zealand’s climate finance commitments, warning that vital projects supporting Pacific communities’ resilience are running out of funding.
TotalEnergies loses in Paris court, marking a turning point for fossil fuel truth-in-advertising
5 Nov 2025
TotalEnergies was found to have misled consumers about its role in the energy transition.
Lake Onslow battery project set for revival?
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.
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.
Ministers urge decisive methane action as global report shows progress, warns of gaps
Wed 19 Nov 2025
Media release: UN Environment Programme | The Global Methane Status Report, launched on the sidelines of COP30 in Belém, shows that while considerable progress has been made since the launch of the Global Methane Pledge in 2021, more work is required to align with the level of ambition and action needed to meet the Pledge.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
A landmark court ruling looms over US absence at COP30
Thu 20 Nov 2025
The historic climate change advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice suggests the United States is violating international law on climate, legal experts say.
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.
Greens put miners ‘on notice’, pledge to revoke fast-track approvals
Tue 18 Nov 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Greens have pledged to revoke fast-track consents for coal, hard-rock gold, and seabed mining projects if elected to government next year.
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 crucial system of ocean currents may be on course to collapse. This country just declared it a national security threat
Mon 17 Nov 2025
As evidence mounts these currents could be on course for collapse, Iceland’s government has made the unusual move of designating the risk a national security threat.
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.
Trump’s anti-climate agenda could result in 1.3m more deaths globally, analysis finds
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Fallout from increased emissions linked to president’s ‘America First’ policies expected to most affect those in poor, hot countries.
Thousands march outside COP30 summit in call for action
Tue 18 Nov 2025
Marching to the beat of pounding sound systems, thousands of climate protesters have been bringing their message to the gates of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
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.
New partnership to fast-track grid connections for major renewable and storage projects
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Powerco Transmission Services (PTS) has signed a new agreement with Kākāriki Renewables to streamline delivering large-scale wind, solar, and battery projects across New Zealand, in a move intended to accelerate the country’s transition to a low-emissions energy system.
Building resilient cities in a time of climate change
13 Nov 2025
Media release: Otago University | Local and international experts are meeting in Wellington this month to share their knowledge on creating healthier, more resilient cities in the face of the challenges posed by climate change.
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.
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.
New carbon calculator helps Kiwirail customers make sustainable choices
Fri 21 Nov 2025
Media release | KiwiRail has launched a carbon calculator to meet increasing demand from customers wanting to compare carbon emissions from rail, road and air.
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.
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.
‘It felt bloody awful’: Hope rises from Tongariro’s wildfire ashes
Fri 21 Nov 2025
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | A devastating wildfire scorched 3000 hectares of Tongariro National Park, but as recovery gets underway, conservation leaders say the blackened landscape could offer a rare chance for large-scale native regeneration. Local Democracy's Moana Ellis reports.
Southland windfarm plan moves through Fast Track process
Wed 19 Nov 2025
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter | A $1.1 billion Southland windfarm proposal has reared its head at a regional council after facing rejection earlier this year.
