Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
Hydrogen has a place, says new Clark group
4 Apr 2019
Hydrogen fuel could replace the Huntly coal and gas-fired power station to give New Zealand a totally renewable electricity generation system, the Helen Clark Foundation says in its first foray into public policy.
CLIMATE CHAMPION: My struggle with the future
13 Mar 2019
Atmospheric physicist Professor James Renwick is struggling with the idea that the world might really delay action on climate change to the point of disaster.
OPINION: Wise words for the schoolkids
13 Mar 2019
This Friday’s strike by school students calling for action on climate change has the support of some of our wisest citizens. Wise Response Society secretary DUGALD MACTAVISH explains why.
EDITORIAL: We must 'believe' the facts
8 Mar 2019
New Zealand's mayors have been asked whether they believe humans are causing the climate to change.
Govt must show the way, says planning chief
30 Jan 2019
The head of the Planning Institute says the Government needs to step up and show the way for communities to plan for the impacts of climate change.
Climate watchdog calls on NZ to show the way
3 Dec 2018
New Zealand is on a list of countries being called on to cut emissions as an example to the world.
EDITORIAL: New UN report drops a bomb
28 Nov 2018
A report out today saying that global emissions are rising again because of economic growth should be the bomb needed to blast us out of our self-congratulatory complacency.
Emissions failure will hurt farmers, says Fonterra
31 Oct 2018
A global failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions will see New Zealand farmers face demands for major production cuts, the world’s largest milk-producer is warning.
New power group takes aim at finance system
23 Oct 2018
Key companies and government officials are joining forces to prepare New Zealand’s financial system for the low-carbon economy.
Multilateralism is the key, PM tells world
1 Oct 2018
The world must return to multilateralism if it is to combat climate change, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
PM ticks off leaders over Paris pact inaction
27 Sep 2018
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told world leaders they will have to compromise their country’s positions if the Paris Agreement is to come into force.
PM PLEADS CLIMATE CASE FOR PACIFIC
25 Sep 2018
Pacific people have a right to keep their maritime zones – even if their islands are gone, New Zealand has told the United Nations.
NZ backs Pacific call for UN to do more
6 Sep 2018
New Zealand is backing other Pacific nations calling for the United Nations to up its game over the security threats posed by climate change.
OPINION: Good intentions are not enough
23 Aug 2018
By GREG CAMPBELL | When 60 chief executives of large New Zealand companies recently committed to a transition to a low- emissions economy, some environmentalists were wary.
Cheap-credits companies might face crackdown
22 Aug 2018
The Government might crack down on companies using cheap credits to cover their carbon liabilities while banking or selling credits given to them by taxpayers.
No floor, but expect early action on carbon prices
14 Aug 2018
The Government might intervene in the market to lift carbon prices before 2020, but it has no plan to introduce a price floor.
STATS SHOW: Shaw about to change the story
31 Jul 2018
Green Party co-leader James Shaw might be the climate minister, but it’s in his statistics portfolio that he is about to change everything.
Big investors call for low-carbon roadmap
25 Jul 2018
New Zealand and Australian investors with $10 trillion worth of assets are calling for a suite of policies to direct finance into the low-carbon economy.
OPINION: If energy grew on trees
20 Jun 2018
By JONATHAN McKEOWN | It is always refreshing when structures and processes work as they were designed to. It’s an absolute triumph when it involves the public sector, an industry body and business.
Companies call on governments to act
5 Jun 2018
Companies with nearly $37 trillion under investment are calling on the world’s governments to step up action on climate change to meet the Paris Agreement targets.
NZ gets pat on the back in Bonn
7 May 2018
New Zealand’s promise to be carbon-neutral by 2050 has earned it a rare positive mention in dispatches from Climate Action Tracker.
Bonn meeting to sort out Paris pact
30 Apr 2018
A meeting to hammer out the “operating manual” for the Paris Agreement starts in Bonn today.
MEMO BUSINESS: Ignore carbon liability at our peril
10 Apr 2018
Businesses ignore carbon liability at the country’s peril, an international investment organisation is warning.
