Topics tagged with 'Transport'
Billions back fossil fuels, says study
24 Aug 2012
Subsidies for fossil fuels could top $US1 trillion this year, an American-based independent research agency is warning.
Transpower wins energy award
24 Aug 2012
A Transpower-led alliance to upgrade the North Island electricity grid has taken the environmental excellence title at this year’s Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards.
Biofuel under fire as food crisis looms
24 Aug 2012
Drought-stricken crops and record-high grain prices have strengthened critics of the European Union biofuel industry, adding fears of a food crisis to their claims that it does not ultimately reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Study warns South Pacific of storm shocks
17 Aug 2012
South Pacific countries will experience more extreme floods and droughts, in response to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study.
Missed opportunity to invest in NZ
17 Aug 2012
Since the Government’s July Emissions Trading Scheme announcements (a U-turn on a previously announced plan to introduce some sort of restriction on international units) the New Zealand carbon market has slowly, but surely, collapsed, says Carbon Match's Lizzie Chambers.
Shipping lines join clean port plan
10 Aug 2012
Six shipping carriers have become the inaugural participants in the Port of Los Angeles Environmental Ship Index, an international clean air programme that rewards ocean carriers for bringing their newest and cleanest vessels to the port.
Right food vital, say UN experts
10 Aug 2012
Countries must take immediate action to promote sustainable diets and food biodiversity to improve the health of their citizens, says the United Nations food agency in a new book.
London wins praise for green Olympics
3 Aug 2012
The measures taken to ensure that the London Olympic Games are environmentally sustainable have been praised by the United Nations.
Study finds carbon pathways to the deep
3 Aug 2012
A team of British and Australian scientists has discovered an important method of how carbon is drawn down from the surface of the Southern Ocean to the deep waters beneath.
Our world in peril
20 Jul 2012
The world is in a perilous position - economically, environmentally and socially, according to a new report. And New Zealand is not exempt. Here, Rick Boven, Catherine Harland and Lillian Grace, the authors of Navigating an uncertain future: Environmental foundations for long-term success, outline the situation.
Send it by bike ... freight idea gets wheels
20 Jul 2012
More than 30 companies from across Europe have launched a European Cycle Logistics Federation (ECLF) aimed at improving urban bike deliveries and lobbying for cycle-based delivery policies.
ETS inaction puts focus on transport
6 Jul 2012
The Government will need to use regulations or incentives to cut emissions from the transport sector if it is serious about reducing this country’s emissions levels, an expert in public policy says.
Rio pledges pass $500 billion mark
29 Jun 2012
More than $513 billion in funding has been committed by governments, the private sector, civil society and other groups to achieve a sustainable future.
Right, says Ban, now get on with it
29 Jun 2012
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to build on the commitments they made during the Rio+20 conference to achieve economic, environmental and social prosperity for people all over the world.
Rio shows how to have a conference with little paper
29 Jun 2012
Reducing the use of paper, providing vehicles powered by biodiesel and electricity, and using recyclable materials are some of the practices that were pursued during Rio+20 to minimise the forum’s environmental impact.
Australia takes aim at shipping
29 Jun 2012
Legislation has been introduced into the Australian Parliament aimed at reducing pollution from ships and protecting the marine environment.
Banks vow to invest $175b in transport
22 Jun 2012
The eight largest multilateral development banks will invest $175 billion in sustainable transportation systems over the coming decade.
Joyce slams businessmen's report
15 Jun 2012
Economic Development Minister Stephen Joyce says the Pure Advantage business group is just looking for subsidies for businesses it likes.
Rio countries now in final talks
15 Jun 2012
Countries have started the last round of talks to come to an agreement on the draft outcome document on environmental, economic and social issues at the heart of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
Global emissions reach record high
1 Jun 2012
Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion reached a record high of 31.6 gigatonnes in 2011, according to preliminary estimates from the International Energy Agency.
Stand by for the golden age of gas
1 Jun 2012
Exploiting the world’s vast resources of unconventional natural gas holds the key to a golden age of gas, says the International Energy Agency.
Air NZ flies high as cutter of emissions
25 May 2012
Projects that cut carbon emissions by a total of 1.7 million tonnes a year and produced $600 million worth of energy efficiency were recognised this week in the annual Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Awards.
Switched-on insurer turns over new Leaf
18 May 2012
Sovereign is the first company in New Zealand to purchase the world’s first mass-produced, fully electric, zero-emission vehicle; the Nissan Leaf.
