Topics tagged with 'Technology'
Taiwan diary: Bicycle Kingdom
24 Mar 2023
Jeremy Rose | Just as the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan - formally known as the Republic of China - once competed for the title of Middle Kingdom the phrase Bicycle Kingdom has been liberally applied to both.
Aussie rooftop solar payback periods are back down to near record-lows
21 Mar 2023
Rising Australian power prices are bringing rooftop solar payback periods back down towards the record low seen in 2020, almost completely wiping out the impact of higher component costs.
‘Dead’ electric car batteries find a second life powering cities
15 Mar 2023
Last month, a small warehouse in the English city of Nottingham received the crucial final components for a project that leverages the power of used EV batteries to create a new kind of circular economy.
What Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse means for climate tech
15 Mar 2023
As the buoyancy drained out of the tech sector last year, leading to almost 100,000 job cuts in the U.S., cleantech looked like a bright spot.
Hydrogen aircraft: Fool me once?
14 Mar 2023
By Robert McLachan- Planet Ecology | NEW YORK TIMES – Virtually unnoticed abroad except by aviation experts, a recent broadcast by Russian television showed an ordinary-looking airliner roaring aloft from a Moscow-area airport, trailing a stream of condensing steam instead of the usual kerosene smoke.
Companies eye ‘carbon insetting’ as winning climate solution; critics wary
14 Mar 2023
Carbon offsetting has a controversial 25-year history, with companies like Microsoft and Apple pledging their plans to go carbon neutral, or negative, by allowing aspects of their operations to continue emitting at a certain level, while removing as much, or more, carbon from the air via reforestation or other projects elsewhere in the world.
Dairy-alternative Kiwi start-up raises $1.5 million in seed funding round
10 Mar 2023
Daisy Lab, a precision fermentation start up, has successfully closed an oversubscribed $1.5 million seed funding round.
Mass timber should "always start with forest health": expert
10 Mar 2023
Increasing use of mass timber in architecture is driving good forest management practices in the United States, says Forest Business Network co-founder Arnie Didier in this interview as part of our Timber Revolution series.
Solar takes centre stage as renewables and batteries dominate new power capacity in US
9 Mar 2023
Wind, solar, and battery storage are expected to account for nearly all of the new utility-scale generating capacity set to be brought online in the United States this year.
Microalgae to help capture carbon from power plants in new research venture
2 Mar 2023
US researchers have been awarded a $2 million grant from the Department of Energy to explore the potential of microalgae to absorb CO₂ emissions from industrial power plants.
By adding timber to old buildings, Stockholm is expanding sustainably
28 Feb 2023
A three-storey red brick building has stood in Stockholm’s southern neighborhood of Hammarby Sjöstad since 1928. Once a hosiery factory, the Trikåfabriken building is the oldest remnant of the area’s industrial past.
Startups tackling waste win big at Orion Energy Accelerator pitch event
24 Feb 2023
Media release - Two startups with novel ways of converting waste into energy have won big at the second Orion Energy Accelerator pitch night.
Heat from an Amazon data center is warming Dublin’s buildings
22 Feb 2023
Cities are capturing heat emitted by computer servers and using it to warm everything from government buildings to college dorms.
“Clean energy arms race:” NSW Labor promises state-owned body modelled on CEFC
21 Feb 2023
The New South Wales Coalition government and the state Labor opposition have upped the ante on their election campaign promises to accelerate the transition of the country’s biggest and most coal dependent grid to a global leader on wind, solar and storage.
Will this new carbon capture technology help solve the climate crisis?
20 Feb 2023
Researchers in the United States say they have developed a new system for capturing carbon dioxide that is the least expensive ever created. The process requires less energy and water than any technology produced before it.
Why African EV startups are struggling
17 Feb 2023
In 2021, Nigerian mobility startup Metro Africa Xpress (MAX) became Africa’s most-funded startup in the electric vehicle (EV) space when it raised $31 million in a series B round to expand into Ghana and Egypt.
World Bank links carbon credits to $50M bond for water purifiers
17 Feb 2023
After the success of its Rhino bond, the World Bank revamped it with a $50 million Emission Reduction-Linked Bond that will channel up-front financing to low-carbon development projects generating carbon credits like the water purification project in Vietnam.
