Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
Brazilian spies intimidated government’s own delegates at climate talks
15 Oct 2020
Brazil’s spy agency has been accused of trying to intimidate its own government’s negotiators and Brazilian environmentalists at the COP25 climate talks in Madrid last year.
How does the COP26 delay affect GHG emissions?
14 Oct 2020
Will delaying the COP26 UN climate negotiations impact international action to decarbonise? Would catch-up talks help? Could the talks collapse because countries stopped paying their dues?
Sharp rise is extreme weather, says UN
13 Oct 2020
Extreme weather events have increased dramatically in the past 20 years, taking a heavy human and economic toll worldwide, and are likely to wreak further havoc, the UN has said.
Political 'retreat' on climate action harms all nations, says UN climate chief
7 Oct 2020
Rich nations are failing on promises to help poorer ones meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, even though such help would be “not charity but a global act of self-interest”, says United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa.
Nigeria, Jamaica bring closure to the Kyoto Protocol era
6 Oct 2020
The Doha Amendment will come into force this year after Nigeria became the 144th country to ratify the climate treaty, in a last-minute scramble to tie the loose ends of the Kyoto Protocol era.
China's new climate goal could transform global heating
30 Sep 2020
If China hits its new emissions goal of going carbon-neutral before 2060, it will bring down global warming projections by around 0.2deg to 0.3 degrees Celsius, says Carbon Action Tracker.
NZ joins pledge that includes increasing 2030 emissions target
29 Sep 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is among 64 world leaders committing to “meaningful” action to halt global environmental destruction - including increasing 2030 emissions reduction targets.
Govt confirms mandatory climate-risk reporting regime
15 Sep 2020
New Zealand’s largest financial institutions and companies will be the first in the world to face mandatory disclosure of their climate risks.
Warming could pass 1.5deg before 2030, warns UN
14 Sep 2020
Global temperatures could exceed the 1.5deg limit set in the Paris Agreement in the next decade, according to a World Meteorological Society report for the United Nations.
CONSERVATION CRISIS: two reports bring bad news for wildlife
11 Sep 2020
International conservation organisation WWF says the world's populations of wildlife have fallen 68 per cent since 1978, and a leaked United Nations report shows that none of the 2020 biodiversity goals have been met.
Gas exploration won't be rushed, Beach tells EPA
9 Sep 2020
Any gas discovery by Beach Energy off the North Otago coast next year could require a further two years’ work to plan and prepare an appraisal drilling programme to determine how to develop it, the Environmental Protection Authority heard yesterday.
Countries promise green recovery but keep quiet on fossil bailouts
4 Sep 2020
Major economies promised to recover green after covid-19 and accelerate climate action during a virtual ministerial meeting hosted by Japan overnight.
Only 80 countries likely to update national climate plans this year
4 Sep 2020
Most nations including top emitter China are likely to miss a 2020 deadline to upgrade national plans for fighting global warming, according to the UN’s climate chief.
National climate pledges must be increased well before COP, Guterres tells nations
31 Aug 2020
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has repeated calls for countries to increase their 2030 emissions reduction targets – and to do it soon.
Extra UN climate talks mooted to help negotiators catch up
27 Aug 2020
Additional climate talks could be held next year to help countries prepare for the critical Cop26 summit, making up for time lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Helping Chile cut emissions could help us
18 Aug 2020
New Zealand and Switzerland are helping Chile develop an emissions reduction programme that could pay dividends for this country.
Delays expected to bulk of UN climate report
17 Aug 2020
Most of a blockbuster United Nations scientific report on climate change is likely to be delayed beyond a UN climate summit due in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021 because of covid-19.
TEN YEARS AGO ...
12 Aug 2020
Ten years ago, new United Nations climate head Christina Figueres was warning nations that time was not on their side when it came to taking action on climate change.
OPINION: I’m bewildered that Trump would imperil America by abandoning the Paris Agreement
28 Jul 2020
By BAN KI-MOON | The Paris agreement to tackle climate change is an extraordinary opportunity. In a remarkable display of unity, almost every nation on Earth has agreed to make critical changes that will help humanity avoid disaster. But Donald Trump is walking away.
Airlines granted huge emissions reprieve by UN compromise
3 Jul 2020
The United Nations' aviation emissions offsetting scheme will not take 2020 into account when calculating how much airlines have to pay to neutralise their carbon dioxide output - a move environmental groups say makes a mockery of climate policy.
Parker has trade pact proposal, will travel
25 Jun 2020
New Zealand will take the proposed ground-breaking Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability to the table in trade talks with the United Kingdom.
Australian academics call for survival strategy
1 Apr 2020
A group of Australian scientists, business leaders, public servants and academics is calling for nations to work together to develop a strategy for humans to survive climate change, pandemics and other looming threats.
