Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
Ship operators eye return to the days of sail
10 Dec 2010
Companies are looking to the sailing ships of the past for greener alternatives to today’s gas-guzzling vessels that transport the world's cargo.
UN chief pleads for action at Cancun talks
10 Dec 2010
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made an impassioned plea for agreement at the climate summit in Cancún, saying further delay threatened the health of the planet, the global economy and the well-being of the human race.
Act now or face more droughts, warn Greens
3 Dec 2010
New Zealand can expect more droughts and erosion if no progress is made in climate change talks under way in Cancun, the Green Party says.
Island states want climate insurance fund
3 Dec 2010
Small island states are calling for a “climate change insurance fund” to protect their people from “going extinct” as a new UN report warned sea level rise will make whole nations uninhabitable.
It all comes down to income, says report
3 Dec 2010
Addressing poverty today is the single best way to help poor people in developing countries to achieve food security and adapt to climate change, according to a new report.
Can we have a word, say kids at Cancun
3 Dec 2010
The Cancun climate change negotiations are being stormed by hundreds of young people calling for fair, ambitious and legally binding intergovernmental action on climate change - and our own New Zealand Youth Delegation is right in the midst of it.
Climate change talks must deliver - Oxfam
3 Dec 2010
Negotiators must begin UN climate talks with far more urgency and resolve following a year of weather-related disasters, record temperatures, flooding and rising sea levels, international agency Oxfam says.
Pledges not enough to avoid global damage
26 Nov 2010
Promises made last year by 80 countries to reduce climate change emissions fall well short of what is needed to avoid the worst consequences of global warming, UN scientists say.
EU plans to clamp down on fridge gas scam
26 Nov 2010
The European Commission is about to clamp down on a trading scam linked to the controversial greenhouse gas HFC-23, which is used in refrigerators.
Canadian Tories kill climate change bill
19 Nov 2010
A Canadian climate change bill calling for cuts in CO2 emissions has been defeated in the senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government.
India aims to slash transport emissions
19 Nov 2010
India, the world's fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter, has launched a new United Nations-backed project to reduce emissions and develop a low-carbon transport system.
Come Cancun, India and China might toe the line
12 Nov 2010
After being blamed for the failure of last year's climate change talks in Copenhagen, India has expressed willingness to tone down its demands in the next round, due to begin at the end of the month in Cancun.
Pacific nations sign climate declaration
12 Nov 2010
Fifteen countries have signed a declaration in Tarawa recognising the increasingly dire situation faced by small island countries due to climate change.
Forget deal at Cancun, says climate envoy
5 Nov 2010
President Barack Obama's setback in the US mid-term elections has killed of any hope of securing a legally binding global climate change deal.
Singapore welcomes big carbon traders
29 Oct 2010
Singapore's carbon market is growing and new firms are setting up shop on the back of increased interest in carbon trading in Asia.
Frankly speaking - Groser addresses Brazil conference
29 Oct 2010
The challenges of life as an international climate change negotiator have been revealed.
EVENT: Carbon Forum Asia 2010 - on now in Singapore
29 Oct 2010
Of the 2414 CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects to date, 77.6 per cent or 1875 are registered in Asia, representing a total of more than 360 million CER (Carbon Emissions Reduction) units.
UN okays pioneering Russian carbon project
22 Oct 2010
Russia has been given the green light for its first emissions reductions scheme to be verified under a new UN-backed carbon offset certification procedure.
Forest owners get positive ETS message from Government
19 Oct 2010
Land owners planting carbon forests say they have been assured that the Emissions Trading Scheme will survive when the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.
China shows the way in wind energy boom
15 Oct 2010
Wind energy could be supplying 22 per cent of the world's power generation by 2030, and 12 per cent as soon as 2020.
Europe claims victory for aviation role in ETS
15 Oct 2010
The European Union claims the way is now clear for its plans to include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 following an agreement at a meeting in Montreal.
UN to list ‘30 Ways in 30 Days’ to combat change
8 Oct 2010
In the run up to next month’s major climate change conference in Cancún, the United Nations will release one case study daily for 30 days to prove that solutions to combat global are available, accessible and replicable.
Oxfam criticises Global Climate Fund
8 Oct 2010
The poorest people who need the most help to adapt to a changing climate are largely being by-passed by the small amount of climate funds now being disbursed, says a new Oxfam report published at the UN climate change talks in Tianjin, China.
This emissions business is hard, says China
1 Oct 2010
China's goals to slow greenhouse gas growth will be tough and costly, says the nation's top climate change official.
Ecuador oil deal shows how it can be done, says UN
1 Oct 2010
An Ecuadorian decision to leave vast amounts of oil in the ground to protect the biodiversity of a national park represents a model of the kind of innovative international partnership that benefits everyone, says a senior United Nations official.
