Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
US insurance aid props up climate-risk homes
26 May 2016
Lloyd’s, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies, says the US government must stop providing insurance subsidies to homeowners building on flood plains and in coastal areas exposed to mounting risks related to climate change.
PARIS PUSH: Pact could be ready to go next year
25 May 2016
The Paris Agreement could well come into force next year, says a New Zealander leading work to flesh out the details of the new global climate change pact.
Scientists can't do it alone, says PM's adviser
23 May 2016
The Prime Minister’s chief science adviser has told a United Nations forum that scientists and policy-makers need to work together on issues like climate change.
Climate food shocks not good news for us, says report
23 May 2016
Climate change-induced food shocks will have a negative effect on New Zealand’s economy, researchers say.
Farming needs to play a lead role to meet Paris targets
23 May 2016
Researchers say new technical and policy solutions, plus major investment, are needed for agriculture to help to make the emissions reductions required to meet Paris targets.
The Earth is not flat, it is urban, says UN report
20 May 2016
The urban population of developing countries will double by 2030, while the area covered by cities could triple, says a new United Nations report.
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND: China's desertification dust is even reaching our shores
19 May 2016
Dust and sand storms in China have intensified and now pose provocative geopolitical challenges. Traces of China’s deserts have been found as far away as New Zealand and the French Alps.
Chairman aside, AMP says it's serious about climate
18 May 2016
AMP says it is taking climate change seriously, despite a recent comment from chairman Simon McKeon that suggested otherwise.
Climate adaptation gap grows wider
18 May 2016
The cost of coping with climate change in the developing world has just gone up. According to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme, it may have increased five-fold.
It's more bad news for carbon capture
17 May 2016
Coal powered much of the industrial revolution and continues to fuel economic growth in developing nations, including China and India.
How a global carbon price will bring emissions down
11 May 2016
International carbon trading and a single global carbon price will drive deeper emissions cuts than those promised by countries under the Paris Agreement, a new report says.
How your garden could help to stop city flooding
11 May 2016
Urban flooding represents the most common yet severe environmental threat to cities and towns worldwide.
Change to clean energy means massive social change
10 May 2016
Global climate change, driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases, is already affecting the planet, with more heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods, and accelerating sea-level rise.
Nuclear power plant costs roll onwards and upwards
9 May 2016
Building nuclear power stations is becoming hugely more expensive by the day, but decommissioning old ones might prove to be even more costly.
Labor’s climate policy puts it back in the game
28 Apr 2016
The Australian Labor Party has announced the climate policy it will take to the federal election, including a return to carbon pricing under an emissions trading scheme.
There's no need to fell forests to feed the world
28 Apr 2016
People don’t have to go hungry to conserve the planet’s forests. And farmers don’t have to bulldoze, burn or clear woodlands to make way for agriculture, according to new research.
Bennett stays on course for higher carbon price
26 Apr 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula has again said that carbon prices need to be higher.
PARIS PACT: What happens now
26 Apr 2016
The Paris Agreement enters into force 30 days after ratification by at least 55 countries and by countries representing at least 55 per cent of global emissions.
PARIS PACT: How should we compensate the poor countries?
26 Apr 2016
Written within the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is an article on “loss and damages,” the notion of providing aid to vulnerable countries that suffer damages from climate change.
What NZ must to do under the climate treaty
22 Apr 2016
Tomorrow, New Zealand will sign the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Bennett to talk climate change with the big guns
19 Apr 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett will take part in the Major Economies Forum on Climate Change in the United States this week.
Here's a six-point plan for getting Australia on track
19 Apr 2016
The past two years have been the hottest on record globally, yet Australian climate policy is frozen in the past.
Climate-threatened islands now facing the Big Dry
18 Apr 2016
Almost threequarters of a sample of island groups – atolls and archipelagos that are home to more than 18 million people − are expected to become increasingly more arid under a regime of climate change.
Forgetting fossil fuels a turning point in history
18 Apr 2016
The head of a global philanthropic foundation says that the world turning away from fossil fuels is a critical moment in human history, akin to the abolition of slavery.
Top table invites us to chew over carbon market
14 Apr 2016
New Zealand is to join a select group of countries talking about developing a global carbon market.
Climate minister will sign us up to Paris pact
12 Apr 2016
New Zealand will sign the Paris Agreement in New York on April 22.
PARIS PACT: Will we or won't we join the party?
11 Apr 2016
It’s not yet clear whether New Zealand will be among the nations signing the Paris Agreement on climate change later this month.
Here’s a way to make carbon markets work better
11 Apr 2016
Carbon markets could play a crucial role in delivering promises made at the Paris climate conference.
The case for a carbon tax on airline flight tickets
6 Apr 2016
After years of delay, the international aviation industry is inching its way toward bringing its greenhouse emissions under some form of regulation.
Air NZ emissions move wins global support
5 Apr 2016
Air New Zealand’s move to offset greenhouse gas emissions from its aircraft by supporting the restoration of native forests is picking up international momentum.
Auckland campus looks at sustainability
4 Apr 2016
Sustainability week kicks off at Auckland University today with a discussion on sustainability and innovation in the food system.
Storing carbon could help to meet climate goals
31 Mar 2016
Australia's agricultural lands help to feed about 60 million people worldwide, and also support tens of thousands of farmers as well as rural communities and industries.
Does doing renewable energy demand the undoable?
29 Mar 2016
Switching to renewable energy as fast as the world needs to will require changes so massive that they are unlikely to happen, scientists say.
Minister's reminder: Trees are really, really important
21 Mar 2016
Forests play a vital role in the economy and the environment, the Government is reminding New Zealanders.