It's a game-changer, says Aquaflow
20 Apr 2012
Kiwi clean energy company Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation believes it is poised to make refining next generation biofuels a commercial reality in New Zealand and in overseas projects within three years.
Greens predict urban sprawl, congestion
13 Apr 2012
The Productivity Commission's main recommendations for affordable housing will create sprawling, congested, and less productive cities, Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says
Businesses learn how to be eco smart
30 Mar 2012
Organisations wanting to improve their environmental credentials and their bottom line are lining up for the Eco Smart Business programme.
Australia stands alone in low-carbon slide
23 Mar 2012
Australia is the only G20 country that has gone backwards on its low-carbon competitiveness since 1995, according to the Global Climate Leadership Review 2012 released by The Climate Institute.
Wood the answer, says biofuel expert
16 Mar 2012
New Zealand should be replacing fossil-fuel energy with wood, says the general manager of a Whakatane-based biotechnology business.
Govt will slow ETS
9 Mar 2012
The electricity, industrial and transport sectors will continue to be sheltered from the full force of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
EU charge could cost Airbus $3.8m
9 Mar 2012
An Asian airline is threatening to scrap an order for 10 Airbus jets over a European Union carbon charge imposed on global airlines.
Shipping shapes as next target of EU
9 Mar 2012
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) could soon find itself butting heads with Brussels over how best to tackle emissions from international shipping, analysts say.
NZ stays out of Europe airlines row
2 Mar 2012
New Zealand is staying out of a row over a requirement for airlines flying in and out of Europe to pay for their carbon emissions.
Kiwi carpoolers ride all the way to Britain
2 Mar 2012
A carpooling business started in a bedroom in Wellington has conquered Australia and is about to take on Britain.
Europe's airline rules stir controversy
24 Feb 2012
Carbon Market Solutions says that the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme has now included aviation in its emissions reduction sectors in a move fraught with controversy and disagreement.
Electric cars ... what do you think?
17 Feb 2012
What do New Zealanders really think about electric cars?
Officials back slow-down of ETS
3 Feb 2012
Government officials are backing recommendations to slow down the impact the Emissions Trading Scheme is having on the economy.
Minister puts plans for environment
27 Jan 2012
New rules to protect New Zealand’s oceans and freshwater, streamlining the Resource Management Act, a new Environment Reporting Act and aligning the Emissions Trading Scheme with that of Australia are on the Government’s agenda.
Experts eye green economy in a blue world
27 Jan 2012
The economic productivity of the marine sector can be significantly boosted by shifting to a more sustainable approach that focuses on green activities such as renewable energy, eco-tourism and sustainable transport, according to a new United Nations report.
Startling report warns of lives cut short
20 Jan 2012
A world-first study into the potential impact climate change will have on years of life lost has come up with startling results, says an Australian academic.
Business must take over, says green leader
9 Dec 2011
Business must step into the breach on climate change because government negotiators at the Durban climate conference are procrastinating, says one of Africa’s leading environmentalists.
Scrap lignite plan, says energy expert
18 Nov 2011
A New Zealand scientist at the heart of the IPCC says Solid Energy’s lignite development should not go ahead.
Business getting serious about green investment
18 Nov 2011
Businesses and governments are accelerating investment in the green sectors of the economy, a just-released United Nations report shows.
New rules cut ship emissions, says report
18 Nov 2011
The implementation of United Nations-mandated energy-efficiency measures will lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions from ships, says a new report.
LanzaTech lands a first with India
11 Nov 2011
LanzaTech has just signed its first commercial customer, marking a milestone in the Kiwi clean-energy technology company’s global development.
Unhappy exporters voice ETS fears
11 Nov 2011
National's promise to slow down implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme has failed to impress exporters.
Where Labour and Greens stand on carbon trading
11 Nov 2011
Carbon Market Solutions casts an eye over the carbon-trading policies of Labour and the Greens:
We can capture carbon, says report
4 Nov 2011
Carbon capture and storage technologies could work safely and effectively in New Zealand, Straterra says.
Study urges care with harvesting for biofuel
28 Oct 2011
Turning trees into biofuel can release more carbon into the atmosphere than would have been released by fossil fuels, new American research says.
Greens say Govt has Auckland train money
28 Oct 2011
Central Government can afford to fund at least 60 per cent of the Auckland CBD rail link, to boost the economy and give Aucklanders better options to get around their city, the Green Party says.
Why we need to ban industrial CERs soon
21 Oct 2011
A proposed Government ban on industrial CERs should go ahead as soon as possible, says DANIEL WATSON, of Carbon Market Solutions.
