The Government spends over $2 billion each year on the environment – a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment explores how we are affecting the environment and whether the actions we are taking to improve it are working echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The report completes a cycle of work the Commissioner has undertaken over five years.  Continue →

Remarkable high-resolution results in the detection of the recent Wellington earthquake could mean a change in the way we prepare for and respond to seismic events echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); FiberSense’s DigitalSeismic sensing service that operates on fibre optic telecoms cables in Wellington detected a range of activity from the earthquake centred on the Cook Strait last week. Continue →

Resource management reform will help make sure New Zealand has the right infrastructure and development in the right place, while protecting and restoring our environment, Minister for the Environment David Parker says echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Good quality infrastructure was necessary for good urban development, reducing emissions and managing natural hazard and climate change risks. Continue →

The Government’s plan to adapt to rising sea levels, hotter temperatures and more extreme weather events is being described by experts as insufficient echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); We are going see the impacts of climate change on our communities and the way we live our lives, Climate Change Minister James Shaw says. Continue →

The UK High Court has ruled that the British government’s Net Zero Strategy breaches the Climate Change Act 2008. Continue →

The endorsement of an AT transport plan and the resulting court case proves Auckland Council’s climate plan is not worth the paper it is printed on echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Auckland Council was involved in a legal case against All Aboard Aotearoa (AAA), which asked for a judicial review of the Council Planning Committee’s decision to endorse Auckland Transport’s Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). Continue →

The Climate Change Commission’s advice on how agricultural emissions should be taxed is being criticised as a way to offset emissions produced by other sectors echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); A farm-level split-gas levy has been recommended as an alternative way to tax agricultural emissions outside of the emissions trading scheme. Continue →

Radiata pine forests are commonly used in New Zealand to help remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, however, the tree’s growth rate and ability to sequester carbon drops after 30 years echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Carbon uptake by rapid planting of new forests is currently the only way New Zealand has to remove CO2 from the atmosphere at the speed required to meet our net-zero target by 2050. Continue →

Nearly 200 countries have passed a resolution at the United Nations to address the full lifecycle of plastic, including production, design and disposal echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Water New Zealand has welcomed the global agreement to develop a legally-binding treaty by 2024 to tackle plastic pollution. Continue →

NIWA statistics report 2021 as the warmest year since records began and despite concern about climate change, most New Zealanders do not think it can be avoided, Horizon Research finds echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Concern about climate change is at its highest for nearly a decade, yet 78% of Kiwis don’t believe enough will be done in the next 10 years to avoid damaging temperature rises. Continue →

The official COP26 outcome – the 10-page Glasgow Pact, outlining non-binding ambitions with no tangible milestones or deadlines, is not a prescriptive roadmap for infrastructure, but it does re-affirm four key infrastructure related themes to deliver on a net zero future Sadek Wahba, Chairman and Managing Partner of I Squared Capital – Global Infrastructure Hub echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The relationship between sustainable and resilient infrastructure and climate mitigation is clear. Continue →

echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0);A highly ambitious pledge to cut emissions could cripple New Zealand’s agricultural sector and see billions of taxpayer dollars spent overseas It is unclear how New Zealand will meet its new emissions targets without investing heavily into international carbon markets. Continue →

echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0);In the past year alone, Canterbury, Westport, Napier, Taranaki and now Auckland have been hit with severe floods, something experts say will only become more common as global warming starts to take effect Over 200mm of rain fell in some areas of Auckland overnight this week, causing fifty homes to be evacuated, with people trapped, and cars being swept away due to flooding. Continue →

echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0);New Zealand has warmed up by 1.1cdeg and annual temperature changes have emerged above natural variability over the country in the last 110 years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released today Scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every part of the world region across the whole climate system, the report states. Continue →

echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0);The government has released a draft of the first of three bills to replace the Resource Management Act 1991 The exposure draft of the Natural and BuiltEnvironments Bill will be followed by the Strategic Planning Act and the Climate Change Adaptation Act. Continue →

echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0);Net-zero is a lofty goal for many businesses, but there are actions you can take right now to get closer to achieving this, according to emissions management experts at SINAI   Net-zero (short for net-zero emissions) means achieving a balance between the greenhouse gases you put into the atmosphere and those you take out. Continue →

echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0);A tax on high-polluting vehicles has already been announced and more is yet to come, but will these measures really help reduce our emissions and at what cost? Continue →

The COVID-19 pandemic has had short-term positive effects on the environment, but the production, consumption and disposal of additional single-use plastics will have had a greater impact on the environment and climate, the European Environment Agency reports Since the pandemic, air quality has improved in many countries due in part to fewer cars on the roads. Continue →

If you are ready to join the many businesses reducing their emissions, the key to getting started is to establish a carbon baseline – an inventory of sources of carbon emissions from business activities Upon surveying the landscape of organizational climate commitments, it is not uncommon to hear about attention grabbing goals like committing to 100% renewable energy, setting a science-based target, going carbon neutral or even climate positive. Continue →