Plastic pollution has now spread to rivers
13 Mar 2018
Microplastics are contaminating rivers as well as the ocean, say scientists.
Climate change and storms our greatest threats
14 Feb 2018
Climate change and related impacts like intense storms are now the greatest threats the world faces.
Why now's the time for businesses to cost carbon
13 Feb 2018
Businesses are being told to price carbon into their forecasts now – regardless of whether they currently face a carbon price.
FAIL MARK: Environmentally, NZ has got it wrong
8 Feb 2018
New Zealand is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to exceeding planetary boundaries, new research shows.
OPINION: Kiwi consumers push sustainability
2 Feb 2018
New Zealand businesses that plan to wait for regulation before taking sustainability seriously are in for a rude awakening.
Doughnut economics? What Shaw's on about
30 Jan 2018
When British economist Kate Raworth wanted to show where she saw economics going, she picked up a pencil and drew two circles, one inside the other.
NZ and island nations pay climate fee on time
30 Jan 2018
New Zealand and five small states in the area are among the handful of countries that have paid this year’s dues to the United Nations’ climate change work.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Carbon emissions running wild
22 Jan 2018
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions blow-out continues unabashed, with net emissions expected to more than double by 2030, despite international pledges to cut them.
Policies will begin to bite down on the farm
22 Jan 2018
Government policies – including the Emissions Trading Scheme - are expected to start making a dent in New Zealand’s agricultural emissions over the next 12 years.
Shaw commits NZ to leading on climate challenge
17 Nov 2017
New Zealand has just committed itself on the world stage to being carbon-neutral by 2050 and being a Pacific leader on climate change.
This year one of three hottest on record - WMO
7 Nov 2017
The World Meteorological Organisation says 2017 is among the three warmest years recorded, with human wellbeing facing mounting risks.
The other China that wants to lead on climate change
6 Nov 2017
By PATTRICK SMELLIE | As international delegations descend on Bonn for the November 6-17 annual global climate change summit, spare a thought for the other country that calls itself China but, instead of claiming a leadership position in the global debate, is shut out on the sidelines.
UN climate summit means business
6 Nov 2017
This year’s annual UN climate summit, the twenty-third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (https://cop23.unfccc.int/) in UN jargon (or COP23 for short), starts on 6 November – and for once it may have an unusual spring in its step.
India readies for clashes with developed world at Bonn
6 Nov 2017
SEVERAL AREAS of unfinished business mean talks in Bonn could ignite as developing nations seek concessions from the industrialised world
Forests can bring 1.5deg Paris target closer
3 Nov 2017
Protecting the world’s forests could achieve a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions cuts needed to meet the 1.5°C Paris target, scientists say.
Market forces can go further, faster and cheaper to cut emissions
3 Nov 2017
Government delegations gathering in Bonn for the start of annual UN climate talks on Monday need to ramp up efforts, says the International Emissions Trading Association.
Is China the leader UN climate talks need?
3 Nov 2017
china is more assertive than ever about its climate leadership ambitions, as 195 countries head to Bonn for the annual UN summit.
Emissions failure will hurt NZ farmers, warns Fonterra
31 Oct 2017
A global failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions will see New Zealand farmers face demands for major production cuts, the world’s largest milk-processor is warning.
NZ fires first COP23 shots in Fiji today
17 Oct 2017
Acting climate minister Paula Bennett will deliver New Zealand’s opening statement at the pre-COP climate talks in Fiji today.
Climatecoin lines up the carbon markets
9 Oct 2017
Blockchain – the technology developed by cryptocurrency pioneer Bitcoin to knock financial intermediaries out of transactions – has the carbon markets in its sights.
It's about more than politics
29 Sep 2017
The next three years are more than an electoral cycle; they make up the period that could determine – quite literally – what sort of world we live in. And that’s what should be on the minds of politicians jockeying to form the next government.
THE COUNT: English stays silent on climate
18 Sep 2017
With less than one week left in the election campaign, Prime Minister Bill English has yet to mention climate change in any of his formal speeches or statements.
