Topics tagged with 'Transport'
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
23 Jul 2020
Parliament sits today in Wellington, while Environment Canterbury meets in Christchurch.
Niwa crew goes wrestling with the buoys
22 Jul 2020
Coronavirus border restrictions mean six Niwa staff face four straight months at sea in a bid to keep an international ocean research project afloat.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
22 Jul 2020
Sustainable finance is on the agenda for a Sustainable Business Network/Institute of Finance Professionals session today.
Cars rule as virus shakes up travel trends
22 Jul 2020
As with other parts of the global economy, covid-19 has led to rapid changes in transport trends.
Stored electricity can make cleaner fuels
22 Jul 2020
With renewable energy now the cheapest way of mass-producing electricity, the race is on to find the best way to conserve the surplus for use at peak times, and also to use the stored electricity to develop new fuels for transport.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
21 Jul 2020
Parliament sits today for the first time since Judith Collins replaced Todd Muller as Leader of the Opposition.
Push on with the plan, Aucklanders told
20 Jul 2020
Auckland's plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change should not be postponed because of the covid-19 pandemic, councillors are being told.
Australian flying car wins $1m grant
20 Jul 2020
The New South Wales government has awarded almost $1m from a regional grants fund to a company developing what deputy premier John Barilaro describes as an electric flying car.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
17 Jul 2020
Parliament resumes next week with a new-look National Party Front Bench.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
16 Jul 2020
The Government is taking applications to fast-track infrastructure projects through the consenting process, using the recently passed Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act.
Landfill costs will soar as dumping hits home
15 Jul 2020
The cost of dumping waste in landfills will rise as the Government tries to tackle the country’s mounting rubbish problem.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
15 Jul 2020
The Pre-Election Fiscal and Economic Update (known affectionately as the Prefu) will be released on August 20 – a month before the country goes to the polls.
Most Kiwis happy with our climate-change stand
14 Jul 2020
The majority of New Zealanders are satisfied with the Government’s climate-change programme, new research suggests.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
14 Jul 2020
The Government is taking applications to fast-track infrastructure projects through the consenting process, using the recently passed Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act.
Future of Big Industry uncertain, warns minister
13 Jul 2020
The future of the Marsden Point oil refinery, the Glenbrook steel mill and large-scale wood processing are all at risk as New Zealand decarbonises, infrastructure and regional development minister Shane Jones is warning.
Greens put pressure on coal-fired boilers
13 Jul 2020
The Green Party wants coal-fired industrial boilers outlawed within five years.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
13 Jul 2020
TODAY, talks for a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom get under way.
GAS CURSE: Mozambique’s multi-billion dollar gamble
13 Jul 2020
A decade after prospectors struck gas off Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, a consortium led by Total is signing contracts worth $16 billion to exploit it.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
10 Jul 2020
Negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom start on Monday.
CARBON CUTS: Smelter signals end of aluminium emissions
9 Jul 2020
One of New Zealand’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters is closing operations in New Zealand, potentially cutting the country’s missions by more than 1.5 million tonnes a year.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
9 Jul 2020
Applications to remove tree-weeds without incurring a carbon liability are now open.
The end of Tiwai Pt could open huge opportunities for NZ
9 Jul 2020
MEDIA RELEASE - COAL ACTION NETWORK AOTEAROA -The announced closure of Tiwai Point is welcome news for the clean energy future of New Zealand, and presents huge opportunities in areas such as electrifying transport and developing new, high-tech industries, Coal Action Network Aotearoa said today.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
8 Jul 2020
Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Select Committee today considers proposals to tighten up regulation of financial markets.
Livestock under pressure for nitrogen pollution
7 Jul 2020
The livestock sector is being singled out in new research for hugely increasing global nitrogen pollution.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
7 Jul 2020
A petition calling for decisions about spending for the covid-19 pandemic economic recovery to be governed by sustainability principles goes before MPs tomorrow.
Tesla top on back of tech boost and China sales
7 Jul 2020
Electric motor manufacturer Tesla became the world's most valuable carmaker last week, overtaking Toyota, despite never having made an annual profit.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
6 Jul 2020
Parliament is taking a break for the school holidays and will next sit on July 21.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW...
3 Jul 2020
Parliament is taking a break for the school holidays and will next sit on July 21.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW...
2 Jul 2020
The Government's plan to whizz some covid-19 pandemic economic recovery projects through the resource consenting processing is expected to be passed today.
Ministers advance with shovels at the ready
1 Jul 2020
Infrastructure minister Shane Jones says New Zealand should be focusing its climate-change action on preparing for the impacts of a warming climate.
