Topics tagged with 'Transport'
China helping London’s famous black cabs to turn green
13 Apr 2015
It’s the most famous taxi in the world and a British icon, rivalling the Queen and red pillar boxes for global recognition. Now there’s a battle to make London’s black cabs greener.
Hydrogen moves could trigger $44 billion green economy, says Toshiba
7 Apr 2015
The carbon-neutral hydrogen economy will be worth more than $44 billion by 2030, says Toshiba Corporation.
BP’s extreme climate forecast puts energy giant in a bind
7 Apr 2015
BP’s annual Energy Outlook report details the results from modelling of what it sees as the “most likely” energy scenario out to 2035.
Hi-tech farming seen as way to green the food chain
7 Apr 2015
Connected agriculture – from farm to retail – has been promoted at an event in Brussels as the way to wean European agriculture off its addiction to chemicals, water and fossil fuels.
Wynyard scheme adopts green rating
30 Mar 2015
A new housing development in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter will be the first to use the new 7 Homestar environmental rating.
We're in the right gear to hit the e-car highway
23 Mar 2015
New Zealand could be one of the first countries with a complete network of charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles, the Electricity Networks’ Association says.
On yer bike, says pedal-power Mike
23 Mar 2015
Former Greenpeace activist Michael Tritt has found a new way, for him, to save the world – business.
Lots of hot air about heat, but why is no one talking about sustainable cooling?
23 Mar 2015
Without cooling, the supply of food, medicine and data would simply break down.
Why is pumping CO2 underground stuck in second gear?
16 Mar 2015
There are many uncertainties with respect to global climate change, but there is one thing about which I have no doubts: we will not solve climate change by running out of fossil fuels.
Four ways to boost Australia’s economy and help the climate
9 Mar 2015
Australia likely has several decades of coal left in it.
New Zealand’s defective law on climate change, by Sir Geoffrey Palmer
23 Feb 2015
Distinguished law fellow Sir Geoffrey Palmer, QC, has been at or near the heart of our attempts to tackled climate change for nearly three decades.
Rice serves up double measure of biofuel and fodder
16 Feb 2015
Japanese scientists have found a potential answer to the biofuel dilemma that if you grow crops for energy, you have to sacrifice crops for food.
Good in the Hood makes a $1m return
16 Feb 2015
MEDIA RELEASE: Z’s Good in the Hood is back for 2015, offering a share of more than $1 million to local groups that help people who need it.
Climate debt grows as Australia messes about
9 Feb 2015
Policy procrastination over climate change is costing Australia money, a new analysis shows.
Cheap fuel little help with emissions, says expert
9 Feb 2015
Cheap fuel prices will do little to help New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions profile, says transport and energy expert Professor Ralph Simms.
Asia powers into the forefront of solar revolution
9 Feb 2015
By PAUL BROWN.- China has overtaken the European Union as the largest new market for solar power.
Yes, we can live well and avoid climate disaster, says report
9 Feb 2015
The world can enjoy higher standards of living and more travel, while drastically cutting emissions to avoid dangerous climate change – but only with sweeping changes to our infrastructure, the natural world and agriculture, a new analysis has found.
Gas will replace oil in the UK – with or without fracking
9 Feb 2015
MPs in the UK recently needed more time voted against a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, but Lancashire, the local county council under most pressure, agreed it
Yes minister, but ...
2 Feb 2015
In a piece published in the Guardian recently, Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt was purported to have once again rejected claims that a price on carbon would benefit emissions reduction targets.
Will Obama’s methane plan reduce dependence on natural gas?
2 Feb 2015
By NATHAN PHILLIPS.- Like many Americans concerned with climate change and energy security, I reacted with high hopes to the President Obama’s proposal to reduce leaks of methane gas from oil and gas drilling.
Sustainability experts take to the stage
2 Feb 2015
Waikato University experts on sustainability will come together later this month.
Energy pours into cutting-edge conservation ideas
27 Jan 2015
A battery that could treble electric car mileage and cut costs is among the innovations moving closer to reality on the frontiers of science.
Coal casts cloud over Germany’s energy revolution
27 Jan 2015
The energy market in Germany saw a spectacular change last year as renewable energy became the major source of its electricity supply − leaving lignite, coal and nuclear behind.
Kiwi keeps an eye on Qatar project environment
27 Jan 2015
A New Zealander is in the Middle East working to reduce the environmental impacts of a major sea port project.
Transport and heating force up gas emissions
22 Dec 2014
Greenhouse gas emissions from energy are up as the burning of gas and oil for transport and heating cancels out gains from renewable electricity production.
Minister's transport plan just tokenism, says expert
22 Dec 2014
The Government is being accused of tokenism in its attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transport.