Past failures put pressure on emissions deadlines
5 Mar 2020
Global failure to address climate change a decade ago means emissions must now drop at 7 per cent a year to meet the Paris Agreement, prompting scientists to call for the world to switch into crisis mode.
Carbon pricing role crucial, say experts
18 Feb 2020
Carbon pricing is emerging as central to international climate negotiations, the Mercator Climate Institute says.
NICK SMITH: How National's ETS did the job
31 Jan 2020
National MP and former climate minister Nick Smith says his Emissions Trading Scheme has seen New Zealand out-perform Australia on emissions reduction.
Switzerland signs up to NZ trade treaty
28 Jan 2020
Switzerland is joining the New Zealand-initiated trade agreement on climate change.
Shaw criticises 'handful of countries'
17 Dec 2019
Climate minister James Shaw says a handful of countries are preventing the settling of rules governing global carbon markets.
Kyoto credits threaten Paris Agreement
13 Dec 2019
Allowing countries to carry Kyoto credits forward could effectively kill the Paris Agreement, negotiators are being told.
Shaw expects late move on carbon trading
12 Dec 2019
Any breakthrough in talks over rules governing international carbon trading is likely to come at the last minute, says climate minister James Shaw.
PLEASE EXPLAIN: NZ faces grilling at Madrid meet
9 Dec 2019
New Zealand faces up to the world in Madrid today to explain how it is meeting its emissions reduction targets despite a 23 per cent rise in gross emissions and 65 per cent rise in net emissions since 1990.
EDITORIAL: Right road, but the slow road
29 Nov 2019
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | It must be tempting, if you’re in the New Zealand delegation at climate talks in Madrid next week, to rest on your laurels, take the pats on the back, bask in the international limelight.
Parker opens green door with Costa Rica
7 Nov 2019
Trade and environment minister David Parker has met with his counterpart from Costa Rica in China this week as the two countries move towards a climate trade agreement.
FACT CHECK: Is that right, Paula?
29 Oct 2019
National Party deputy leader and former climate minister Paula Bennett says when it was in power, her party stabilised greenhouse gas emissions, while under this Government they will keep rising until 2025. Is she right?
EDITORIAL: Uncomfortable is coming, ready or not
7 Oct 2019
By ADELIA HALLETT | Protests like the one that has closed off some Wellington streets today and is preventing staff from a major government department from getting to work make some people uncomfortable.
Ardern sets up climate-change trade deal
26 Sep 2019
New Zealand is one of five countries bringing climate change into a trade deal.
ARDERN'S GLOBAL INVITE: Let's trade strengths
24 Sep 2019
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told the world New Zealand wants climate change included in trade deals and global co-operation on carbon pricing.
Ardern in star turn at UN climate summit
23 Sep 2019
New Zealand will again take centre stage at international climate talks in New York, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern giving a keynote speech in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
Fracking pushes up methane count, says research
15 Aug 2019
Fracking is probably the reason atmospheric methane is rising, with the United States shale gas industry behind a third of the increase in global greenhouses gas emissions over the past decade, new research warns.
UN hears call for sustainability voice in Cabinet
18 Jul 2019
New Zealand should have a Cabinet minister responsible for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has been told.
'Rugby, big cars and beer' worries expert
28 Jun 2019
Energy and climate expert Professor Ralph Sims has been trying for years to get the message across to New Zealanders that driving cars is our climate downfall.
Shaw will wait and see on emissions targets
19 Jun 2019
New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions might not peak until 2035 under current policies, the Government says.
Businesses demand action, says UN climate chief
18 Jun 2019
Businesses are demanding the development of international carbon markets as the world battles a climate emergency, negotiators have heard overnight.
Global carbon markets in the spotlight
17 Jun 2019
Rules governing the development of international carbon markets will be top of the agenda at international climate talks this week.
Our businesses are catching on to sustainability
5 Jun 2019
Sustainability is now mainstream business in New Zealand, the Sustainable Business Council says.
Climate-wise Smith warns of blind commitment
22 May 2019
New Zealand’s political elder statesman on climate change is warning of a potential gilets jeune-style backlash against the costs of climate action.
NZ drives global nature-first campaign
20 May 2019
New Zealand is leading a push to use nature to avert a climate catastrophe.
UN chief pushes case for carbon taxes
14 May 2019
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says income taxes should be replaced with carbon taxes.
Investment firms issue climate warnings
13 May 2019
Two major financial companies are issuing warnings to investors over climate change.
Climate effort gets thumbs-up from UN chief
13 May 2019
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is praising New Zealand’s efforts on climate change.
NZ call for climate emergency as UN report hits
7 May 2019
New Zealand is being asked to declare a climate emergency just as the world is again reminded of the precarious state of the planet.
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.
The surprisingly convincing case against cars
19 Dec 2025
Life After Cars dares to imagine how different, and enriching, a car-free world could be.
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'.