Pacific states plead for action at Cancun talks
1 Oct 2010
Two Pacific Islands countries have told the UN that the forthcoming climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, must come up with a binding agreement.
Taiwan moves toward carbon offset scheme
24 Sep 2010
Nearly 270 companies responsible for more than half of Taiwan's greenhouse gas pollution have agreed to supply emissions data to the government to help it to launch a carbon offset scheme.
Rugby star kicks off Global Climate Working Bee
24 Sep 2010
All Black Conrad Smith says he is supporting the 350 Aotearoa Global Climate Working Bee.
UN urges airlines to slash carbon emissions
17 Sep 2010
UN climate chief Christiana Figueres has urged the air transport industry to press on with curbs on emissions, underlining that it held "critical keys" to tackling global warming.
Carbon traders setting up shop in Singapore
3 Sep 2010
More companies trading in carbon offsets and those financing emissions reduction projects are setting up shop in Singapore.
Lomborg changes tune in new book
3 Sep 2010
Climate change sceptic Bjørn Lomborg, once compared to Adolf Hitler by UN climate chief Rajendra Pachauri, will publish a book next month that calls climate change “one of the chief concerns facing the world today.”
Indonesia ripe for trading fraud, warn experts
27 Aug 2010
Ambitious plans to harness Indonesia’s millions of hectares of forest to offset carbon emissions could give rise to a new strain of corruption and financial fraud unless managed properly, experts warn.
Traders demand EU act to bolster market
27 Aug 2010
European carbon market traders have called on the European Union to act now to inject some much needed confidence into the market.
EVENT: Carbon Forum Asia 2010: October 27-28, Singapore
27 Aug 2010
As of July 2010, the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention has registered more 2300 CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects globally, an increase of more than 35 per cent over a year ago.
Floods might have set new benchmark
20 Aug 2010
Flooding that has swamped one-fifth of Pakistan and left millions homeless could be the worst natural disaster to date attributable to climate change, UN officials and climatologists believe.
Ecuador touts world's first really green oil deal
13 Aug 2010
Ecuador's ambition to save its rainforest from exploitation could point the way to sparing other threatened landscapes
Huge Greenland iceberg sparks sea-level scare
13 Aug 2010
Sea levels could rise by up to seven metres if greenhouse gas emissions are not scaled back, a panel of leading geoscientists has told the US Congress.
Copenhagen loopholes ‘make farce' of rich pledges
6 Aug 2010
Wealthy nations’ pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions could be made farcical by loopholes in the UN climate change treaty put forward in Copenhagen last year.
Countries must step up action, says climate chief
6 Aug 2010
With the future of humanity at stake, governments must continue building common ground to further progress on climate change, the new United Nations chief on the issue said in the latest round of international negotiations which kicked off in Bonn this week.
UN: Pacific needs help to cope with climate change
6 Aug 2010
Closer international cooperation is necessary to help Pacific island nations to combat the impact of climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, pledging the United Nations’ commitment to mitigating the problem.
UN has Kyoto 'plan B' option if climate talks fail
23 Jul 2010
The UN is considering reducing the number of countries involved in faltering international climate talks in an effort to push through a deal.
China to begin domestic carbon trading
23 Jul 2010
China will start carbon trading in domestic businesses during the next five-year plan beginning in 2011 with an aim to reduce carbon emission.
UN to channel billions into coal-fired power plants
16 Jul 2010
The UN is set to channel billions of dollars of public money from rich countries to giant energy companies to build 20 heavily polluting coal-fired power plants on the basis that they will emit less carbon dioxide than older ones.
Pacific Islands call on rich countries to pay up
16 Jul 2010
Angry Pacific Islands states have called on rich countries to advance progress that has been stalled in delivering financial resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation projects.
Kenya pushes for first ETS in Africa
16 Jul 2010
Kenya is set to become a carbon trading hub in Africa if plans to establish a regional carbon emissions trading market prove successful.
China talks to pave way for Mexico summit
9 Jul 2010
China will host an additional round of climate talks in October in Tianjin before UN members convene in Mexico at the end of the year for a climate change summit.
Bank puts its money where its lightbulbs are
2 Jul 2010
Deutsche Bank and Ecuador have entered into a pioneering transaction to finance household energy efficiency through the carbon market.
UN gives bad Bulgaria the Kyoto boot
2 Jul 2010
Bulgaria has been suspended from United Nations carbon trading for violating greenhouse reporting rules set under the Kyoto Protocol.
De Boer departs … delighted, determined
25 Jun 2010
The UN’s outgoing chief climate negotiator, Yvo de Boer, is confident that the world is making progress on global warming.
Surprise! Bonn talks make some progress
18 Jun 2010
Delegates from 184 countries meeting in Bonn last week were never going to find it easy to deal with the debris left after the inconclusive result of last December’s UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.
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.
