Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
NZ must work with other countries to reach climate goals: new research
14 Oct 2024
By Liz Kivi | Aotearoa’s international climate targets can only be met through funding significant emissions reductions in other countries. But a lack of public support to spend this money overseas is paralysing New Zealand’s progress towards its goal, according to researchers.
UN carbon trading expert group agrees deal on market framework
14 Oct 2024
A UN expert group has reached a compromise on key elements of a global carbon trading system, in a bid to resolve nearly a decade of talks on what is seen as an important tool for raising climate finance.
The EU’s (vague) climate aid stance: Want more money? Get more donors
14 Oct 2024
The bloc won’t say how much money it’s willing to put up before other details are firmed up.
Minister to co-chair carbon market negotiations at COP29
11 Oct 2024
Climate change minister Simon Watts will chair negotiations on carbon markets at this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), in Azerbaijan next month.
Increased volatility as carbon price inches up towards auction floor
11 Oct 2024
The secondary carbon market saw a slight increase in volatility last week, with carbon trading platform Jarden noting higher volumes above the $62 mark.
New climate ambassador appointed
9 Oct 2024
New Zealand has a new top climate diplomat, with Stuart Horne stepping up as the country’s newly minted climate change ambassador, climate change minister Simon Watts announced this morning.
Azerbaijan is using COP29 to ‘peacewash’ its global image
3 Oct 2024
Azerbaijan is hosting the next UN climate summit, COP 29, in November. Their proposed agenda omits discussions on phasing out fossil fuels and excludes civil society participation.
Minister to meet Pacific Islands climate leaders
30 Sep 2024
Climate change minister Simon Watts is travelling to Fiji today to attend a Ministerial Meeting (Talanoa) with Pacific Island Countries, Australia, and New Zealand.
Govt allows only five days for submissions on repeal of oil and gas ban
27 Sep 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government is allowing only five days for the public to make submissions on legislation to restart oil and gas exploration.
Countries can transform global energy sector by fully implementing 2030 goals: IEA
26 Sep 2024
A new report from the International Energy Agency shows tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency are possible with the right enabling conditions.
Poor nations ask world's richest to do more on climate
26 Sep 2024
Developing nations on Monday pleaded at the U.N. General Assembly for the world's richest to do more to help them cope with the hardships they face from climate extremes.
Cop31 is a chance for Australia to go from climate laggard to global leader
20 Sep 2024
OPINION: Australia’s bid to co-host the UN’s climate conference is not just a diplomatic event; it is a pivotal opportunity to redefine the nation’s role in the global fight against climate change.
500 finance institutions call for better govt climate policy ahead of COP29
20 Sep 2024
More than 500 financial institutions, collectively worth more than $29 trillion in assets under management, have written to national governments urging them to update and introduce policies to unlock investment into climate action and nature restoration.
NZ’s decision to restart fossil fuel exploration will be ‘hard to explain to future generations’: leading climate scientist
19 Sep 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government’s plan to restart oil and gas exploration is set to lock in higher levels of global warming, according to a leading Australian climate scientist.
Media round-up
13 Sep 2024
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: a former top diplomat says we need to step up our game with our next climate target; are Kiwis really ‘sick and tired’ of spending on cycleways? and why Aotearoa isn’t doing enough to fund climate action.
Minister says buying offshore carbon credits ‘unrealistic’
12 Sep 2024
By Liz Kivi | Climate change minister Simon Watts says buying carbon mitigation offshore to meet the country’s international climate obligations is “unrealistic”.
Price shocks still possible for carbon market: experts
30 Aug 2024
While the government’s move to slash carbon auction volumes has stabilised New Zealand’s compliance carbon market somewhat, experts say there is still potential for market volatility due to wider uncertainty around climate policy.
Lawyers' climate disclosure concerns
30 Aug 2024
Climate-related financial disclosures could be under-reporting companies’ transition risk to investors, exposing them to both commercial and litigation risk.
New reports highlight NZ’s opportunity to boost climate finance
29 Aug 2024
Media release | Two new reports reveal how New Zealand can meet its climate finance obligations ahead of COP29.
Deputy prime minister’s climate denial ‘insult to Pacific leaders’ - Labour
28 Aug 2024
Winston Peters’ attempt to downplay climate change at the Pacific Islands Forum is an “embarrassing new low,” according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
NZ ‘reneging’ on climate policy makes international headlines
27 Aug 2024
International media has singled out New Zealand for walking back climate policies.