$2.5 million in government grants for decarbonising maritime industry
15 Feb 2023
EECA is offering $2.5 million, in the 8th round of its Low Emissions Transport Fund, for projects that can demonstrate emissions savings in the maritime industry.
World’s largest onshore wind turbine, and the first to reach 10MW, debuts in China
15 Feb 2023
Chinese wind energy company Envision Energy has reportedly debuted a new 10MW onshore wind turbine, the largest of its kind and boasting the world’s largest rotor diameter.
Home battery boom: Are Aussies being worried and annoyed into adding solar storage?
15 Feb 2023
Constant reminders of the precarious state of Australia’s transitioning electricity grid could be pushing more consumers into residential batteries – even when the cost-benefit equation isn’t going their way.
Invisible solar panels "finally allow cultural heritage to access solar energy"
13 Feb 2023
Italian company Dyaqua, which has developed a way to produce solar panels so that they resemble the barrel clay tiles common on the roofs of buildings in Italy, has said the technology is important for the sustainable redevelopment of historical sites.
Fighting climate change was costly. Now it’s profitable
9 Feb 2023
It is a good time to be in the decarbonization business in the United States. The Inflation Reduction Act—with its $374 billion cornucopia of green incentives, subsidies, and grants—was designed to entice private companies to invest in the transition away from fossil fuels
Denmark awards first-ever contracts for carbon storage offshore
7 Feb 2023
The Danish government said Monday it awarded contracts for carbon capture and storage to three major energy companies in its first-ever pursuit of the sequestration technology.
How bamboo can help solve the world housing and climate crises
7 Feb 2023
Many variants of bamboo are ready to harvest in three years and as bamboo grows it absorbs carbon from the atmosphere, with one hectare of bamboo sequestering about 17 tonnes of carbon a year.
How can carbon tagging digital payments help to tackle climate change?
3 Feb 2023
The majority of the goods and services that we purchase each day generate greenhouse gas emissions. Linking the digital data on these transactions to their carbon footprint could help households and businesses to make more informed decisions, and enable better targeted policy interventions.
“World first” solar methanol plant to feed off Port Augusta solar thermal project
31 Jan 2023
A “world-first” solar methanol production facility – providing green fuels for the shipping and aviation industry – to be built in Port Augusta, taking heat and electricity from what is hoped to be the country’ first large scale solar thermal project.
Architecture firm envisions Vancouver in 2100 with predicted sea level rise
30 Jan 2023
Dutch architecture studio MVRDV has released a study that aims to offer possible solutions to urban planning in the face of rising sea levels by reimagining the Vancouver waterfront.
Clean energy sets $1.1 trillion record that’s bound to be broken
30 Jan 2023
Last year was a double milestone for decarbonizing the world’s energy system. It was the first year when investment in the energy transition equaled global investment in fossil fuels, according to the latest data release from clean energy research group BloombergNEF.
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.
‘World first’ carbon capture plant for smelters opens in Norway
24 Jan 2023
A carbon capture pilot for smelters – billed as a ‘world first’ – has been officially inaugurated in Rana, Norway.
Bill Gates invests in Aussie startup trying to stop cows burping methane
24 Jan 2023
Bill Gates joined a slew of billionaires investing in an Australian climate technology startup as Microsoft Corp's MSFT Breakthrough Energy Ventures LLC participated in a $12 million Phase 2 seed funding round for Rumin8 Pty.
Railcar start-up promises to cut passenger emissions by 97%
23 Dec 2022
By Jeremy Rose | A Christchurch start-up with plans to build battery-powered railcars says the technology has the potential to slash the emissions per passenger kilometre travelled by 97%.
Thousands demand right to repair
23 Dec 2022
Last July, Repair Café Aotearoa presented environment minister David Parker with a petition signed by 12,901 people calling on the government to introduce right to repair legislation.
