New Zealand Transport Minister Michael Wood's ministry issued a dire warning that current policies will barely shift the national transport emissions.

More than doubling funding for public transport initiatives, walking and cycling infrastructure represents a desire for the new government to shift from New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) being seen as an agency that just builds roads.

Yet in this year's budget, for every dollar spent on roads, taxpayers will spend NZ$0.50 on national rail, public transport, ferry, cycling and walking projects through the national land transport fund, as per a policy statement prepared by the previous minister, Phil Twyford.

 

For additional details, please visit the link below:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/123681583/new-transport-minister-promises-to-get-moving-quickly-to-cut-emissions 

Posted on - 2020-12-17

A local resident on Ailuk discovered a boat with 649 one-kilogram bricks of cocaine, which had an estimated street value of over $US80 million. It is the largest single amount of the drug to wash up over the past two decades. Ailuk atoll is 244 miles north of the capital Majuro with a population of about 400 people.

Marshall Islands Police Department's Criminal Investigation chief Captain Vincent Tani said the Ailuk resident found in an 18' fibreglass boat, with a large compartment under the deck that had been sealed to hide hundreds of one-kilo "bricks" of cocaine wrapped in plastic and stamped with the initials "KW," 

 

For additional details on the case, please visit the link below:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/433026/marshall-islands-destroy-record-cocaine-haul

Posted on - 2020-12-17

Meridian Energy, which supplies the Tiwai Point smelter operated by Rio Tinto, will conduct a six-month, NZ$2 million study with Contact Energy concerning how renewable hydrogen production may offer potential exports and help manage power production at a low cost during dry years.

A large plant in Southland may cushion the impact of the closure of the smelter, and help decarbonize transport.

The Tiwai Point smelter, which consumes about 14 percent of New Zealand's power, has been uneconomic because of its high energy demands.

 

 

For additional details, visit the link below:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/432647/tiwai-point-smelter-closure-power-firms-explore-green-hydrogen-options 

Posted on - 2020-12-17