Eloise Gibson
@eloisegibson.bsky.social
Climate and energy communicator, NZ
Pinned
Eloise Gibson
@eloisegibson.bsky.social
· Aug 18
Some news...
I am happy and also sad to let you know I have a new job outside journalism. I finish at RNZ on August 28.
It's been an incredible 18 years in journalism - it really can be the best job in the world.
The BEST is talking to incredible scientists and researchers, national treasures.
I am happy and also sad to let you know I have a new job outside journalism. I finish at RNZ on August 28.
It's been an incredible 18 years in journalism - it really can be the best job in the world.
The BEST is talking to incredible scientists and researchers, national treasures.
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
BusinessDesk has a fantastic (and rare) for a data journalist in New Zealand. The Herald and BusinessDesk are separate publications, but whoever is in this role will work with me on projects like Budget day visualisations 1/2
careers.nzme.co.nz/jobs/6697721...
careers.nzme.co.nz/jobs/6697721...
Data Journalist - BusinessDesk - NZME
Join BusinessDesk as a Data Journalist—break market-moving stories, visualise insights, and set the global benchmark for data-driven reporting.
careers.nzme.co.nz
November 5, 2025 at 8:41 PM
BusinessDesk has a fantastic (and rare) for a data journalist in New Zealand. The Herald and BusinessDesk are separate publications, but whoever is in this role will work with me on projects like Budget day visualisations 1/2
careers.nzme.co.nz/jobs/6697721...
careers.nzme.co.nz/jobs/6697721...
You can listen here to my last audio piece for Morning Report.
Heartfelt thanks to Tui Warmenhoven for sharing her story, and the excellent Belinda Storey www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Heartfelt thanks to Tui Warmenhoven for sharing her story, and the excellent Belinda Storey www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Ageing bridges must be replaced to withstand next big cyclone
Thirty-nine bridges on the state highway network are already older than 100 - by 2030, that number will be 260.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 4, 2025 at 9:14 PM
You can listen here to my last audio piece for Morning Report.
Heartfelt thanks to Tui Warmenhoven for sharing her story, and the excellent Belinda Storey www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Heartfelt thanks to Tui Warmenhoven for sharing her story, and the excellent Belinda Storey www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
I talked to @eloisegibson.bsky.social about universal Road User Charges. Govt says (a) carbon charge, ETS will sort it; (b) cutting petrol carbon charge from $450/t to $50/t -> negligible effect. They can't both be true, I don't think either of them are true. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
$200 extra to drive a RAV4: Will RUC changes help or hurt the climate?
Universal road user charges are proposed to start in 2027, changing the way drivers of the country's more than 3 million petrol vehicles contribute to the cost of roads.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 26, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I talked to @eloisegibson.bsky.social about universal Road User Charges. Govt says (a) carbon charge, ETS will sort it; (b) cutting petrol carbon charge from $450/t to $50/t -> negligible effect. They can't both be true, I don't think either of them are true. www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
Completely stoked that this miracle of a snail found Giselle Clarkson, a person who a) would never squish it and b) knew all about left-spirals and c) deeply deserved a Ned in her life.
A tiny silly fun thing in the midst of all the chaos... We're on the hunt for a mate for Ned, a 1 in 40,000 left-spiralling snail. www.nzgeo.com/stories/lets...
Let's find a mate for Ned
One in 40,000 snails have the spiral on the left side of the shell, and they can only mate with other lefties. Can you help Ned find true love?
www.nzgeo.com
August 24, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Completely stoked that this miracle of a snail found Giselle Clarkson, a person who a) would never squish it and b) knew all about left-spirals and c) deeply deserved a Ned in her life.
Well played, my eternal frenemy @marcdaalder.bsky.social
The climate reading public is in good hands.
The climate reading public is in good hands.
1. It is a gigantic loss to climate journalism in NZ. You are unrivalled!
2. What a great gain at EECA, so good to have you still in the fight.
3. Can you just have all your pending OIAs forwarded to me?
4. I'll be OIAing everything you do at EECA.
2. What a great gain at EECA, so good to have you still in the fight.
3. Can you just have all your pending OIAs forwarded to me?
4. I'll be OIAing everything you do at EECA.
August 21, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Well played, my eternal frenemy @marcdaalder.bsky.social
The climate reading public is in good hands.
The climate reading public is in good hands.
The climate advice they didn't want you to see.
[finally, six days before I finish up, I get to use that headline formula 😅]
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
[finally, six days before I finish up, I get to use that headline formula 😅]
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Officials warn of damage to diplomatic relations in secret climate change memo
Officials raise concerns on government's climate change stance in mistakenly released advice.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 21, 2025 at 6:38 PM
The climate advice they didn't want you to see.
[finally, six days before I finish up, I get to use that headline formula 😅]
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
[finally, six days before I finish up, I get to use that headline formula 😅]
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
years ago, an outlet used this image (or something very close to it) on an article I wrote on steel decarbonisation, and someone replied "THE FORBIDDEN HALOUMI" and weirdly my brain hasn't let me ever forget it
August 19, 2025 at 7:11 PM
years ago, an outlet used this image (or something very close to it) on an article I wrote on steel decarbonisation, and someone replied "THE FORBIDDEN HALOUMI" and weirdly my brain hasn't let me ever forget it
Nawwww! These kids ❤️❤️💕
Massive news, and mixed feelings I'm sure! Huge thanks for your tenacious, transformative mahi bringing things we needed to know into the light, and your climate reporting especially.