Clean energy is a win-win for the US
16 Mar 2016
Simply implementing its Paris climate conference commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions could save the US billions of dollars – and save hundreds of thousands of lives.
UN goals need climate-change action now
16 Mar 2016
Failing to take action on climate change will make it harder to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, a new report says.
Minister goes back to school on sustainability
15 Mar 2016
New Plymouth MP Jonathan Young is representing New Zealand at an international conference on sustainability.
If you think this is hot, think again
4 Mar 2016
Researchers warn that more areas of the world will swelter more often in potentially lethal heatwaves unless greenhouse gas emissions are drastically curtailed.
Quitting Kyoto might cost us, new minister hears
2 Mar 2016
Not signing up to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol might cost New Zealand a front seat in the development of international carbon markets, it has been revealed.
Cold light shines on Paris climate pledges
1 Mar 2016
New research finds signs that many countries are making serious attempts to stick to action pledges made at the Paris climate summit – but others are still lagging way behind.
US uses trade rules to hinder India’s solar hopes
29 Feb 2016
World trade regulations have been invoked by the US to challenge India’s ambitious programme to expand massively its renewable energy capacity and provide local jobs.
Runaway emissions could make Earth uninhabitable
29 Feb 2016
Researchers predict that the hothouse effect of runaway greenhouse gases would ultimately boil our planet dry and make it incapable of sustaining life.
Carbon budget is only half as big as we thought
26 Feb 2016
Fossil fuel use will have to fall twice as fast as predicted if global warming is to be kept within the 2deg limit agreed internationally as being the point of no return, researchers say.
NZ to promote international markets idea at UN
22 Feb 2016
A push by New Zealand to develop credible international carbon markets will take a step forward when United Nations climate change negotiators meet in May.
Bill puts the environment in its place
15 Feb 2016
A bill putting the environment back into environmental protection is back before Parliament this week.
Investors tip balance toward renewables
9 Feb 2016
With investment in renewable electricity sources now outstripping polluting fossil fuels, a new study sees signs of change in global attitudes towards climate risks.
Solar club builds up powerful alliance
2 Feb 2016
The foundation stone of a new solar power club of 122 nations has been laid in Gurgaon, India, by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President François Hollande − cementing an agreement the two leaders made at the Paris climate talks last December.
We need fearless leaders, says Clark
25 Jan 2016
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark is calling for “fearless leadership” to get global agreements implemented – including the recently negotiated Paris Agreement on climate change.
Carbon capture technology needs urgent help
25 Jan 2016
Call for governments to give financial backing for technology that could help to save the world from overheating by preventing CO2 escaping into the atmosphere
The current economic system is looking pretty tired
18 Jan 2016
It’s increasingly clear that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way humans run the world. There are many contradictions experienced daily that prove this: the widening social gaps between rich and poor, the paradox of obesity next to starvation, and the ongoing destruction of the planet for short-term private profit.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
Mon 16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Outdated land-use system unfit for modern environmental regulation, commissioner warns
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s long-standing Land Use Capability (LUC) system is no longer fit for regulatory decision-making, according to a new review from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
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.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
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.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
US pressures Vanuatu at UN over ICJ’s landmark climate change ruling
Mon 16 Feb 2026
The United States is urging governments to pressure Vanuatu to withdraw a United Nations draft resolution supporting a landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that countries have a legal obligation to act on climate change.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
Flawed decision-making around taxing electricity to fund LNG import terminal
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: The Government's decision to back an LNG import terminal exemplifies an egregious failure in public policy and energy sector governance.
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.
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.
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.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
France bets on nuclear in new plan to cut fossil fuel imports
Mon 16 Feb 2026
The French government unveiled a 10-year energy strategy that leans heavily on nuclear power and offshore wind farms to curb fossil fuel dependence. Environmental groups criticised a 'stubborn insistence on believing in the nuclear myth'.
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.
Media round-up
Fri 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?
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.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
Explosive risk brings caution call on LNG
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Community energy lobbyists say a Liquified Natural Gas terminal in Taranaki must be built far from homes to protect locals from the risk of catastrophic explosions.
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
Fri 13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
No such thing as 'clean gas': if advertisers can act, why can’t politicians?
Mon 16 Feb 2026
COMMENT: In the rankings of least trusted professionals, advertising executives usually sit at the bottom along with politicians and real estate agents. But there’s one area where the advertising industry can now justifiably hold itself above politicians – stopping greenwashing by the gas industry.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 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.
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”.
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.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
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.
Climate change linked to decline in southern right whale
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Scientists in Australia are warning southern right whales are showing signs of climate-related stress, just days after a Green Party Member’s Bill was introduced in New Zealand proposing legal personhood for whales.
Climate ambassador moves on
Fri 13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
Thu 12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
Space growth plan sparks climate and ozone warnings
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government’s decision to increase the number of New Zealand's permitted space launches tenfold – from 100 to 1000 – has prompted warnings from scientists about potential impacts on the ozone layer and Southern Hemisphere climate systems.
Australia's Liberals elect net zero opponent as new leader
Mon 16 Feb 2026
Australia's opposition Liberal Party elected as leader on Friday a conservative who lobbied to drop its commitment to net zero emissions, as it seeks to counter an insurgent populist right and rebuild support after a disastrous election loss last year.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
Africa leads growth in solar energy as demand spreads beyond traditional markets, report says
Mon 16 Feb 2026
A report shows that Africa has emerged as the world's fastest-growing solar market even as global growth slowed last year, driven by a 60% surge in imports of solar panels from China.
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.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
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.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
Thu 12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
Thu 12 Feb 2026
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
