Topics tagged with 'Technology'
Government backs cuts to reach 1.5deg
9 Oct 2018
The Government backs emissions cuts in line with keeping global warming to no more than 1.5deg, and says negotiations with the National Party for cross-party agreement on climate policy are going well.
IPCC: Reaching 1.5deg is no easy task
8 Oct 2018
Keeping global warming to no more than 1.5deg is possible and sensible, but it will not be easy, the International Panel on Climate Change says.
Unions put case for place in low-carbon economy
5 Oct 2018
Unions will put the Government on notice today over what they think a “just transition” to a low-carbon economy actually means.
Public backs Govt's long-term climate strategy
4 Oct 2018
The Government’s plans to lock climate policy into long-term legislation – and to include all methane – has overwhelming public support.
MONDAY'S MESSAGE: Quite simply, it's up to us
3 Oct 2018
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | One of the most important scientific papers ever produced will be released on Monday, and the ramifications for New Zealand could be huge.
Why all new buildings should be carbon-neutral
20 Sep 2018
Requiring all new buildings to be carbon-neutral is the most cost-effective emissions-reduction action New Zealand can take, the Government is being told.
Company wins $3.1m to recycle industrial waste
21 Aug 2018
Auckland company Green Gorilla has won a $3.1 million government grant to recycle commercial and industrial waste.
Government takes aim at synthetic gases
20 Aug 2018
Synthetic greenhouses gases, like those used in refrigeration and air conditioning, could come under a new product stewardship regime.
Companies offer e-cars on subscription
20 Aug 2018
Electric vehicles could soon be available on subscription.
Latest ETS review kicks off next month
18 Jul 2018
Consultation on the next review of the Emissions Trading Scheme will start next month.
Act or face financial crisis, warns leading banker
13 Jul 2018
New central bank head Adrian Orr is warning of financial crisis and mass social unrest if the world doesn’t urgently address climate change.
OPINION: If energy grew on trees
20 Jun 2018
By JONATHAN McKEOWN | It is always refreshing when structures and processes work as they were designed to. It’s an absolute triumph when it involves the public sector, an industry body and business.
Shaw invites Nats to work on Zero Carbon Act
12 Jun 2018
Climate minister James Shaw has invited the National Party to help him to draft the Zero Carbon Act.
Tax system must go green, says enviro group
17 May 2018
Another organisation is telling the Government to shift the tax burden from the production of private wealth to the consumption of public wealth, aka the environment.
Natural gas not the solution, claims new report
10 May 2018
Natural gas is not a transition fuel to a low-carbon economy – and the Government should go further than just banning all new offshore exploration licences, a new report says.
Industrial emissions can be cut - but it's not easy
30 Apr 2018
Soaring emissions from the industrial sector can be cut through improved efficiency and using lower-emissions fuels, but there’s no easy fix, the Productivity Commission says.
Here's why we need a carbon price cap of $100
29 Mar 2018
An immediate carbon price cap of $100 a tonne and a $25 price floor is needed if New Zealand is to be carbon-neutral by 2050, says former Environment Secretary Dr Roger Blakeley.
Z aims for A-plus in transition to new energy
28 Feb 2018
Mike Bennetts is determined his company, Z Energy, will not have a Kodak moment.
Yoogo is a-go-go in Christchurch
16 Feb 2018
The Southern Hemisphere’s biggest deployment of pure-battery electric cars has been launched in Christchurch.
How Shaw intends to massively change our lives
30 Jan 2018
Climate minister James Shaw has outlined economic changes on the scale of those brought in by Michael Joseph Savage in 1935 and Roger Douglas in 1984.
Business chiefs call for carbon transparency
11 Dec 2017
Leading chief financial officers, chairs of pension funds and the chief executives of global accounting bodies – including one from New Zealand - are calling for transparency about carbon exposure.
C'mon Kiwis, says economist, show the world how
1 Dec 2017
New Zealand is being challenged to show the world how to decarbonise without tanking.
‘War on coal’ goes global with $50m fund
13 Nov 2017
A billionaire’s campaign has seen half of US coal plants close in six years. Now he is targeting Europe and beyond to fight climate change and air pollution.
Rooftop gardens a game-changer for Wellington
3 Nov 2017
Wellingtonians want rooftop gardens – and the idea is being investigated by the city’s university.