This will always and forever be my fave, for so many reasons. Thank you! 🥰 interactives.stuff.co.nz/2022/09/kids...
This will always and forever be my fave, for so many reasons. Thank you! 🥰 interactives.stuff.co.nz/2022/09/kids...
Shaking up the school run
Kids don’t ride bikes to school in the same numbers as they used to. Parents are the problem – and the solution.
interactives.stuff.co.nz
August 18, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Nawwww! These kids ❤️❤️💕
Some news...
I am happy and also sad to let you know I have a new job outside journalism. I finish at RNZ on August 28.
It's been an incredible 18 years in journalism - it really can be the best job in the world.
The BEST is talking to incredible scientists and researchers, national treasures.
I am happy and also sad to let you know I have a new job outside journalism. I finish at RNZ on August 28.
It's been an incredible 18 years in journalism - it really can be the best job in the world.
The BEST is talking to incredible scientists and researchers, national treasures.
August 18, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Some news...
I am happy and also sad to let you know I have a new job outside journalism. I finish at RNZ on August 28.
It's been an incredible 18 years in journalism - it really can be the best job in the world.
The BEST is talking to incredible scientists and researchers, national treasures.
I am happy and also sad to let you know I have a new job outside journalism. I finish at RNZ on August 28.
It's been an incredible 18 years in journalism - it really can be the best job in the world.
The BEST is talking to incredible scientists and researchers, national treasures.
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
And now the attribution analysis results: climate change strengthened #Erin ’s peak intensity by about 9 mph 📈, resulting in it becoming a Category 5️⃣ storm. If not for human-caused climate change, Erin would have been a Category 4 storm at its peak. www.climatecentral.org/tropical-cyc...
August 18, 2025 at 9:44 PM
And now the attribution analysis results: climate change strengthened #Erin ’s peak intensity by about 9 mph 📈, resulting in it becoming a Category 5️⃣ storm. If not for human-caused climate change, Erin would have been a Category 4 storm at its peak. www.climatecentral.org/tropical-cyc...
@kirstyjohnston.bsky.social patiently going through the list of climate policies repealed, and what's still standing.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
How Jacinda Ardern’s ‘groundbreaking’ climate law has become ‘a shell’
The Zero Carbon Act promised to lock climate ambition into law. But with key policies repealed, delayed or watered down, the once 'world-leading' legislation has become a husk of its former self.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 18, 2025 at 8:27 PM
@kirstyjohnston.bsky.social patiently going through the list of climate policies repealed, and what's still standing.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Mary Argue doing the good mahi for RNZ on science funding cuts....
Here's the thing, we already were amongst the lowest levels of funding for research in the developed world. And these cuts & reprioritisations make this even worse.
You can't determine immediate economic implications from a lot, if not most, research. So, these decisions misunderstand science.
You can't determine immediate economic implications from a lot, if not most, research. So, these decisions misunderstand science.
August 18, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Mary Argue doing the good mahi for RNZ on science funding cuts....
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
Data on the cuts to the Marsden Fund reported by RNZ this morning
August 18, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Data on the cuts to the Marsden Fund reported by RNZ this morning
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
A NYT comment: “Humans ate organic, whole foods for millennia. They got plenty of exercise, lived without plastics. Until the mid-1800s, life expectancy at birth was 39. Food may be good medicine, but it’s not a panacea. Medical advances—like vaccines—have doubled the human lifespan, not superfoods”
There’s Money to Be Made From ‘MAHA.’ Food Companies Want In.
www.nytimes.com
August 14, 2025 at 11:43 AM
A NYT comment: “Humans ate organic, whole foods for millennia. They got plenty of exercise, lived without plastics. Until the mid-1800s, life expectancy at birth was 39. Food may be good medicine, but it’s not a panacea. Medical advances—like vaccines—have doubled the human lifespan, not superfoods”
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
Paywall now lifted: My special report this morning is about how we spent generations strangling our rivers to make room for our homes and farms, only to find we've ended up supercharging their flows.
What do we do when we realise we've built a society in a riverbed?
newsroom.co.nz/2025/08/13/l...
What do we do when we realise we've built a society in a riverbed?
newsroom.co.nz/2025/08/13/l...
We strangled our rivers; now they're fighting back
Special report: We forced NZ's braided rivers into tiny channels so we could build our homes and farms in their riverbeds – now we're seeing the consequences. Marc Daalder investigates.
newsroom.co.nz
August 13, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Paywall now lifted: My special report this morning is about how we spent generations strangling our rivers to make room for our homes and farms, only to find we've ended up supercharging their flows.
What do we do when we realise we've built a society in a riverbed?
newsroom.co.nz/2025/08/13/l...
What do we do when we realise we've built a society in a riverbed?
newsroom.co.nz/2025/08/13/l...