Climate expert: It's all smoke and mirrors, Mr Groser
15 Dec 2014
New Zealand is using smoke and mirrors to meet its 2020 emissions reduction target, when it could get there by using clean heating and transport technologies, says one of our leading scientists.
We're facing a $3b carbon crisis ... and it could be worse
8 Dec 2014
New Zealand has a $3 billion carbon headache looming – and Treasury says that’s the conservative estimate.
The country needs a carbon budget, says pressure group
8 Dec 2014
A climate change lobby group is calling for a national carbon budget and legally binding emissions reduction targets.
Paper mill sets new benchmarks for best practice
8 Dec 2014
Manufacturing benchmarks achieved by a rural South Australian factory are being shared and instituted across the world by global manufacturing giant Kimberly-Clark.
Cities key to economic growth and fighting climate crisis
1 Dec 2014
How cities develop will be critical to achieve economic growth and tackle climate change, according to a new series of studies.
Getting out of fossil fuel investment is the right way to go
1 Dec 2014
The controversy ignited by the Australian National University in October, when it decided to sell its shares in seven resources companies, has raised two important questions about divestment from assets such as fossil fuels.
Beyond the poo bus ... the many uses of human waste
1 Dec 2014
A British went into service last week, powered by biomethane energy derived from human waste at a sewage plant.
New shadow minister eyes climate change priorities
24 Nov 2014
Labour's new climate change and environment spokesperson says there's never been a time when she didn't believe in climate change.
Diet's effects on emissions give food for thought
17 Nov 2014
American researchers confirm that a shift to vegetarian, Mediterranean or fish-based diets would cut greenhouse gases, conserve forests and savannah, and have a big impact on obesity-linked health problems.
Our emissions plan hopeless, says renowned academic
3 Nov 2014
New Zealand has no chance of meeting its 2020 emissions reduction target under current policies, says a leading scientist involved in the latest IPCC report.
At last, there's a glimpse of an ETS in Australia
3 Nov 2014
With the passage of the Emissions Reduction Fund through the Senate last week, Australia's federal government has taken a step toward achieving the country's minimum target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5 per cent below 2000 levels by 2020.
Actually, a high oil price might be a good thing for the world
3 Nov 2014
Oil prices have fallen dramatically since August – and, rather counter-intuitively, this could be a bad thing.
China-US links could spark emissions breakthrough
3 Nov 2014
Tentative steps have been taken by China and the United States towards co-operating on climate change − mainly focusing on relatively modest technological schemes connected with more efficient and less polluting power generation.
Business leaders praise EU emissions deal
3 Nov 2014
A group of influential business leaders is welcoming Europe's new climate and energy deal.
Good tyres tread lightly on the Earth
28 Oct 2014
New Zealand could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 6000 tonnes a year by installing fuel-efficient tyres on the nation’s fleet of light vehicles.
Oil boom prompts US to push for crude exports
28 Oct 2014
Oil and coal producers in the United States are planning to use mile-long tanker trains to transport vast quantities of fossil fuels to the coast through areas that environmental groups believe should be protected.
A new agricultural economy is knocking on the door
20 Oct 2014
Europe should be pushing for the rapid expansion of its network of biorefineries, to produce European food, fuel and feed, as well as a range of other high-value products that replace fossil fuels, writes ROBERT WRIGHT, Secretary-General of the European Renewable Ethanol Association:
BUSINESS POSER: Are you creating value, or destroying it?
13 Oct 2014
New Zealand is leading the world on integrated reporting.
Shift to low-carbon economy could free up $1.8 trillion
13 Oct 2014
Decarbonising the electricity system worldwide would save $1.8 trillion over the coming two decades by avoiding the high operating costs of using fossil fuels, a new study finds.
QUIET! Climate-cautious Key sends message to ministers
6 Oct 2014
The Government’s new cabinet line-up confirms its lack of interest in climate change.
Medicos inject themselves into climate debate
6 Oct 2014
Health professionals in New Zealand are joining an international call for action on climate change.
How to save the planet ... bike, walk or take a bus
29 Sep 2014
Here’s a way to save $100 trillion and stop 1700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from getting into the atmosphere every year by 2050: cycle, walk or take public transport.
Clear skies for aviation industry, says Boeing report
29 Sep 2014
The business outlook for civil aviation is bright thanks mainly to rising Asian demand for aircraft. But airlines are expected to have a harder time, with tougher competition in Europe leading to a consolidation of the sector, according to the latest industry forecast.
Australia seems to be overlooking bioenergy
29 Sep 2014
When we think of renewable energy, it’s easy to picture spinning wind turbines or rooftop solar panels. But what about bioenergy?
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.