Toyota urges NZ to get out of big-emitting cars
10 Oct 2017
New Zealanders are buying bigger cars, damaging the country’s chances of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, say Toyota New Zealand chief Alistair Davis.
Why we need a carbon price of $100 ... or more
5 Oct 2017
Carbon prices of $100 a tonne - and possibly as high as $225 – are being foreshadowed in a new report.
WATCHDOG WARNS: Act now or face 'great risk'
5 Oct 2017
New Zealand will be stuck with high-emitting technologies if it doesn’t move to cut emissions soon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is warning.
Emissions group to probe lack of carbon cap
10 Aug 2017
New Zealand’s lack of a carbon cap is one of the issues on the table for the Productivity Commission.
Nuclear revival looks set to falter
7 Aug 2017
Hopes of a nuclear revival to combat climate change have been dashed as another prestige project runs into trouble.
Political uncertainty the enemy of carbon markets
4 Jul 2017
Lack of political certainty is damaging the effectiveness of carbon markets, says new research.
Humans better at rapid change than we think
4 May 2017
A new study provides evidence that humans are capable of radically altering the world around us, and offers hope in the face of climate change.
Will blazing a low-carbon path pay off for California?
20 Feb 2017
President Trump has made it clear he intends to dismantle the Obama administration’s policies for reducing US greenhouse gas emissions.
Australia’s energy grid can't handle extreme heat
13 Feb 2017
Australia’s energy system must be overhauled to ensure reliable power in the face of severe heatwaves and other extreme climate change-driven weather, says the Climate Council.
Linking carbon market would be a clever move
1 Feb 2017
New Zealand could cut the cost of meeting its international emissions reductions targets by linking its carbon market to emerging markets in Asia.
Hybrid cars join emissions reporting regime
16 Dec 2016
Hybrid cars have been brought into the voluntary greenhouse gas report regime for the first time.
Anxious oil countries look at low-carbon future
13 Dec 2016
Squeezed budgets and rising energy demand will significantly heighten the demand and use of renewable and energy efficiency technologies across the Middle East, says a new white paper.
ZERO EMISSIONS: Study will show us how to do it
9 Dec 2016
An international economist is in New Zealand preparing a report on how the country can cut all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Takanini joins e-charger network
9 Dec 2016
Auckland’s southern-most public electric vehicle charger has opened in Takanini.
Anxious investors plead for clear climate policy
6 Dec 2016
Australian investors want clear climate policy that delivers certainty – and access to international carbon markets, says the Investor Group on Climate Change.
Trump can't stop rising use of fossil fuels
30 Nov 2016
Climate policies will keep chipping away at fossil fuels’ role as the mainstay of global energy use, despite Donald Trump’s appointment as United States president in 2017, according to a new report by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
World needs major emissions cuts by 2020, says report
17 Nov 2016
All key sectors– including commercial agriculture – must have major emissions cuts under way by 2020 if the world is to keep global warming within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5deg limit, a new report says.
We can’t bet on renewable energy to save the world
9 Nov 2016
The Paris climate agreement has now officially come into force most people have hailed it as a huge success and a significant milestone in our quest to limit the effects of global climate change.
Government prepares for 2030 carbon price of $152
8 Nov 2016
The Government is pricing carbon into its forward projections at up to $152 a tonne in 2030.
Climate change momentum begins today with Marrakech
8 Nov 2016
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech has started - just three days after the Paris Agreement entered into force.
Freight operators can make huge savings, says expert
4 Oct 2016
Planning and co-operation could see the freight sector cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent, says an international expert.
How companies get smart about climate change
15 Sep 2016
The Paris Agreement not only signalled social change but also sent the market a strong signal to move away from carbon-intensive investment.
Modified wood aims to save forests from the axe
15 Sep 2016
A hardwood substitute has been developed to effectively end the need to log native forests.
Sugarcane waste takes on new powers
23 Aug 2016
Sugarcane waste is to be turned into power in new biomass plants in the Philippines.
DIRTY DOZEN: Big firms who traded in cheap units
16 Aug 2016
Some of New Zealand’s largest carbon emitters, along with forestry companies and even iwi are among the organisations that used cheap EURs to meet their liabilities under the Emissions Trading Scheme, a new report shows.
