Environment – Views & Research

A cow, in the middle of a herd, looking straight at the camera

NZ’s dairy industry faces an uncertain future – its fate now lies in its ability to adapt

Milena Bojovic, Macquarie University

Surging global tourism emissions are driven by just 20 countries – major new study

James Higham, Griffith University and Ya-Yen Sun, The University of Queensland

Funding research for economic return sounds good – but that’s not how science really works

Nicola Gaston, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Royal gardens: how queen bees and wasps set our backyards abuzz in readiness for summer

Jennifer Jandt, University of Otago and Connal McLean, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Unmasking hidden online hate: a new tool helps catch nasty comments – even when they’re disguised

Johnny Chan, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Read NZ's best experts in science, health, business and more

Get our free NZ Weekly newsletter

A farmer planting small native trees on a farm

Most NZ dairy farmers put profitability first – but some are planting native trees anyway

Elizabeth Elliot Noe, Lincoln University, New Zealand; Anita Wreford, Lincoln University, New Zealand, and Ottilie Stolte, University of Waikato

A concept image for green hydrogen production from renewable energy sources

Green hydrogen could decarbonise entire industries in NZ – but there’s a long way to go

Jannik Haas, University of Canterbury; Aaron Marshall, University of Canterbury; Andy Nicol, University of Canterbury; David Dempsey, University of Canterbury; Ian Wright, University of Canterbury; Matthew J Watson, University of Canterbury, and Rebecca Peer, University of Canterbury

Knowing superstitions aren’t real doesn’t stop us behaving superstitiously – why?

Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Auckland University of Technology and Sarah Cowie, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

COP29: ‘climate finance’ for the Pacific is mostly loans, saddling small island nations with more debt

Steven Ratuva, University of Canterbury

Lenora Qereqeretabua, the deputy speaker of Fiji's Parliament, at the COP29 climate summit.

COP29: who pays for climate action in developing nations – and how much – becomes more urgent

Nina Ives, Auckland University of Technology and David Hall, Auckland University of Technology

Hurricane with added wind speed direction

In your face: our acceptance of facial recognition technology depends on who is doing it – and where

Nicholas Dynon, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University

3D rendered digital human head outlined with neon contour lines that resemble a fingerprint's unique swirls, against a deep blue background.

Extreme weather has already cost vulnerable island nations US$141 billion – or about US$2,000 per person

Emily Wilkinson, ODI Global; Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Matt Bishop, University of Sheffield, and Vikrant Panwar, ODI Global

NZ must step up to protect its own oceans to match international commitments made at Commonwealth leaders’ meeting

Karen Scott, University of Canterbury

Sitiveni Rabuka, Prime Minister of Fiji (left) and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (right) attending the Chommonwealth leaders meeting in Samoa.

Stoneflies change colour in response to deforestation, suggesting humans can alter evolution – new research

Jonathan Waters, University of Otago and Graham McCulloch, University of Otago

Three different colourings of stoneflies

Majority of NZ researchers see Māori Indigenous knowledge as relevant to their work – but there is a gender divide

Katharina Ruckstuhl, University of Otago; Madeline Judge, University of Otago, and Urs Daellenbach, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

NZ is encouraging the use of AI – but it’s largely outsourcing the risks and societal costs

Nathan Cooper, University of Waikato and Amanda Turnbull, University of Waikato

An abstract image of a binary data stream