Pacific Islands leaders to meet as region faces ‘polycrisis’ of threats
26 Aug 2024
The last time UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a summit with the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum, he made international news as he stood thigh-deep, dressed in a suit and tie, in the sea off the coast of Tuvalu.
Which governments are backpedalling on climate commitments?
23 Aug 2024
New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK are among countries that have revised, or may revise, climate commitments for fiscal ends.
The 1.5°C target is dead, but climate action needn't be
23 Aug 2024
For the first time, climate scientists have explicitly said it will be impossible to limit peak warming to 1.5°C. Now our focus should be on taking action, not meaningless platitudes and slogans.
UN-backed organisation approves Fonterra’s climate targets
19 Aug 2024
By Jon Rawlinson | The world’s top corporate climate-target verifier, the London-based Science Based Targets initiative, has approved Fonterra’s emissions reductions targets.
Govt keeping options open on international climate targets: Watts
15 Aug 2024
By Liz Kivi | The government is looking at multiple ways to meet New Zealand’s 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), according to climate change minister Simon Watts.
Wary of Trump and Azerbaijan, businesses shun COP climate talks
13 Aug 2024
Companies are anxiously wondering: Can we get hotel rooms? What about the autocratic regime hosting? What if Trump wins?
Govt shifts goalposts for key climate target
8 Aug 2024
The government has told the Climate Change Commission to remove consideration of the 1.5 degrees target from a forthcoming report, a move expected to lead to significantly weaker climate ambition.
IPCC meeting in Sofia fails to agree timeline for seventh assessment report
8 Aug 2024
Delegates at the 61st meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Sofia, Bulgaria have failed to agree on a timeline for the upcoming seventh assessment report.
Carbon capture – climate plan not clear cut
6 Aug 2024
Capturing carbon is capturing imaginations, but can it live up to the government’s expectations?
How is the draft Emissions Reduction Plan supposed to work?
5 Aug 2024
COMMENT: In its new climate plan, the coalition government seems to be setting New Zealand up to withdraw from the world carbon market before 2035, argues economist Geoff Bertram.
Workshops put climate top of mind for decision makers
5 Aug 2024
More than one thousand Kiwis have now taken part in workshops designed to keep the climate crisis top of mind in decision-making.
Singapore Carbon Market Alliance launches
1 Aug 2024
Media release | The Singapore Economic Development Board and IETA have launched the Singapore Carbon Market Alliance, the first platform in Singapore aimed at helping companies obtain access to high-quality Article 6 carbon credits.
Significant risk Aotearoa will not meet climate targets: Climate Commission
31 Jul 2024
There is a significant risk that New Zealand will not meet future emissions reductions targets, according to a new report from the Climate Change Commission.
UN Secretary-General says the world must turbocharge the fossil fuel phaseout
29 Jul 2024
As a new report shows accelerating warming threatens 70 percent of the world’s workers, Antonio Guterres warns that wealthy countries expanding fossil fuel industries “are signing away our future.”
What’s on the table for food systems at COP29?
24 Jul 2024
Food systems advocates are eager to ensure that food and agriculture remain central topics, building on the momentum from COP28 in Dubai.
NZ climate ambassador resigns
22 Jul 2024
Climate change ambassador Kay Harrison has resigned just as the government was set to roll out major climate policies - many of which have been criticised by climate experts.
Green climate fund approves US$22.6 million for Tonga coastal resilience project
19 Jul 2024
Media release | The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has approved a US$22.66 million grant for Tonga’s Coastal Resilience Project.
New plan might see climate change minister in court
18 Jul 2024
Lawyers for Climate Action say there are “significant concerns” about whether the government’s new climate plan will achieve its climate targets, and could be in breach of the Climate Change Response Act.
Govt releases emissions reduction plan
17 Jul 2024
Climate change minister Simon Watts has released the second emissions reduction plan for consultation, with proposed changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme including aligning ETS units with emissions budgets and reviewing the free industrial allocation of units.
What does Denmark’s carbon tax mean for NZ?
17 Jul 2024
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: A few weeks back Denmark announced a proposal to introduce a tax on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Climate strategy contradictory - or step in the right direction?
11 Jul 2024
A climate policy expert and IPCC lead author is concerned that progress on climate will be lost if the government doesn’t overhaul the Emissions Trading Scheme and introduce other complementary policies to reduce emissions.