EDITORIAL: Honestly, it just doesn't make sense
25 Aug 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | A plan to lift the speed limit on some roads to 110 kilometres an hour is the latest example of New Zealand’s lack of joined-up thinking on climate change.
Nutrition will suffer as warming affects diet
11 Aug 2017
By 2050, heat waves, floods and other climate change effects won’t be the only worry. There’s also the evidence that warming affects diet.
Young Kiwi voices lead the climate change chorus
7 Jul 2017
By publisher ADELIA HALLETT | Two political actions this week give us some hope that New Zealand might one day get the leadership it needs to survive and prosper in a carbon-constrained world.
Government snubs MP's climate change motion
29 Jun 2017
The Government is refusing to support a motion acknowledging that a third of the world’s population is now exposed to deadly heatwaves because of climate change.
Soil scientists back putting carbon in the ground
23 Jun 2017
Carbon sequestration in soil has the potential to enhance food security and mitigate climate change, says an international team of soil experts.
New courses focus on climate action, activism and creating vision
Fri 12 Sep 2025
Media release | Dark Times Academy’s final lineup of courses for 2025, launching in mid-September, will focus on taking action on climate, learning about practical activism, and creating visions for the future.
A revolution is sweeping Europe’s farms: Can it save agriculture?
Fri 12 Sep 2025
Momentum is building for regenerative agriculture, a set of approaches that could help farms to weather the changing climate and make them more profitable.
NZ needs to be part of a regional SAF strategy: Z, Air NZ
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand needs to be part of a regional strategic approach to sourcing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with domestic production less the aim than ensuring access to the fuel from one of a number of strategically positioned bio-refineries around the world.
'Non-negotiable' – EU carbon pricing to hit Kiwi exporters, expert warns
Thu 11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | High carbon exports will inevitably face a high carbon tax at the EU border, possibly in the next five years, and high methane agricultural products might not be exempt, an international expert told a local audience yesterday.
'Reframe' climate conversations - focus on thriving together, says advisor
Thu 11 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand must mirror its Covid-19 response if it wants to get buy-in from the public on climate action, according to Ministry for the Environment chief advisor Heather Peacocke.
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
No bidders front to carbon auction - again
Wed 10 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | Today’s quarterly carbon auction was a non-event yet again, making it the third consecutive auction this year with no bidders, with the secondary market price still limping along at nearly 20% below the auction floor.
Australia’s biggest gas project greenlit to 2070 with ‘partial’ protection for Indigenous rock art
Today 11:30am
Approval met with fury from conservation groups and the Greens, who called it a ‘betrayal’ of Australians who want climate action.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
Industry struggles with double-digit power price hikes
Today 11:30am
As power prices surge by double-digit amounts for the second year in a row, industrial users can’t keep absorbing cost increases, the Major Electricity Users’ Group says.
The merchants of doubt are back
3 Sep 2025
OPINION: If you don’t follow climate policy closely, you might not know that the Trump administration is launching an effort to overturn one of the most fundamental pillars of American climate policy.
Milestone for NZ Steel electrification
Wed 10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | NZ Steel has passed an installation milestone for its new electric arc furnace, which will reduce emissions from the Glenbrook steel mill site by as much as one megatonne (1Mt) a year.
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.”
Wind and solar power fuel over one-third of Brazil's electricity for first time
Today 11:30am
Wind and solar power generated more than a third of Brazil’s electricity in August.
Declining sea-ice is altering Antarctic food webs
Thu 11 Sep 2025
A new study shows a significant change in Antarctic phytoplankton over time that could cascade through the marine food web and affect the ocean’s capacity as a carbon sink.
Study links world’s top oil and gas firms to 200 ‘more intense’ heatwaves
Today 11:30am
Global warming linked to the world’s biggest oil and gas companies made all “major” 21st century heatwaves more intense and frequent.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Indigenous forest 'islands' could help transition exotic plantations to native bush
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Native forest 'islands' within exotic plantations might be the key to transitioning plantations from exotic to Indigenous, according to new research.