Refinery rescue not on the agenda, says Jones
30 Jun 2020
The Government is aware of the role the Marsden Point oil refinery could play in the transition to a low-carbon economy, but buying it back is not on the agenda, the infrastructure minister says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
30 Jun 2020
Parliament sits today, with the Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill at number three on the order paper.
Capital's buses on fast track to electric drive
29 Jun 2020
Nearly a quarter of Wellington’s buses will be electric by 2023.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
29 Jun 2020
The Climate Change and Business Conference will go ahead this year.
Parker whips home third leg of climate trifecta
26 Jun 2020
The third leg of the Government’s climate change legislation trifecta came home this week.
Shipping needs to clean up act - and do it now
26 Jun 2020
The shipping industry is in urgent need of a makeover: while limited attempts are being made to lessen polluting emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases in the road transport and aviation sectors, shipping lags even further behind in the clean-up stakes.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
26 Jun 2020
The Carbon Market Institute holds a webinar today on participating in the Australian carbon market. OMFinancial’s head of commodities, Nigel Brunel, is one of the speakers.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
25 Jun 2020
Changes to the Resource Management Act requiring local councils to consider greenhouse gas emissions when granting resource consents are expected to be confirmed today.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
24 Jun 2020
The Environment Select Committee continues hearing submissions today on the Government’s plans to fast-track some of its covid-19 pandemic recovery projects through the Resource Management Act.
Denmark’s e-ferry passes sea trials in style
24 Jun 2020
The world’s largest all-electric ferry completed 10 months of trials last week, as the EU-funded project revealed that battery-powered boats will save operators money compared to their diesel counterparts during their decades of service.
Auckland can go big on emissions cuts
23 Jun 2020
Getting rid of rules about housing density and giving incentives for people to use public transport and buy electric vehicles could cut Auckland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, the OECD says.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ...
23 Jun 2020
Greater Wellington Regional Council’s climate committee meets today, with ways of implementing the Regional Climate Emergency Plan on the agenda.
Lobby group has work for $2b from ETS
22 Jun 2020
A powerful public-private lobby group – including the head of the Ministry for the Environment – wants money generated by the Emissions Trading Scheme put into a $2 billion fund to help companies to cut their energy emissions.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
22 Jun 2020
The Environment Select Committee meets today to discuss the Government’s covid-19 fast-tracked resource consent bill.
Green investment fund spreads its wings
19 Jun 2020
By GAVIN EVANS | New funding deals New Zealand Green Investment Finance is working up will show a variety of low-carbon benefits from a range of sectors, chief executive Craig Weise says.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
19 Jun 2020
Sunday is the last day for submissions on the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-Track Consenting) Bill – to grant resource consent in months rather than the usual years for projects likely to help the country’s economic recovery from the covid-19 pandemic.
Hands off our footprint, says Fonterra
18 Jun 2020
A report on the global dairy industry hugely overstates Fonterra’s carbon footprint, the New Zealand co-operative says.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
18 Jun 2020
The Environment Committee today discusses annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (known as the Marpol Convention).
Parliament does major job on ETS
17 Jun 2020
Parliament has passed major changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme, bringing agricultural emissions into the scheme and, for the first time, setting a cap on emissions.
Carbon markets risk penalising Indigenous stewardship, researchers warn
Thu 5 Mar 2026
Carbon markets designed to reward environmental restoration may be unintentionally disadvantaging Indigenous communities who have long protected intact ecosystems, according to new research.
Grasslands and wetlands are being gobbled up by agriculture, mostly livestock
Wed 4 Mar 2026
A new study takes a first-of-its kind look at how farming converts non-forested areas and major carbon sinks into cropland and pasture.
Auckland Airport switches on giant heat pump system to cut gas use
Fri 6 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | While Auckland Airport’s switch from gas to heat pumps is welcome, the emissions savings are dwarfed by ongoing aircraft emissions, which are set to rise, according to a sustainable transport expert.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
Tue 3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Half of nations meet UN deadline for nature-loss reporting
Wed 4 Mar 2026
Half of nations have met a UN deadline to report on how they are tackling nature loss within their borders, Carbon Brief analysis shows. This includes 11 of the 17 “megadiverse nations”, countries that account for 70% of Earth’s biodiversity.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
Unusual scarcity drives early 2026 NZU rally
Thu 5 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The New Zealand carbon price has recovered since its late 2025 collapse, although the rally is driven by scarcity rather than confidence in market settings.