Agricultural companies never had to pay for their methane emissions in NZ, but they used to be required to report the totals to the EPA.
No longer.
For some companies, it was the only way to get even a crude estimate.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
No longer.
For some companies, it was the only way to get even a crude estimate.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Three of New Zealand's biggest emitters no longer have to reveal their climate impact
It comes after the government ended compulsory reporting for the farming sector.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 14, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Agricultural companies never had to pay for their methane emissions in NZ, but they used to be required to report the totals to the EPA.
No longer.
For some companies, it was the only way to get even a crude estimate.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
No longer.
For some companies, it was the only way to get even a crude estimate.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
"My message to conservatives both in Australia and abroad is when it comes to taking action on climate change, if you do it in an economically rational way there is also a political dividend to be gained."
- Australia's Matt Kean,noting NZ's target is "largely static"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
- Australia's Matt Kean,noting NZ's target is "largely static"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Australia could be about to leapfrog NZ on climate targets
A conservative Australian politician turned climate leader has told New Zealand ministers it is in their interests to do more on climate change.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 12, 2025 at 7:46 PM
"My message to conservatives both in Australia and abroad is when it comes to taking action on climate change, if you do it in an economically rational way there is also a political dividend to be gained."
- Australia's Matt Kean,noting NZ's target is "largely static"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
- Australia's Matt Kean,noting NZ's target is "largely static"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
"Without significantly investing in alternative modes, and then investing the revenue in frequent buses, protected bike lanes, or better train services, this isn't a congestion charge, it's just a tax on those who can't afford it” - Tim Welch
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Why congestion charging might not lower Auckland's air pollution
Congestion charges can lower emissions and travel times by putting cordons around the central city and spending the revenue on public transport, but proposals for Auckland could end up doing neither.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 11, 2025 at 11:15 PM
"Without significantly investing in alternative modes, and then investing the revenue in frequent buses, protected bike lanes, or better train services, this isn't a congestion charge, it's just a tax on those who can't afford it” - Tim Welch
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
Why congestion charging might not lower Auckland's air pollution
Why congestion charging might not lower Auckland's air pollution
Congestion charges can lower emissions and travel times by putting cordons around the central city and spending the revenue on public transport, but proposals for Auckland could end up doing neither.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 10, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Why congestion charging might not lower Auckland's air pollution
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
Just got a 🧪pitch from a PR claiming to work with Colossal (de-extinction chancers). It was a pre-written article claiming the science sector is carrying out "coordinated attacks" on the co. Spy the headline. They asked if I'd publish it on my Forbes column.
Not enough eye rolls on Earth for this 🙄
Not enough eye rolls on Earth for this 🙄
August 10, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Just got a 🧪pitch from a PR claiming to work with Colossal (de-extinction chancers). It was a pre-written article claiming the science sector is carrying out "coordinated attacks" on the co. Spy the headline. They asked if I'd publish it on my Forbes column.
Not enough eye rolls on Earth for this 🙄
Not enough eye rolls on Earth for this 🙄
I feel like there was a book about this kind of thing.
The Trump administration has deleted all previous National #Climate Assessments from government websites and fired the scientists working on the next report. Now they say they're going to rewrite the previous ones.
This is scientific sabotage and a rewriting of history.
www.cnn.com/2025/08/07/c...
This is scientific sabotage and a rewriting of history.
www.cnn.com/2025/08/07/c...
Energy chief suggests Trump administration is altering previously published climate reports | CNN
Wright said the Trump administration is updating the National Climate Assessments that have been previously published, which the administration recently removed from government websites.
www.cnn.com
August 8, 2025 at 5:22 AM
I feel like there was a book about this kind of thing.
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
"The most relevant take home for New Zealand is that the amount of extreme rainfall coming out of these storms will increase in the future and this increase will be dependent on future temperature increases"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Devastating cyclones to get 20-35 percent wetter with fossil fuel emissions
Researchers have used more precise climate modelling to reveal how fossil fuel emissions could affect cyclone behaviour.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
"The most relevant take home for New Zealand is that the amount of extreme rainfall coming out of these storms will increase in the future and this increase will be dependent on future temperature increases"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
"The most relevant take home for New Zealand is that the amount of extreme rainfall coming out of these storms will increase in the future and this increase will be dependent on future temperature increases"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Devastating cyclones to get 20-35 percent wetter with fossil fuel emissions
Researchers have used more precise climate modelling to reveal how fossil fuel emissions could affect cyclone behaviour.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
"The most relevant take home for New Zealand is that the amount of extreme rainfall coming out of these storms will increase in the future and this increase will be dependent on future temperature increases"
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Reposted by Eloise Gibson
There are many ways of destroying the integrity of #science. But one of the most critical is deleting data or failing to collect data or firing the people or destroying the instruments that collect the data that contradicts your preconceived notions.
www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...
www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...
Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose
The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.
www.npr.org
August 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
There are many ways of destroying the integrity of #science. But one of the most critical is deleting data or failing to collect data or firing the people or destroying the instruments that collect the data that contradicts your preconceived notions.
www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...
www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...