Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
UNESCO study: climate change impact on education in Asia-Pacific region
18 May 2023
UNESCO has published a new regional report analysing the impacts of climate change and displacement on the right to education in the Asia-Pacific region.
US, UAE announced climate farming fund has grown to $13 bn
9 May 2023
Funding for a global initiative aimed at creating more environmentally friendly and climate-resilient farming has grown to $13 billion, co-leaders the United States and the United Arab Emirates said Monday.
Sweden lowers fossil fuel reduction targets, risks 2030 climate goals
9 May 2023
Sweden’s ruling coalition decided on Sunday to lower the minimum fossil fuel emission reduction targets, a move criticised by the opposition as Sweden risks its 2030 climate goals, while the influential right-wing populist Sweden Democrats claim “victory”.
Turkmenistan could turn to be Cop 28's big methane win
5 May 2023
Turkmenistan is under mounting pressure to act to curb methane emissions from its oil and gas production, and if it heeds those calls in time for the UN Cop 28 climate talks in Dubai, it could be a win for the climate and for a Cop presidency eager to turn pledges into concrete actions.
Wealthy nations could meet $100 billion climate finance target in 2023
4 May 2023
As climate change continues to wreak havoc with drought in one part of the world and deadly wildfires in the other, wealthy nations could be on track to meet the $100 billion climate finance pledge in 2023. The fund is to be given to underdeveloped countries to boost resilience against climate change.
Cop28 head backs fossil phase-out with carbon capture caveat
3 May 2023
The head of the Cop28 climate talks has called for “phasing out fossil fuel emissions”, teeing up a debate between governments over the role of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in the fight against climate change.
Torres Strait islanders forcing action on climate change
2 May 2023
Incorporating Indigenous knowledge systems and science is an effective way of addressing the impacts of climate change, and it's urgent in the Torres Strait.
UN court gets request for advisory opinion on climate change
20 Apr 2023
The United Nations’ highest court confirmed Wednesday that the General Assembly has asked for it to issue an advisory opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.”
Climate pledges of world's top carbon emitters
19 Apr 2023
Despite their 2015 pledge to limit global warming by slashing carbon emissions, big countries' commitments so far still fall short of meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement, monitors say.
Germany reaches 2022 CO2 targets, but not thanks to climate measures
19 Apr 2023
Germany met its emissions reduction targets for 2022, according to preliminary data from the country’s Climate Expert Council (Expertenrat fur Klimafragen).
Revisiting the Green Climate Fund in the Pacific
19 Apr 2023
Global climate funds have faced much criticism for failing to deliver fast and flexibly enough to match the urgency of the climate crisis, especially for the world’s most climate vulnerable countries.
Haiku writing IPCC author strikes again
17 Apr 2023
IPCC author and New Zealand Climate Change Commissioner, Andy Reisinger, has once again put pen to paper and condensed the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s synthesis report into 35 haiku.
Brazil, UAE seal climate, biofuels deals as leaders meet
17 Apr 2023
Brazil and the United Arab Emirates announced a series of deals on combating climate change and advancing biofuels Saturday as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid an official visit to the oil-rich country.
Tiny decrease in gross emissions, net emissions up slightly
14 Apr 2023
New Zealand’s net emissions increased slightly in 2021 - by 3% - while gross emissions were down a tiny 0.7% on the previous year, a slight reduction in gross emissions for the second consecutive year.
MFAT launches consultation on international climate negotiations
14 Apr 2023
Media release - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has launched a public consultation on Aotearoa New Zealand’s approach to international climate change negotiations.
Canada wants more Indigenous knowledge in IPCC climate reports
12 Apr 2023
Canadian delegates to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have called for broader inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in future climate reports.
NZ might face $24 billion pricetag for offshore carbon credits to 2030: Treasury
11 Apr 2023
New Zealand might be facing a $24 billion bill to meet its international obligations for carbon emission reductions to 2030, according to a new report.
A kingdom built on oil now controls the world’s climate progress
5 Apr 2023
In the months before the signing of the Paris Agreement, the then-crown prince of oil-rich Abu Dhabi wondered aloud about the fate of his sheikhdom at the end of the fossil fuel era.
NZ stands with Vanuatu on climate at UN
31 Mar 2023
Media release - New Zealand is welcoming a decision by the United Nations General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice to consider countries’ international legal obligations on climate change.
Push for decision at world’s top court
30 Mar 2023
The concerns of young people in the Pacific about climate change are set to be heard at the world's top court.
Cop28 host UAE tried to weaken global shipping’s climate ambition
30 Mar 2023
The United Arab Emirates tried to weaken global shipping’s climate target last week, sparking fears that it will lack ambition as host of the Cop28 climate summit.
How China, the U.S. and others watered down a key U.N. climate document
27 Mar 2023
China, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are among countries that significantly altered a United Nations document that will shape global climate policy for years to come, according to an account of international negotiations preceding its release.
Best by the rest...
24 Mar 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: the Climate Change Commision wants the Government to explain why it rejected advice; meanwhile, the commission failed to win legal costs from Lawyers for Climate Action NZ; and the Labour-Green coalition is under pressure as Labour dumps climate policies.
Nations fight to be called climate vulnerable in IPCC report
24 Mar 2023
Government negotiators fought bitterly last week over which groups and regions are defined as particularly vulnerable to climate change in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Can we really take CO2 back out of the air?
22 Mar 2023
Tackling climate change could require sucking carbon back out of the atmosphere, according to the IPCC. Jocelyn Timperley looks at how these 'negative emissions' might work.
Climate change: “It’s here, it's now, it’s us” - local experts on IPCC report
21 Mar 2023
The IPCC's latest report pulls no punches: “Climate change is here, it’s now, it’s us,” says Nick Cradock-Henry, GNS Science and IPCC contributing author.
