Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
EU airline cash could go to climate fund
18 May 2012
European Union nations should pledge that funds from paying for airline emissions will help poor countries to deal with global warming, the bloc's climate chief said this week.
Asia-Pacific must respond to survive
18 May 2012
The Asia-Pacific region must continue to grow economically to lift millions of people out of poverty, but it must also respond to climate change to survive, the UN Development Programme says in a new report.
We’re using up our world, says report
18 May 2012
Humanity is using nature's services 50 per cent faster than Earth can renew, says a new report.
NZ facing the KP2 question
18 May 2012
At the Durban climate change talks last year, Japan, Canada and Russia announced that they would not sign up to Kyoto Protocol 2.
Get moving, Ban tells Rio nations
11 May 2012
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged countries to make progress in their negotiations of the outcome document for the Rio+20 conference next month.
Island nations commit to new fuels
11 May 2012
Twenty small island developing nations meeting in Barbados have announced new actions to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and end poverty.
Foresters should have their say on new rules
4 May 2012
While forestry talks at the 2011 UN climate change summit in Durban focused predominantly on the reduction of deforestation through mechanisms such as REDD and REDD+, there were other changes proposed to international carbon forestry laws which may have a profound effect on New Zealand foresters, Carbon Market Solutions says.
Govt stands back from new-world calls
27 Apr 2012
New Zealand supports global action on environmental issues, but might stop short of supporting an overhaul of world governance systems at the upcoming Rio+20 conference, officials say.
Islands face big fresh water problems
27 Apr 2012
Climate change will exacerbate water stress in Pacific Islands, particularly small islands that rely on seasonal rain for their freshwater needs, says a new United Nations report.
Talks urge film-makers to spread the word
27 Apr 2012
Film-makers have been urged to use the power of story-telling and documentaries to help to bring sustainability issues to life in a compelling manner.
Science key to our future, says UN
20 Apr 2012
Economic growth that relies on unsustainable patterns of consumption and production is undermining humankind’s quest for harmony with nature, says a top United Nations official.
Labour backs calls for a new world
13 Apr 2012
Labour’s deputy leader says he supports calls for a major overhaul of the world’s economic, social and environmental management systems.
We can't go on like this, says think tank
13 Apr 2012
Over the past 50 years, the world's middle and upper classes have more than doubled their consumption levels, and an additional 1 to 2 billion people globally aspire to join the consumer class, the Worldwatch Institute says in its latest report.
UN in pre-Rio call for business action
13 Apr 2012
The business and industry sectors play a key role in leading countries toward sustainable development, says a top United Nations official.
Why high-tech is vital in carbon economy
5 Apr 2012
The use of broadband in information and communication technology can help the world transition to a low-carbon economy and address the causes and effects of climate change, according to a new United Nations-backed report.
Worried scientists push for global action
30 Mar 2012
Thousands of scientists meeting in London are calling for radical economic and social reorganisation on a global scale to avert an environmental crisis.
Sustainability students in demand
30 Mar 2012
Learning how to save the world is proving to be a career-boosting strategy for graduates.
Grassroots groups win UN prizes
30 Mar 2012
Twenty-five community are the winners of a United Nations-backed partnership prize for promoting local sustainable development solutions.
World needs water plan, says report
16 Mar 2012
An unprecedented rise in the demand for food, rapid urbanisation and climate change are significantly threatening global water supplies, according to a new United Nations report.
New pact aims to control e-waste
16 Mar 2012
A new United Nations agreement seeks to diminish the damage caused by electronic waste through the collection and recycling of hazardous materials.
We're late, but no worries, says Smith
9 Mar 2012
New Zealand might have missed the deadline for submissions on increasing international emissions reduction levels, but Climate Change Minister Nick Smith says it’s not a problem.
NZ will target fossil fuels at Rio
9 Mar 2012
New Zealand will use the Rio+20 Summit to push for reform of fossil fuel subsidies.
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.
Nepal registers 40‚000 biogas plants
9 Mar 2012
Nepal’s 40,000 biogas plants have been registered with the Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nations Climate Change Convention for carbon trading.
Green economy Kiwi can win a ribbon
24 Feb 2012
The Government wants to recognise a New Zealander who has contributed to the development of a green economy.
Countries group to fight airlines action
24 Feb 2012
Officials from 29 countries have met in Moscow to try to put pressure on the European Union to abandon a law which requires international airlines to pay for carbon emissions.
Farmers tackle climate change challenge
24 Feb 2012
Representatives of millions of smallholders, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers have agreed at a United Nations forum in Rome on the need to jointly address the global challenges of food insecurity and climate change.
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.
Business must do sustainability, says UN
17 Feb 2012
More businesses must embrace the principle of sustainability in their strategies, says United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon.
Talks connect to connection technologies
10 Feb 2012
The upcoming United Nations summit on sustainable development is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set the world on a durable track that guarantees a decent standard of living for everyone, a top UN official says.
Former PM lines up business awards
10 Feb 2012
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark later this year will be handing out awards to innovative businesses judged to have contributed to sustainable development.
Blueprint demands action on sustainability
3 Feb 2012
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for action on a new blueprint for creating a sustainable planet, a just society and a growing economy, stressing that the current path will not lead to a fair and resilient future.
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.
Talks begin on agenda for Rio
27 Jan 2012
The first round of informal discussions on the proposed outcome document of the United Nations conference on sustainable development that will be held in Brazil in June got under way in New York with a senior UN official calling for an ambitious and yet practical conclusion.
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.
Energy efficiency vital, says UN report
20 Jan 2012
A new United Nations report urges investment in energy-efficient technologies to help to achieve sustainable growth and tackle a host of global challenges from climate change to poverty reduction.
Durban delegates hail breakthrough
16 Dec 2011
Countries at the Durban climate conference delivered what they believe is a breakthrough on the future of the international community’s response to climate change.
New phone app gives you carbon clues
16 Dec 2011
A new United Nations mobile telephone application lets users calculate their carbon footprint, visualise its equivalent in a particular ecosystem, and learn new ways in which they can reduce their emissions.
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.
Italian firm joins UN in helping poor
9 Dec 2011
An Italian company has joined forces with a United Nations agency in a scheme to combat hunger and malnutrition and to reduce carbon emissions.
Black carbon moves could save millions
2 Dec 2011
More than two million lives can be saved each year by implementing measures to reduce black carbon, methane and ozone emissions, says a new report.
UN pleads for ‘global conversation’
25 Nov 2011
The United Nations has launched a campaign ahead of its major conference on sustainable development (Rio+20) in June next year, inviting governments, non-governmental organisations and people everywhere to engage in a global conversation about the communities they want to see in the future.
Durban ... good COP or bad COP?
25 Nov 2011
The latest round of international climate change negotiations starts in Durban next week with a lot of expectation and controversy on its back, Carbon Market Solutions says.
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.
Australia joins drive to change food system
18 Nov 2011
A major transformation in the global food system is needed to address future threats to food security, according to experts from some of the world’s leading science organisations.
UN expects firm decisions in Durban
11 Nov 2011
The Durban conference on climate change this month should produce agreement on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases, and launch the green climate fund for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, says the head of the United Nations.
Row brews over industrial gases
4 Nov 2011
Carbon producers and consumers have taken opposing stands on whether industrial gas CERs should be banned from the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.
Environment needs urgent action, says report
4 Nov 2011
Concerted and rapid action is urgently needed to curb resource depletion and ensure human activities do not destroy the environment that supports economies and sustains life, warns a new report.
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'.