Farm-level emissions cuts possible, but almost everything stands in the way
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Progress to slash farming emissions is being blocked by limited farmer confidence in mitigation tools, inconsistent engagement, misinformation and a lack of clear policy signals, according to a new report.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
‘Cali Fund’ aiming to raise billions for nature receives first donation – of just $1,000
16 Dec 2025
A major biodiversity fund – which could, in theory, generate billions of dollars annually for conservation – received its first donation of just $1,000 in November.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
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.
Seven quiet wins for climate and nature in 2025
19 Dec 2025
This year's environmental backdrop is familiar: emissions are rising and nature is continuing to decline. But there have nevertheless been bright spots in 2025.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Global coal demand hit record high this year but is set to decline by 2030
18 Dec 2025
Global coal demand reached a record high in 2025 but is expected to decline by 2030 as renewables, nuclear power and abundant natural gas squeeze its dominance in power generation.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
India at COP30: A mismatch between grandstanding and climate action
11 Dec 2025
Despite India’s attempt to anoint itself as the leader of the developing world, at the COP30 summit, New Delhi’s track record remains contradictory.
Govt warned that scrapping ag emission pricing comes with risks
11 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s move to halt plans for agricultural emissions pricing without replacing it with any other action will leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, Environment ministry officials have warned.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
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.
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.
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.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
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.”
Westpac NZ announces partnership to form Blue Economy hub in Nelson
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Westpac NZ has announced a new three-year partnership with the Nelson Regional Development Agency and Kernohan Engineering to help accelerate the development of a sustainable marine economy – also known as the blue economy.
NZ ‘clearly’ breaching international law on climate – Vanuatu Climate Change Minister
12 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, says New Zealand restarting fossil fuel exploration and subsidies is an obvious breach of international law, exposing the country to international and domestic litigation.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
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.
Insurers welcome govt decision to keep NHC levy unchanged
21 Nov 2025
Media release |The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) has welcomed the Government’s decision to leave the Natural Hazards Commission levy unchanged, amid ongoing concerns around the cost-of-living.
Why I’m not outraged at the Govt’s latest climate backsliding
7 Nov 2025
COMMENT: The Government’s latest climate rollbacks underline New Zealand’s long history of a lack of genuine desire to cut emissions, writes Geoff Bertram.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Oil and gas majors would create $78bn more value by stopping exploration
11 Dec 2025
Media release | Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would create significantly more shareholder value by ending exploration and sharply curtailing upstream development, according to new analysis released today by ACCR.
Wetlands and biodiversity at risk as mining rules loosen: Greenpeace
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greenpeace says Government changes to national direction instruments under the RMA paves the way for mining in wetlands and biodiversity hotspots and will expose some of Aotearoa’s most fragile ecosystems to irreversible damage.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
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.
Offshore windfarms enhance function of coastal waters and diversity of aquatic life
19 Dec 2025
Media release | A study conducted by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia and Dalian Ocean University in China has found that offshore windfarms can improve marine ecosystems and diversify aquatic food chains.
‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement
16 Dec 2025
The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable.
Govt consulting on Pacific Resilience Facility
12 Dec 2025
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee is calling for submissions on its international treaty examination of the Agreement to Establish the Pacific Resilience Facility.
Govt green lights rural recycling scheme
4 Dec 2025
The Government has approved new regulations to bring rural waste schemes under one unified framework.
KiwiRail pauses coal trains amid rising climate protests
9 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate activists are ramping up actions this week, with a Christchurch protest leading to KiwiRail pausing some coal train operations on Saturday, and another protest against the Fast-Track Amendment Bill planned for parliament today.
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.
Could tidal energy one day power NZ?
18 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests Aotearoa holds some of the world’s strongest tidal-stream energy potential – enough to generate up to 93% of today’s electricity use – but one expert cautions that extracting energy at such a scale could have significant impacts and remains highly uncertain.
NZ could lose nearly all glaciers this century without stronger climate action
16 Dec 2025
New Zealand could see 97% of its glaciers vanish by 2100, with new international modelling projecting a rapid acceleration in glacier extinction from the 2030s onward – even under lower-warming scenarios.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
NZ just had its hottest spring in at least 116 years
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | This year New Zealand had its hottest spring since records began, with widespread heat, rainfall extremes and destructive wind driven by sudden stratospheric warming.
Media round-up
12 Dec 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Another offshore wind firm exits New Zealand over a clash with seabed mining; Fonterra falls behind on its climate goals as farm emissions remain flat; and the businesses trapped by the gas 'death spiral'.