New IPCC report shows the ‘climate time bomb is ticking,’ says UN Secretary General António Guterres
21 Mar 2023
The latest climate science assessment warns—once again—that global warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius would be devastating for Earth’s people and ecosystems.
As climate woes worsen, Africa's ecconomies suffer: UN
17 Mar 2023
From devastating cyclones and floods to an unrelenting drought, African countries are spending between 2% and 9% of their budgets to respond to extreme weather events, according to a United Nations report.
The UN’s climate handbook for a ‘liveable’ future
15 Mar 2023
Earth is hotter than it has been in 125,000 years but deadly heatwaves, storms and floods amplified by global warming could be a foretaste as planet-heating fossil fuels put a “liveable” future at risk.
New mechanism provides a key tool for countries to meet their climate goals
14 Mar 2023
The full operationalisation of the ‘Article 6.4 mechanism’, as established in the Paris Agreement, is key to help countries unlock the goals set out in their climate action plans, said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell.
Governments vet crucial UN climate science report
14 Mar 2023
Diplomats from nearly 200 nations and top climate scientists began a week-long huddle in Switzerland on Monday to distil nearly a decade of published science into a 20-odd-page warning about the existential danger of global warming and what to do about it.
U.N. official: Decarbonisation might not happen fast enough to stop climate change
10 Mar 2023
The world is not acting fast enough on global warming, according to a top official at the United Nations.
An oil CEO who will head global climate talks this year calls for lowered emissions
9 Mar 2023
A top oil company CEO who will lead international climate talks later this year told energy industry power players on Monday that the world must cut emissions 7% each year and eliminate all releases of the greenhouse gas methane — strong comments from an oil executive.
High seas treaty a step forward - but “the work is far from over,” say experts
8 Mar 2023
Experts have welcomed an international treaty for the high seas - but say there is still a long way to go to ensure adequate protection and sustainable use.
'Total embarrassment': Denmark slams climate fund failure
8 Mar 2023
Denmark, an active foreign aid donor, on Tuesday slammed as a "total embarrassment" the fact rich nations have failed to raise a promised $100 billion a year to help poor countries battle climate change.
EU rewrites climate diplomacy deal to resolve nuclear sticking point
8 Mar 2023
European Union countries intend to push for a global phasing out of fossil fuels among their climate diplomacy priorities this year, which the bloc hopes to approve this week after rewriting a contentious section on nuclear energy.
Fix 'obsolete' climate funding or risk disaster, warns UN fund chief
7 Mar 2023
The systems the rich world uses to deliver climate finance to low-income countries are "obsolete," grinding down progress on averting a devastating climate crisis, warned the outgoing head of the United Nations’ multi-billion-dollar climate fund for low-income nations.
Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seas
6 Mar 2023
For the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas - representing a turning point for vast stretches of the planet where conservation has previously been hampered by a confusing patchwork of laws.
Vanuatu gathers support for UN climate justice statement
3 Mar 2023
More than 100 countries have backed a Pacific island’s attempt to seek accountability for the climate crisis at the world’s top court
A loss and damage deal was finalised at COP27. Now, the hard work begins
2 Mar 2023
Loss and damage costs related to climate change could total more than $1 trillion by 2050. Where will the money come from, and who will get it?
40% of Australasians among world's top 10% of carbon gluttons
24 Feb 2023
The International Energy Association estimates that 40% of Aussies and Kiwis are among the world’s top 10% of emitters, with an average energy-related CO2 footprint of 20 tCO2 per capita per year.
UN climate resolution tabled
22 Feb 2023
New Zealand was among a group of 19 countries that tabled a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly, yesterday, asking the world’s highest court to clarify what international law requires of States in the face of the climate crisis.
Why the world needs a deal to protect its oceans
21 Feb 2023
Delegates from up to 193 UN member states will start talks in New York on Monday to try to wrap up negotiations on a long-awaited treaty to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing, pollution and other threats.
World Bank chief to step down early after climate controversy
17 Feb 2023
World Bank president David Malpass will step down from his post in June, nearly a year before his term is due to expire.
Climate action should not be left to our children: Vanuatu PM
13 Feb 2023
An historic vote at the United Nations General Assembly in New York calling for decisive action on global warming is expected to take place next month.
The U.N. Secretary-General’s searing message for the fossil-fuel industry
8 Feb 2023
On Monday morning, at the United Nations, the Secretary-General delivered his annual report on priorities—a kind of State of the Planet address. If you’re struggling to remember the name of the current Secretary-General, it’s António Guterres, who came to the job after, among other things, serving as the Prime Minister of Portugal.
Fight climate change without slowing growth: UAE's COP28 chief
31 Jan 2023
The fight against global warming should not be at the expense of economic growth, the United Arab Emirates' oil chief who will lead this year's UN climate talks said on Monday.
US lawmakers press to remove oil boss from leading COP28 climate talks
30 Jan 2023
A group of U.S. lawmakers wants the Biden administration to ask the United Arab Emirates to remove the oil company chief the country chose to lead the next U.N. climate talks — or at a minimum "seek assurances" that the UAE will promote an ambitious COP28 summit.
Climate action, one recipe at a time
23 Dec 2022
Renowned chefs such as UN World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador Chef Manal Al Alem, and Chef José Andres, as well as indigenous home cooks and farmers from around the world, have contributed to a new cookbook that includes recipes that are delicious and climate friendly.
Aotearoa signs up to UN deal for nature
21 Dec 2022
Aotearoa New Zealand has agreed to a historic international deal with a 2030 deadline: Protect 30% of Earth’s lands, oceans, coastal areas, and inland waters; reduce annual harmful government subsidies by $500 billion; and cut food waste in half.
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'.