Labour selects former UN climate official George Hampton for Christchurch Central
Today 11:45am
Media release | The Labour Party has selected senior United Nations climate official and business owner George Hampton as the candidate for Christchurch Central for 2026.
Bidders no-show at carbon auction – again
Tue 3 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | As predicted, today’s carbon auction yet again failed to attract any bidders, with NZUs currently trading hands on the secondary market at a 35% discount on this year’s auction floor price.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
25 Feb 2026
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
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.
Italy calls for suspension of EU carbon market
2 Mar 2026
The Italian Minister said the Emissions Trading System (ETS) has a "perverse effect" and is condemning European companies from being competitive with other countries, urging other member states to back the suspension.
The Last Empire: Why the Trump-Netanyahu war signals the fall of a civilisation
Today 11:45am
COMMENT: America is waging wars of expansion across two continents at the precise moment its energy foundations are giving way. The war on Iran is a stress test of a late-stage empire – and every indicator says it will fail.
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.
Almost $190k in relief funds help storm-hit Whangaruru coast
Today 11:45am
By Susan Botting, Local Democracy Reporter | More than two thirds of the $280,000 emergency relief fund set up to help weather-hit Whangaruru coast residents has been given out.
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.
The 15 foods destroying rainforests, in one simple chart
25 Feb 2026
It’s pretty much impossible to live a life free of environmental harm. But there is one thing you could do immediately that would help the planet a heck of a lot: eat less beef.
A gas shock – not an oil shock – from the Iran war looks more threatening
Wed 4 Mar 2026
Europe and Asia will take an economic hit if the supply of Qatari LNG is halted by the closure of the strait of Hormuz.
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.”
Gaps in adaptation taxonomies hinder climate finance in Asia: report
Thu 5 Mar 2026
Without clearer criteria and metrics in adaptation taxonomies, Asia risks widening its climate financing gap, warns a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Surviving on Trump's dangerous planet
2 Mar 2026
COMMENT: Yet another war, and yet another argument for an end to oil.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
Today 11:45am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
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.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
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.
EDS puts environmental lawmaking under the spotlight
26 Feb 2026
Media Release |The Environmental Defence Society has launched the first in a series of investigative pieces into how environmental laws are being made in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Climate 'dream team' launches foundation targeting 100 million tonnes in emissions cuts
25 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The New Zealand Climate Foundation, which has the ambitious aim of cutting 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, had its official launch on Monday.
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.
Carbon auction set to be another non-event
2 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | Tomorrow’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction – the first for 2026 – is set to be a non-event, with secondary market prices more than $25 below this year’s $71 auction floor price.
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.
Tiny, lost and constipated: what a baby turtle told Australian scientists about warming seas
Fri 6 Mar 2026
The arrival of loggerheads in New South Wales shows these ‘sentinels of climate change’ are being forced into unknown territory.
The world’s largest climate finance deal was built to flounder: why funding fails to reach the front‑line
Fri 6 Mar 2026
Adopted in December 2015, the Paris Agreement commits countries to keeping global temperature rise below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
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?
Rule changes could reshape corporate emissions strategies
Fri 6 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand organisations may need to rethink how they manage and report electricity-related emissions as proposed global accounting changes take shape, according to a new report.
Should we tax the rich to pay for climate costs? Poll says yes
Fri 6 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New polling has found most New Zealanders support higher taxes on the ultra-rich to help fund public goods such as healthcare, housing and climate action.
Media round-up
20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
Brazil and India agree to boost cooperation on rare earths
24 Feb 2026
Brazil and India sealed a deal Saturday on critical minerals and rare earths, enhancing cooperation on crucial resources between two major countries of the global south as they seek to diversify their trading relationships.
PPA template aims to cut transaction costs and accelerate renewable investment
Fri 6 Mar 2026
Media release – DLA Piper | An energy industry initiative led by BusinessNZ Energy Council, Zeale (formerly EVA Marketplace) and DLA Piper has released New Zealand’s first publicly available, standardised template for corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs), designed to reduce transaction costs and unlock more financing to accelerate renewable energy projects.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
Thu 5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
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.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
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.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
Today 11:45am
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
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.
Empty emergency reserve forces $6.1m flood repair loan
2 Mar 2026
By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter | A depleted emergency fund has forced Marlborough to borrow $6.1 million to repair damage from last year's floods.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Western Australian communities want mandatory payments from new renewable developments
Fri 6 Mar 2026
The West Australian government wants to make new wind and solar farms pay into community funds, but host towns say more work needs to be done to make sure the payments actually happen.