It's not easy being green when you're poor
20 Jul 2016
The transition to a clean-energy future is upon us, as shown by the huge uptake of solar panels and by the Turnbull government’s decision to set up a A$1 billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund. But what about those people who are at risk of being left behind?
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
Wed 20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
The US Department of Agriculture bans support for renewables, a lifeline for farmers
Thu 21 Aug 2025
The agency said it’s concerned that farmland is being consumed by wind and solar facilities – which occupy a tiny fraction of the country’s productive acres.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
Wed 20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Media round-up
15 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Australia could be about to leapfrog New Zealand on climate targets; 'strangled' rivers are fighting back; and 10 rangatahi will join Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation at the United Nations' major climate conference in Brazil.
Govt opts for status quo for ETS auctions
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has chosen not to increase auction volumes in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a decision applauded by carbon market insiders and climate campaigners alike, despite it contradicting the Climate Change Commission’s advice.
‘A climate of unparalleled malevolence’: are we on our way to the sixth major mass extinction?
Thu 21 Aug 2025
Churning quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at the rate we are going could lead the planet to another Great Dying.
Forestry the source of all ETS risk, says top economist
15 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Forestry is the source of all of the risk in New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme and it's inevitable that the scheme has to be reformed, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment chief economist Geoff Simmons.
Activists facing intimidation tactics at Bathurst mine
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Liberation Aotearoa activists suspended 80m high in a coal bucket at a the Stockton mine on the West Coast say coal mining company Bathurst Resources is using ‘hostile’ tactics to try and remove them.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
Mon 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.”
Dry winter pushed up Spark’s emissions
Thu 21 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Increased use of coal and natural gas to generate electricity in the last year caused a spike in scope 1 and 2 emissions reported by telecommunications operator Spark NZ.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
'Sam the Trap Man' on why he's running for council
Thu 21 Aug 2025
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | From the bush to Gisborne’s council chambers is what “Sam the Trap Man” hopes to achieve this October.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Cyclone Gabrielle’s intense rainfall made landslides inevitable
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Cyclone Gabrielle was one of the most extreme landslide-triggering events ever recorded globally.
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
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.
Governments in Global South get dedicated support to tap into carbon markets
Thu 21 Aug 2025
Media release – VCMI | A new toolkit will help emerging markets and developing economies decide how best to generate and sell carbon credits to access climate finance, accelerate innovation and help close the $1.3 trillion climate finance gap.
Will reflective roofs help beat the heat?
15 Aug 2025
Media release - University of Auckland | About 500 roofs across four continents have been painted with a reflective coating, as part of research into tackling the health impacts of climate change.
How the meat industry uses environmental groups to make beef seem climate-friendly
11 Aug 2025
The meat industry may have enlisted environmental groups to persuade people to “feel better” about eating beef, despite the sector’s ballooning emissions of climate-heating pollution.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
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.
Why insurers worry the world could soon become uninsurable
11 Aug 2025
Top insurers fear the climate crisis could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable.
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.
Forestry sector could take legal action over ETS changes
14 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The forestry sector is threatening legal action against the Government over changes to legislation intended to limit whole farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
13 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has been focussed on reducing the Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ and carbon prices should rise soon, according to the Secretary for the Environment.
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.
Oil states accused of using scare tactics in bid to sink green shipping deal
12 Aug 2025
Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oil-reliant countries are campaigning to stop the adoption of the IMO’s Net-zero Framework in October.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Failed plastic treaty 'significant disappointment'
Mon 18 Aug 2025
The failure of negotiations on a legally-binding global plastics treaty is a "significant disappointment," but no treaty is still better than a weak one, according to a New Zealand expert.
Strong NZ representation in upcoming global climate report
Thu 21 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Eighteen New Zealanders are among more than 600 experts appointed by the IPCC for its next painstaking scientific deep dive into the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
'Not giving up' – Right to repair bill in doubt
Thu 21 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bill that would make it easier for New Zealanders to access spare parts and the information to repair a product themselves while also cutting carbon emissions is looking unlikely to make it into law.
Govt rejects Te Kuha coal mine fast-track bid
13 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The controversial Te Kuha coal mine on the West Coast has had its application for fast-track approval declined, after failing to meet seven of the application criteria.
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.
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’.
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.
African $60 billion high-speed rail project takes shape
15 Aug 2025
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Africa has received a new update that could see construction begin soon.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
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.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