A growing spectre of Azerbaijani irredentism hangs over COP29
10 Jul 2024
Technically a diaspora rights organisation, critics say the Western Azerbaijan Community has become one of Baku’s key instruments for domestic radicalisation.
Jones says he hopes Climate Commission CEO is removed
3 Jul 2024
Minister for Resources Shane Jones says he hopes that the chief executive of the Climate Change Commission will soon be removed from her job.
We must take “all necessary measures” to control greenhouse gases, says International Tribunal
1 Jul 2024
The 21-judge International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea says science must guide efforts to prevent climate change and protect vulnerable people and wildlife.
Global survey reveals consensus for stronger climate action
24 Jun 2024
Media release | The overwhelming majority of people around the world want an end to geopolitical differences when it comes to fighting climate change, the results of a landmark public opinion poll conducted by the UN Development Programme.
Exposing ‘risks hiding in plain sight’ – accounting for offshore carbon credits
20 Jun 2024
Media release | The McGuinness Institute has published a discussion paper on how New Zealand’s commitment to purchase offshore carbon credits under the Paris Agreement should appear in financial statements.
Carbon auction preview: Experts predict likely failure and govt lost revenue “own goal”
18 Jun 2024
Experts are picking tomorrow’s carbon auction will fail, with no incentive for participants to bid at prices more than 20% higher than the current secondary market price.
Bonn climate talks: Key outcomes from UN conference
17 Jun 2024
Climate diplomats have finished another two weeks of intense negotiations in the German city of Bonn, discussing global efforts to cut emissions and protect people from climate hazards.
Bonn bulletin: Fossil fuel transition left homeless
12 Jun 2024
Countries clash over where to negotiate the shift away from dirty energy agreed at COP28, while talks on a new climate finance goal make little progress.
NZ part of hidden global deep-sea network beneath the waves
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Media release - Earth Sciences New Zealand | A world-first study of marine life, including sea creatures found in New Zealand's dark, cold, pressurised ocean depths, has revealed that deep-sea life is surprisingly more connected than previously thought.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Airlines risk legal challenges by advertising jet fuel as “sustainable”, NGO warns
18 Jul 2025
Amid suspected fraud in the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a new report says the airline industry should stop calling all alternatives to kerosene “sustainable”.
Tipping points: Window to avoid irreversible climate impacts is ‘rapidly closing’
11 Jul 2025
In the midst of a record-breaking heatwave in Europe, the UK city of Exeter recently played host to the second international conference on “tipping points”.
Sustainability claims questioned as renewable diesel surges
14 May 2025
Critics are sceptical about industry claims of renewable diesel life-cycle greenhouse gas emission cuts and warn renewable diesel carbon releases will surge if sourcing is scaled up, triggering tropical deforestation as producers convert forests to energy crops, such as oil palm and soy.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
Tue 22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
Greenpeace hails Italy court ruling allowing climate lawsuit against energy company to go ahead
Fri 25 Jul 2025
Italy’s highest court has ruled that a lawsuit brought by climate activists against Italian energy company ENI and its government shareholders can go ahead.
Bearish sentiment lingers for carbon market
11 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The compliance carbon market could be set for a gradual upward trajectory, however unsold volume from the quarterly Emissions Trading Scheme auctions continues to act as ‘a price ceiling,’ according to an expert.
EU wants to see China take more ambitious climate action
15 Jul 2025
The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal.
Forestry can be a big plus for sheep and beef farmers – but there are caveats
Tue 22 Jul 2025
By Keith Woodford | OPINION: These are good times for sheep and beef farmers with record product prices for meat, which is precisely why now is the time for sheep and beef farmers to be looking again at farm forestry.
Common low-grade clay strengthens low-carbon concrete
5 Jun 2025
Media release | Engineers at RMIT University have converted low-grade clay into a high-performance cement supplement, opening a potential new market in sustainable construction materials.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
NZ voluntary carbon market’s sad state
14 Jul 2025
By John O’Brien | OPINION: A combination of scandals, challenging economic times, and cheaper offshore carbon credits, mean that the domestic voluntary carbon market in New Zealand remains absolutely tiny.