Papal indulgences, government subsidies and making a fine craft beer
23 Dec 2022
By Jeremy Rose | The CEO, co-founder and head brewer of Upper Hutt’s Kereru craft brewery, Christopher Mills, is delighted to be asked about the effort the company is putting into being environmentally friendly.
Swiss Microlino reboots bubble car with electric model
23 Dec 2022
Two Swiss brothers are seeking to put their country back on the carmaking map by reviving a 1950s motoring classic with an electric twist.
Minnesota's solar boom 10 years later
21 Dec 2022
It sounded absurd, the idea of spending a large sum of money to install solar panels in a Minnesota farm field that is covered in snow for much of the year.
Aussie Sunswift 7 solar car claims EV world record
21 Dec 2022
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sunswift Racing Team is the new provisional Guinness World Record holder for ‘Fastest Electric Vehicle over 1000km on a single charge’.
Aotearoa's largest wooden office building on the way for Tauranga
20 Dec 2022
Work is starting next month on what will be New Zealand's largest wooden office building, with builders aiming for a net zero carbon footprint for its construction process.
Facing headwinds at home, Europe and Japan are pushing waste-to-energy technology across South East Asia
20 Dec 2022
For decades, waste-to-energy has been a key waste management tool in developed countries. Now, they are looking to developing markets. There are dozens of waste-to-energy incineration plants planned or under construction across South East Asia using Japanese and European technology and framed as clean or renewable.
Government seeks feedback on offshore renewables
16 Dec 2022
The Government is seeking public feedback on the development of offshore renewable energy infrastructure like wind farms.
Best by the rest...
16 Dec 2022
Carbon market reforms mean big emitters may be eligible for more free credits; should cruise ships be banned from Milford Sound? and the slow pace of targeting agricultural production to a lucrative overseas market which puts a high value on sustainability.
Tiny cars, big opportunity
15 Dec 2022
Do you know your autocycles from your quadricycles? Your golf carts from your LSVs?
Opening of Tranmission Gully could pave way to Paekākāriki community windfarm
14 Dec 2022
By Isabella Cleary | Promoters of a community-operated windfarm near Paekākāriki, north of Wellington, are hopeful the completion of the Transmission Gully motorway will free up land needed for the project.
SolarZero and virtual power plants
14 Dec 2022
SolarZero has built on the launch of its nationwide virtual power plant with a specific geographic version.
Big tech is laying off workers. The growing ‘green collar’ job industry hopes to recruit them
14 Dec 2022
According to a Deloitte, more than 800 million jobs around the world are “highly vulnerable” due to climate change and the move toward net-zero. More than 13 million of them are in the U.S., notes Deloitte Global Human Capital Practice Leader Art Mazor.
New electric-hydrofoil to ply Hauraki Gulf
9 Dec 2022
Media release - Fullers360, the country’s largest ferry operator, has partnered with Auckland-based sustainable boating designers, Seachange, to bring a premium 10-seater zero-emission hydrofoiling F8 vessel to the Hauraki Gulf from September 2023.
New Australian EV tax deals will deliver $20k saving for BYD Atto 3 leases
9 Dec 2022
Australians with an eye to buy one of the country’s most popular electric vehicles (EVs) need to start talking to their boss, as novated leasing and tax deals make BYD’s highly sought after Atto 3 even more attractive.
Four-wheel e-cargo bike delivering scooter batteries in Wellington
6 Dec 2022
Micro-mobility company Beam is trialling what could well be the country’s first four-wheel e-cargo bike in Wellington.
NZ Post’s purpose-built bikes back in business - temporarily
6 Dec 2022
Last week NZ Post announced there would be delays in deliveries due to “issues” with its Norwegian-built electric Paxster postal buggies.
£35m carbon neutral high school opens in Cheltenham
5 Dec 2022
A £35m carbon neutral high school has opened its doors to pupils.
Fifty years of observations, no reversal of glacier climate damage
31 Mar 2026
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Fifty years on from the first aerial survey of our Southern Alps glaciers, late snow and variable summer weather delivered a temporary reprieve from rapid ice loss, says Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Climate experts say spring is coming earlier. How will that affect agriculture and ecosystems?
