Topics tagged with 'United Nations'
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.
Niger urges rich nations to make 'climate loss fund' operational
21 Dec 2022
The "loss and damage" fund agreed to last month at the COP27 climate conference aims for rich nations to help those that have borne the brunt of their global warming emissions. In Niger, climate change has fueled desertification and conflict as communities compete for dwindling resources.
NZ meets 2020 decarbonisation target with Kyoto credits
19 Dec 2022
New Zealand is meeting its commitment to reducing the country’s 2013-2022 emissions by 5% compared to 1990 levels by using 6.5 million Kyoto protocol credits.
Developed countries not sincere about climate justice, says India's foreign minister
13 Dec 2022
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has criticised developed countries for backtracking on promises to help nations vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Ottawa announces Indigenous guardians network to fight climate change
12 Dec 2022
The Canadian government is announcing the creation of a new network that will help support Indigenous-led environmental initiatives.
Which countries are ‘particularly vulnerable’ to climate change?
9 Dec 2022
The G77+China bloc of developing countries wanted all developing countries to be eligible for the funds. The European Union – which caused a lot of climate change and so will be expected to pay into the fund – wanted the money to only go to “particularly vulnerable” developing countries.
International biodiversity conference must lead to law reform in NZ: expert
8 Dec 2022
New Zealand must do more than simply participate at Montreal’s UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) taking place this week - any agreements must translate to law and policy reform here, according to a local expert.
The 30% goal: is bigger always better for biodiversity?
8 Dec 2022
The UN biodiversity conference now meeting in Montreal is considering a proposal to commit to putting 30 percent of land and sea under protection by 2030. Some ecologists warn that focusing too much on the size of protected areas risks missing what most needs saving.
UAE plans to have it both ways as Cop28 climate summit host
7 Dec 2022
The Gulf oil and gas exporter is going big on renewable energy investment and food security, while expanding hydrocarbon production.
UN report urges countries to treble nature funding by 2030
6 Dec 2022
Global funding to combat biodiversity loss and climate change needs to treble by the end of the decade, a major UN report has found.
The UN says new biodiversity credits can succeed where carbon offsets have failed
6 Dec 2022
The United Nations supports biodiversity credits as a way to boost funding for conservation efforts, but critics warn that the new financial instrument could give companies another tool to burnish green credentials without changing the way they do it do business, change.
COP15: Climate-style deal demanded to halt nature loss and avert survival crisis
5 Dec 2022
Nations around the world are being urged to agree a climate-style deal to halt and reverse nature loss, which is seen as vital to human survival.
PMs confirm commitment to 1.5 degrees
1 Dec 2022
Prime ministers Sanna Marin, of Finland, and Aotearoa’s Jacinda Ardern yesterday issued a joint statement stressing the need for “rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions” and the importance of pursuing efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Should China be let off the hook for climate finance?
30 Nov 2022
The most important outcome of COP27, the climate summit in Egypt earlier this month, was the creation of a new UN-administered fund to compensate developing countries for the costs they incur from climate change-related disasters.
A treaty to end the age of plastic
28 Nov 2022
In March, there was a collective cheer when United Nations member states adopted a historic resolution to end plastic pollution during the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi.
1.5 degrees not just aspirational: Shaw
25 Nov 2022
Climate change minister James Shaw says New Zealand’s commitment to 1.5 degrees is “absolutely essential.”
Lawyers call on government to amend law to commit it to 1.5 degrees pathway
24 Nov 2022
Lawyers for Climate Action New Zealand say that if the government is serious about its commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees it has no choice but to amend the Climate Change Response Act.
UN climate boss settles for no cuts on emissions
22 Nov 2022
Given an energy crisis in Europe and progress made in helping climate victims, the new climate chief for the United Nations said he'll settle for a lack of new emissions-cutting action coming out of the now-concluded climate talks in Egypt.
Pacific nations face certain disaster as COP27 fails to deliver: expert
21 Nov 2022
A climate diplomacy historian says the end of COP27 marks a historic day for Pacific diplomacy, but also a disaster for Pacific nations.
COP27: Climate costs deal struck but no fossil fuel progress
21 Nov 2022
A historic deal has been struck at the UN's COP27 summit that will see rich nations pay poorer countries for the damage and economic losses caused by climate change.
Is COP27 the end of hopes for limiting global warming to 1.5 Degrees?
21 Nov 2022
The COP27 climate conference in Egypt may be remembered as the moment when the world gave up on limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the most ambitious goal set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
NZ’s international offsets likely to come from “bespoke” Asia Pacific deals: Shaw
18 Nov 2022
The approximately 100 million offshore carbon credit offsets required to meet New Zealand’s Nationally Determined Contribution are likely to come from “bespoke” bilateral arrangements with countries in the Asia Pacific, climate change minister James Shaw has told an international climate change publication.
