Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are the main driving force of climate change, and all economic sectors need to internalize their costs. Food systems (including land use, production, refrigeration, food processing) account for a quarter of global GHG emissions. Agricultural exports in Asia-Pacific account for 18% of total exports, twice as …
The New Zealand government was under pressure Wednesday to a plan to meet its new greenhouse gas emissions target. On Tuesday, Climate Change Issues Minister Tim Groser announced the "ambitious" target to reduce emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, which was equivalent to 11 percent below 1990 …
Government has outlined the changes it wants to make to insurance cover after natural disasters, including a doubling of the cap on building cover to $200,000. The Earthquake Commission Act is being reformed, and a discussion paper on the proposed changes has been released today. Earthquake Commission Minister Gerry Brownlee …
The quality of diets in rodent feeding trials is crucial. We describe the contamination with environmental pollutants of 13 laboratory rodent diets from 5 continents. Measurements were performed using accredited methodologies. All diets were contaminated with pesticides (1-6 out of 262 measured), heavy metals (2-3 out of 4, mostly lead …
Minister vows to help with rebuild costs tipped to run into the millions, hundreds still unable to return home. The clean-up operation from the record flooding in the central North Island over the weekend could take up to a month. More than 400 people were evacuated from flood-hit homes in …
New Zealand scientists said Monday that government funding policies have effectively prevented them from making any serious input into the government's climate change stance. The New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) said it had concerns about serious flaws in the government's recent public consultation on climate change. "Climate change will …
Environment researchers have made fresh calls for a tax on polluters on the back of an OECD report highlighting rising pressures on our green backyard. Through its new book, Vanishing Nature, the Environmental Defence Society has put forward an environmental consumption tax and rebate as a key reform, which it …
Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty says new reports from the Parliamentary Commission for the Environment indicate dairy intensification is causing increasing damage to New Zealand's waterways. The discharge of pollutants from dairy operations means the water quality of many rivers and streams is continuing to decline. "While we welcome …
Researchers are working on feed supplements that could reduce methane emitted by cows through belching and flatulence, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has said. It is estimated agriculture is responsible for 14 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases, and methane accounts for a large portion of that. Cows emit …
The Antarctic ozone hole would have been 40% bigger by now if ozone-depleting chemicals had not been banned in the 1980s, according to research. Models also show that at certain times, a large hole would have opened up at the other end of the globe. The Arctic hole would have …
The smallest and rarest marine dolphin in the world could be extinct within 15 years if protection is not stepped up, new research suggests. Conservationists say the remaining population of Maui's dolphins has dropped below 50. The critically endangered species is found only in waters off New Zealand. Measures to …
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday pledged 55 billion yen in aid to Pacific island nations to help them combat climate change and natural disasters. Abe made the pledge as leaders of 14 Pacific island nations wrapped up a two-day meeting, which began on Friday in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, …
The Government has rebooted a scheme which pays farmers and other landowners $1300 a hectare for planting trees on their land. Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew said that next week's budget would allocate $3.75 million a year for the afforestation grant scheme (AGS), over a period of six years. …
Major changes to how quickly earthquake-prone buildings will need to be assessed and strengthened have been announced. Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith said the changes would reduce the number of buildings that would require assessment from an estimated 500,000 to 30,000, and bring down the total estimated cost …
New Zealand is eyeing up international carbon markets to meet any climate commitments, the government revealed in a consultation this week. Slammed by Greens as “seriously flawed”, the document emphasised the costs of cutting greenhouse emissions at home. It claimed for the same level of cost as the European Union’s …
New Zealanders are living longer on average than they were a decade ago, and life expectancy is moving up the rankings of developed nations, the government statistics agency said Friday. Life expectancy at birth had increased a year for women to 83.2 years and 1.5 years for men 79.5 years, …
WELLINGTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The final stages of a massive solar power project aimed at making the Cook Islands more energy independent have almost been completed, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said on Friday. McCully is to lead a New Zealand Parliament delegation to the Cook Islands next …
It's likely that plastic trash is an emerging threat to Auckland's famous harbour, though at present this can't be backed up by much hard data. Tiny pieces of plastic in the water may well be reducing fish stocks, killing off marine mammals and sea birds and leaching dangerous toxins into …
WELLINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government will be challenged to quicken its step to cut greenhouse gas emissions when it opens its post-2020 targets to public submissions this month. The national target to reduce harmful emissions after 2020 would be taken to international talks on a new …
Fjords from Alaska to Norway soak up potentially damaging carbon from the atmosphere, making the steep-sided inlets an overlooked natural ally in offsetting man-made climate change, a study showed on Monday. Fjords cover only 0.1 percent of the world's ocean surface but account for 11 percent of the organic carbon …
Climate change could drive up to a sixth of animals and plants on Earth to extinction unless governments cut rising greenhouse gas emissions, according to a US study published on Thursday. Species in South America, Australia and New Zealand are most at risk, since many live in small areas or …