Tue 7 Apr 2026
An earlier spring affects when migratory birds arrive, leaves emerge, and fruit ripens — among plants and animals that determine ecosystem health.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
Environmental groups launch legal action over Govt's 'tick-box approach' to conservation land
Today 11:30am
By Liz Kivi | Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society are taking the Government to court over decisions about the future of publicly-owned land on Te Tai Poutini/the West Coast.
Genesis fires up pellet study with Nature’s Flame
Today 11:30am
By Pattrick Smellie | Genesis Energy is extending its quest for locally produced torrefied wood pellets to supplement coal and gas to fuel its Huntly power station, announcing it is investigating plant construction with established local solid fuels player Nature’s Flame.
Supply-side pressures and political uncertainty ahead for carbon market
Tue 7 Apr 2026
By Kristen Green | ANALYSIS: With failed auctions, a surge of new forestry registrations, and an election a few months away, the NZ ETS in 2026 will be subject to a mix of supply-side pressures and political uncertainty.
Oil prices choppy after expletive-laden Trump threat to Iran
Today 11:30am
Oil prices saw choppy trading on Monday after US President Donald Trump threatened to destroy critical infrastructure in Iran unless it allows ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
Economic contraction will impact carbon market
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | While higher fossil fuel prices strengthen the long-run economics of decarbonisation, the current fuel crisis won’t inspire near-term confidence in the carbon market, according to Lizzie Chambers of Carbon Match.
Asia ramps up use of dirty fuels to cover energy shortfall triggered by Iran war
Thu 2 Apr 2026
South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plants
Death toll in Afghanistan flooding increases to 28, authorities say
1 Apr 2026
Afghan authorities said Monday that the death toll from severe weather that has struck swathes of the country over the past four days has increased to 28, with 49 people injured. Dozens of people have died from extreme weather in the country so far this year.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
EA entrenches 10kW export limit for residential solar
Today 11:30am
By Pattrick Smellie | The Electricity Authority intends to require all electricity networks to offer at least a 10 kilowatt (kW) export capacity for residential rooftop and other small-scale distributed generation.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Severe tropical cyclones Maila And Vaianu threaten communities in Solomon Islands, PNG and Fiji
Today 11:30am
Media release: 350.org |Two Category 3 Tropical Cyclones are currently moving through the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, while experts watch a third system potentially developing in the North Pacific.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Renewable build-out runs into grid and firming limits
Today 11:30am
New Zealand's electricity market entered 2026 with renewable generation at record levels and a substantial build pipeline finally moving from paper to construction. The harder question is whether the wider system can absorb and firm that capacity fast enough.
A matter of strategy
Tue 7 Apr 2026
COMMENT: Even on the brink of a global commodities crisis, the possibilities for climate action aren't hopelessly foreclosed. Strategy can turn our fortunes around, writes David Hall.
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.”
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New international protections for migratory species, including several found in New Zealand, are a positive step – but global protections won’t halt the decline of migratory species on their own, experts say.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
Labour mulls GIDI 2.0 as factory closures mount
1 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Factory closures across the country could have been prevented if the last Labour-led government’s GIDI fund to assist companies with the cost of electrification hadn't been scrapped, Labour energy spokesperson, Megan Woods, says.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial 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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Free fares call as fuel crisis impacts school attendance
Today 11:30am
An open letter is urging the Government to make public transport free for all school children and subsidised for students under 25, as rising fuel costs begin to impact attendance and access to education across the country.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Britain hits renewable power record in 2025, but fossil fuel use also up
Today 11:30am
Renewable power such as wind and solar provided a record 52.5% of Britain’s electricity generation in 2025, government data showed on Thursday, but fossil fuel use also rose.
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
Thu 2 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists | The Prioritisation Report released yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Fuel crisis powers surge in EV interest in Asia-Pacific region
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Motorists across the Asia-Pacific region are switching to electric vehicles at a rapid pace, as rising fuel costs due to the Middle East war force consumers and companies to reconsider their reliance on petrol and diesel vehicles.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
1 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Fast-track approved project could deliver NZ’s largest wind farm
Tue 7 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Government |Fast-track approval has been granted for New Zealand’s largest wind farm project.