Women lead climate talks’ toughest topic: reparations
18 Nov 2022
Men usually outnumber and outrank women negotiators in climate talks, except when it comes to global warming’sthorniest diplomatic issue this year — reparations for climate disasters.
Shaw commits New Zealand to an indigenous framework for climate action
17 Nov 2022
Climate change minister James Shaw told delegates at COP27 in Egypt yesterday, that New Zealand was developing an indigenous framework for climate action led by Māori, for Māori.
Rich countries are trying to hit pause on climate summit’s key issue
17 Nov 2022
The past week has given the world a glimpse of what climate-vulnerable countries have long known: while rich countries bend over backwards to pledge their support for climate action, they are far less enthusiastic when it comes to forking over the cash.
Belize to sell carbon credits worth millions
17 Nov 2022
Belize is one of the world’s most culturally diverse countries, comprised of Creoles, Mayans, and Mennonites. Tourism is the primary economic driver, with people coming to snorkel in its clear ocean waters and enjoy its unblemished coral reefs. They also want to see the world’s largest population of jaguars and 800 species of birds. Agriculture is a money maker too, with the country selling bananas, citrus fruits, and sugar to world markets.
NZ’s loss and damage, loss of face?
16 Nov 2022
Less than a week after the government boasted of being one of just three countries in the world to commit to loss and damage funding, New Zealand has been awarded the ‘fossil of the day award’ for opposing an agreement at COP27 to establish a loss and damage finance facility.
Fifty years of observations, no reversal of glacier climate damage
Tue 31 Mar 2026
Media release: Earth Sciences New Zealand | Fifty years on from the first aerial survey of our Southern Alps glaciers, late snow and variable summer weather delivered a temporary reprieve from rapid ice loss, says Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Fonterra admits ‘100% grass-fed’ claim breached law in greenwashing row
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Fonterra has admitted its “100% New Zealand grass-fed” claims on Anchor butter were misleading and breached the law, settling a case brought by Greenpeace Aotearoa over packaging used between December 2023 and April 2025.
$30m airline fund risks ‘burning public money’ without lasting benefit – expert
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A $30 million government package to support regional air routes risks delivering poor value for money while increasing emissions, according to transport strategist Tim Adriaansen.
Signs of jet fuel hoarding emerge in Asia on Iran oil shock
26 Mar 2026
Signs are growing that Asian countries are hoarding jet fuel after the Iran war sent oil prices surging, reflecting growing strain on the aviation industry.
New protections for NZ migratory species under UN convention
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New international protections for migratory species, including several found in New Zealand, are a positive step – but global protections won’t halt the decline of migratory species on their own, experts say.
Air NZ joins Marsden Point SAF project
3 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand has quietly added its name to a consortium exploring the viability of green hydrogen production for sustainable aviation fuel at Channel Infrastructure’s Marsden Point energy hub.
Economic contraction will impact carbon market
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | While higher fossil fuel prices strengthen the long-run economics of decarbonisation, the current fuel crisis won’t inspire near-term confidence in the carbon market, according to Lizzie Chambers of Carbon Match.
Asia ramps up use of dirty fuels to cover energy shortfall triggered by Iran war
Thu 2 Apr 2026
South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plants
Carbon price: Ups and downs amid geopolitical uncertainty
26 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | After ups and downs in recent weeks, the carbon market again broke above the $40 mark this week, with questions around how the Middle East conflict will play out weighing on market confidence.
Labour mulls GIDI 2.0 as factory closures mount
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Factory closures across the country could have been prevented if the last Labour-led government’s GIDI fund to assist companies with the cost of electrification hadn't been scrapped, Labour energy spokesperson, Megan Woods, says.
Death toll in Afghanistan flooding increases to 28, authorities say
Wed 1 Apr 2026
Afghan authorities said Monday that the death toll from severe weather that has struck swathes of the country over the past four days has increased to 28, with 49 people injured. Dozens of people have died from extreme weather in the country so far this year.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
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.
Carbon trading schemes cut more emissions than carbon taxes, according to global study
20 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Carbon trading schemes are more effective than carbon taxes at reducing emissions, cutting fossil fuel use, and accelerating the shift to renewable energy, a global study has found.
Watts’s last stand: Simeon Brown takes energy portfolio
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Energy Minister Simon Watts has lost the portfolio to Cabinet fixer Simeon Brown in a reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this morning.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Dairy farmers' lack of climate action 'even bleaker' than water inaction – Upton
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Government projections for cutting agricultural emissions are being undermined by low farmer uptake, with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment warning the country is relying on “heroic” assumptions to meet its methane targets.
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.
Wellington planting nears one million trees
Mon 30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Greater Wellington’s parks restoration programme will hit one million native trees this year, with the first dams to rewet peat wetlands in Queen Elizabeth Park now completed after a years-long effort to bring these ecosystems – and their carbon sequestering superpowers – back to life.