Media round-up
Fri 25 Jul 2025
In our round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Dairy conversions surge; Gore is hit with a drinking water crisis; meanwhile farming lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sector.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Extreme weather events are the new frontline of online climate denial – report
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Climate science deniers are flooding social media with false claims during extreme weather events, drowning out reliable information and putting lives at risk.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
‘Ideological sludge’: How NZ is quiet quitting climate action
17 Jul 2025
New Zealand once stood out as a world leader on climate change. In June it became the first country in the world to abandon a commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal.
NZ govt’s fossil fuel plans could break international law
Thu 24 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government could be breaching international law with its plans to subsidise and expand fossil fuel extraction, following a ruling overnight from the world’s highest court.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
SBTi releases Net Zero Standard for banks, investors
Thu 24 Jul 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative announced the release of its finalised Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, aimed at enabling banks and investors to set net zero-aligned targets for their lending, investing, insurance and capital markets activities.
Local govt bill 'completely misses the point,' passes first reading
18 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s bill making changes to the Local Government Act to "refocus" councils on their core functions passed its first reading in Parliament last night, with critics saying it will set back climate resilience.
Methanex closure comes early this year
14 May 2025
The almost-now-annual closure of Methanex has come earlier this year, giving more confidence that the electricity system will get through the winter without a fuel shortfall.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
Wed 23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
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.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Elation as Whanganui gets voice in fast-track seabed mining decision
Thu 24 Jul 2025
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | A Whanganui District councillor is “elated” her council has been named a relevant authority in the fast-track application process for a seabed mining project off South Taranaki.
Urgent action needed to get on track for climate goals - commission
Fri 25 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand is making progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but more work is needed – urgently – to set up for future reductions, according to the latest report from the Climate Change Commission.
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.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
Fri 25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Markets aren't going to save us – Carr
9 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Consumerism is reaching its ecological and economic limits, and only systemic change - not market tweaks - can steer us away from climate catastrophe, according to former Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr.
Millions of tons of tiny plastic particles are polluting the ocean, study finds
15 Jul 2025
At least 27 million tonnes of nanoplastics are estimated to be floating in the North Atlantic Ocean, weighing more than all wild land mammals combined.
Another offensive launched in the government’s war on nature
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Media release - Environmental Defence Society | Last week the Minister for Resource Management Reform, Chris Bishop, announced that the government would be intervening, yet again, to prevent councils from progressing environmental protections under the Resource Management Act.
Activists sue US development bank over $4.6bn loan to massive Mozambique gas project
18 Jul 2025
Environmental groups claim loan is ‘unlawful’ in legal filing.
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.
Switching to renewables is ‘smart economics’ - Guterres
Thu 24 Jul 2025
The global energy transition is now “unstoppable” due to “smart economics”, UN secretary-general António Guterres has said in an online speech titled: “A moment of opportunity.”
Root intelligence: How old trees learn to suck more CO2 from the air
Thu 24 Jul 2025
New research finds that centuries-old oaks can dynamically rewire how they absorb nutrients—suggesting forests may be more resilient allies in the climate fight than once believed.
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’.
Can robot taxis solve NZ's transport woes?
Wed 23 Jul 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Ministry of Transport has tested the idea of driverless taxis as a futuristic fix. But while new modelling explores how "robotaxis" could ease congestion and reduce car ownership, critics say it misses a crucial point – the country’s worsening transport emissions.
United Nations carbon market rules agreed but concerns remain
25 Nov 2024
New carbon market rules agreed at the fractious UN climate summit will be a relief to New Zealand and Singapore, who were leading the negotiations, but concerns about greenwashing and disadvantaging nature-based solutions remain.
Fast, sustained phase-out of fossil fuels: best-performing countries in coal and transport sectors
10 Jul 2025
By Robert McLachlan | It’s true that climate change is getting worse – it will continue to get worse until emissions fall to near zero. But is action on phasing out fossil fuels really stalling?
Waste Levy risks becoming ‘slush fund’ under proposed changes – Commissioner
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Proposed changes to New Zealand's waste legislation risk undermining public trust in the waste levy scheme, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton.
The struggle for control of the Arctic is accelerating - and it's riskier than ever
11 Jul 2025
As the battle for one of the world’s coldest places heats up, an increasingly fragile security balance may be breaking down, leading to an escalating arms race.
UN University report warns against carbon credits from REDD, tree planting, and improved forest management
13 Jun 2025
But the report stops short of recommending banning the trade in carbon temporarily stored in trees.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