EU considers faster Russian oil and gas exit after US pressure
Today 11:30am
The European Union is considering a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels as part of new sanctions.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Why mega-polluters have little to fear from the European Central Bank and its new climate policy
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The European Central Bank plans to raise borrowing costs for climate offenders – but a new FTM analysis shows that big polluters such as Shell will barely feel it.
La Niña set to prolong NZ hydro shortfall
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With La Niña favouring a drier-than-normal spring across much of the South Island, hydro lakes are unlikely to recover without substantial rain and late snowmelt – keeping national storage levels below average.
Media round-up
5 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The great methane debate; law change scuppers legal challenge to irrigation scheme consent; and what are the energy and climate implications of the $7.5 billion Amazon Web Services data centre deal?
Coal imports up 650%
Fri 12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Coal imports are up 650% as generators stockpile the most polluting fossil fuel ahead of next winter.
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.
Media round-up
29 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Changes to road user charges will increase New Zealand's emissions; Climate Change Minister Simon Watts promises better access to hazard data for homeowners; and Kiwis borrow over $1 billion in ‘green loans’ for heat pumps and electric cars.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
28 Aug 2025
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
Forest carbon stores massive blind spot - study
4 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Aotearoa New Zealand’s planted forests hold significant deep soil organic carbon — with over half of it stored below 30 cm, and much of it over 1,000 years old.
Invites-only fast-track for seabed mine slammed as 'rushed, awful'
Fri 12 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With the wider public shut out of submissions, critics including Te Pāti Māori, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Greenpeace say the process strips away robust scrutiny and risks setting a dangerous precedent.
‘Pick up the phone’ on climate change action, Hipkins urges Luxon
Tue 9 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should reach out to the Labour Party if he wants get a political deal on methane reductions and the Paris agreement rather than his two coalition partners, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says.
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.
Endeavour Fund research to shape NZ’s future
5 Sep 2025
Media release - New Zealand Government | A project that looks to harness the potential of supercritical geothermal energy is amongst 19 ambitious science programmes the Government is backing, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.
Watts full-throated in National’s support for Paris
Wed 10 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts came to this week’s Climate Change and Business Conference with nothing to announce.
Govt resilience plan 'dangerous fantasy' - thinktank
29 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | An independent thinktank, whose members include former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer and multiple academics, is warning that the government’s long-term resilience strategy ignores physical and energy realities and exposes Kiwi households and businesses to systemic failure.
‘Plastic Cup’ competitions are cleaning up rivers in Hungary
1 Sep 2025
Afloat on DIY boats, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube and its tributaries.
Trump sends fracking CEO to Europe to sell climate denial—and gas
Today 11:30am
Debunking some of Chris Wright's most egregious lies.
Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says
8 Sep 2025
Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 12 Sep 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Climate adaptation discussions descended into political squabbling at a recent conference; New Zealand may find itself no longer trusted by allies if it ditches climate goals; and are we living through the fastest energy transformation in human history?
Polar geoengineering ideas 'dangerous'
Wed 10 Sep 2025
Geoengineering will not save the polar regions from catastrophic meltdown, according to an expert.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Ara Ake backs 13 projects to unlock NZ’s energy flexibility
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Media release | Ara Ake has approved over $600,000 in funding from the National Flex Discovery Fund for 13 flexibility service providers (FSPs).
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.
Most EU carmakers on track to meet emission targets: study
Wed 10 Sep 2025
Almost all European carmakers are on track to meet EU emission targets after winning a reprieve this year as electric vehicles (EV) sales pick up, a study showed.
Echo Tech secures growth investment to tackle NZ's e-waste crisis
Today 11:30am
Media release | Echo Tech Limited, New Zealand’s leading provider of e-waste recycling and IT asset recovery services, is proud to announce a strategic investment from growth equity firm Altered Capital.
Gisborne art show highlights weather impact on well-being
3 Sep 2025
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter|A Gisborne artist and community researcher is turning a study on how severe weather impacts health and wellbeing into an art exhibition.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Which countries are scaling solar and wind the fastest?
Fri 12 Sep 2025
The leaderboard is quite different depending on what metric you look at.