Lawyers complain to ombudsman over Govt failure to release LNG modelling
Wed 1 Apr 2026
By Liz Kivi | Lawyers for Climate Action has made a formal complaint to the Ombudsman over the Government’s failure to release information about its controversial decision to build a LNG import terminal.
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.”
FMA to ease conditions for green bond issues
Tue 31 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Green, social and sustainability-linked bonds will face lower disclosure requirements and regulatory costs under a class exemption newly granted by the Financial Markets Authority.
Five trees can’t offset a car: Lawyers accuse Mazda of greenwashing
9 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is taking Mazda to the Advertising Standards Authority over its claims that a tree-planting programme will offset vehicle emissions.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
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.
NZ prepares to join ‘gold rush’ for white hydrogen
25 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand may be close to commercialising the capture and use of naturally occurring ‘white’ hydrogen, with investment plans for developments in the Wairarapa region picking up pace in response to spiralling oil prices.
Media round-up
20 Mar 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Crown lawyers agree High Court could quash emissions plan if found unlawful; NZ is locked in 'disaster inertia'; and climate change is notably absent from new development laws.
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.
Cleantech expo coming to Auckland
26 Mar 2026
New Zealand’s first national cleantech expo is set to bring together 30 innovators, in what organisers say is the country’s fastest growing area in the tech sector.
NZ First targets regional share of mining royalties
Mon 30 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand First has proposed returning 50% of mining royalties to regional communities, saying that too much of the value from resource extraction is currently flowing to Wellington.
Tuvalu prioritises climate change in agreement with NZ
27 Mar 2026
By Liz Kivi | New Zealand has pledged an additional $20 million to climate resilience work in Tuvalu, more than doubling Aotearoa's aid to the tiny island nation in the current financial year.
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.
Worst in a generation: Environmentalists slam fisheries reform bill
25 Mar 2026
Media release: Greenpeace | The Fisheries Amendment Bill, which will likely have its first reading in parliament this week, is being labelled the worst fisheries policy in a generation by environmental groups who are calling for it to be rejected to protect ocean health.
Govt process to change climate plan ‘fundamentally flawed’, says judge
18 Mar 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | The government’s 2024 changes to New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan was “as fundamentally flawed a process as I think I have ever seen”, the judge presiding in a case challenging climate change decision-making has said.
Kiwis overly optimistic about state of environment
27 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New research suggests many New Zealanders believe the environment is in better shape than it really is, with public perceptions often out of step with scientific evidence.
‘They pushed so many lies about recycling’: the fight to stop big oil pumping billions more into plastics
24 Feb 2026
Plastic production has doubled over the last 20 years – and will likely double again. For author Beth Gardiner, metal water bottles and canvas tote bags are not the solution. So what is?
Media round-up
Thu 2 Apr 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: The widening political gap is deepening cracks in NZ's climate consensus, Christchurch recorded more than 30,000 extra cycling trips over two weeks, and is the energy crisis a renewable inflection point?
Activists occupy controversial gold drilling site
25 Mar 2026
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | Opposition in Golden Bay to a controversial gold mine at Sams Creek has flared up over the weekend after several activists briefly occupied a drilling site.
China has a new competitor? Kazakhstan reveals huge rare Earth deposit that could power the next tech boom
25 Feb 2026
China’s grip on rare earths might finally see some competition, and the world is already taking notice.
Sci-tech prioritisation report is a joke that could cost NZ dearly, says NZ Association of Scientists
Thu 2 Apr 2026
Media release: New Zealand Association of Scientists | The Prioritisation Report released yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Science Innovation and Technology Council makes a poor case for further cuts and changes to our research system.
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.
AI’s arrival complicates Big Tech climate goals, and some worry it’s locking in more fossil fuels
Thu 2 Apr 2026
Six years ago, Google was confident that by 2030 it would power all operations with electricity generated from clean sources, including wind and solar power, and remove as much pollution as it produced. Today it calls those goals a “moonshot.” Microsoft says it’s still aiming to remove more carbon than it creates by 2030 but now describes the effort as “a marathon, not a sprint.”
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.
Momentum speeds up for low-emissions heavy transport
Thu 2 Apr 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand’s heavy vehicle sector is starting to move toward lower-emissions alternatives, with electric vehicles now delivering cost savings as well as lower emissions.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
‘Stop burning fossil fuels’ pleads scientist as extreme rain causes floods yet again
27 Mar 2026
Northland and Auckland have again been lashed by heavy rain, with hundreds of people evacuated last night because of extensive flooding in the Far North, and some areas hit by more than a month's average rainfall in just 24 hours.
AI tool predicts wildfire danger faster than current systems
26 Mar 2026
Media release | A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury.
Record wind output helps shield the UK from worst of Iran war fallout
Wed 1 Apr 2026
Record output from wind farms has helped boost total clean power supplies in the United Kingdom to new highs so far in 2026, and allowed power firms to pare use of fossil fuels to multi-year lows.
