Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, January 2nd, 2016 - 56 comments
On December 17, 2015 the Government released a series reports suggesting that New Zealand is complying with Kyoto Protocol obligations. A dig into the reports confirms however that the compliance is in name only and is for spin purposes rather than a real attempt at addressing the world’s most pressing problem.
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, December 27th, 2015 - 56 comments
COP21 provided welcome commitment by the world’s nations to do something meaningful about climate change. But this is not enough. So what next?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 19th, 2015 - 46 comments
Standardista authors are on summer break! There will be an Open Mike each day, but little or no other posting (unless an author feels particularly inspired). Here’s some summer reading suggestions – by all means add your own…
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, December 18th, 2015 - 11 comments
I/S at No Right Turn did some excellent work yesterday on the scams that underly New Zealand’s claims to be meeting its emissions targets.
Written By: - Date published: 12:36 pm, December 17th, 2015 - 11 comments
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, December 16th, 2015 - 59 comments
Elected representatives in Woodland North Carolina were persuaded by arguments that solar panels were sucking up all of the sun’s energy, were preventing plants from photosynthesising and were causing cancer to ban a proposed solar panel farm.
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, December 15th, 2015 - 55 comments
The Nats want to wallow in the feel-good rhetoric of COP21 action to address climate change. But it’s clear that they don’t intend to take the “ambitious action” they are heralding.
Written By: - Date published: 3:09 pm, December 14th, 2015 - 34 comments
The Government has responded to the COP21 convention agreement with the suggestion that little will need to change. And John Key has put the likely annual cost of fulfilling our pledge at less than a tenth of the figure that Tim Groser has used.
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, December 14th, 2015 - 108 comments
The dust is settling on COP21. After some initial optimism based on early reports, it’s clear that we didn’t get what we needed from Paris.
Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, December 14th, 2015 - 214 comments
Over the past decade we have seen sophisticated attacks against academics and NGOs who challenge government or industry. These attacks often appear organic in nature, but many times are in fact concerted efforts by the powerful.
Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, December 13th, 2015 - 56 comments
COP21 has set the benchmark, no greater than 1.5 degrees increase in global temperatures. But current national pledges suggest that the world is on track for at least 3 degrees. And if New Zealand’s effort was replicated throughout the world the increase would be more like 4 degrees or more. So what should New Zealand be doing?
Written By: - Date published: 12:52 am, December 13th, 2015 - 131 comments
Big news from COP21 in Paris, with a final draft of the agreement just released. It is sounding surprisingly good, 1.5 degree target, “fair, durable, balanced and legally-binding”.
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 12th, 2015 - 25 comments
Labour MP and associate spokesperson for Foreign Affairs (Pacific Climate Change) Sua William Sio describes the repercussions of a COP21 conference that does not agree to limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees.
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, December 11th, 2015 - 43 comments
For a small country New Zealand is certainly punching above its weight. It has been awarded a second fossil of the day award by the Climate Action Network.
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, December 8th, 2015 - 68 comments
Despite having no scientific background, no relevant experience and no related portfolios Paula Bennett is the new Minister in charge of Climate Change Issues.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 8th, 2015 - 32 comments
This post is essentially a distillation of two presentations given by Kevin Anderson at the Earth 101 gathering in Iceland earlier this year. You can view them here and here I highly recommend that you do as they are packed with high quality, no nonsense information. For those who don’t know, Kevin Anderson was the director of the Tyndall Centre, the UK’s leading academic climate change research organization and is a professor of energy and climate change in the School of Mechanical, Aeronautical and Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester.
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, December 7th, 2015 - 21 comments
Heavy flooding in Chennai and the North of England is the latest in a long line of recent extreme weather events. Welcome to the Anthropocene.
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, December 6th, 2015 - 33 comments
Invisiphilia analyses events of last week where environmental collective responsibility is finally gaining control over neo-liberalist philosophy and the old notion of an environmentalist being a sandal wearing, mong bean eaters has finally been given a decent burial.
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, December 5th, 2015 - 13 comments
That National Ltd™ is currently in the process of giving away New Zealand’s sovereignty in areas such as energy resources and related regulations, explains its contempt for the environment and the talking down of expectations regarding climate change.
Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, December 5th, 2015 - 48 comments
Good piece by Helen Clark on Huff Post: “Paris must be a catalyst for stepped up climate action. The world must move towards a zero-carbon future. There is no room for short-sightedness or a lack of ambition.”
Written By: - Date published: 5:58 pm, December 4th, 2015 - 112 comments
Reeling from tough produce sanctions, Russia will pursue a strategy as the world’s largest supplier of ‘ecologically clean’ food. And where is NZ?
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, December 4th, 2015 - 28 comments
At the same time that there is an Auditor General’s investigation into the appropriateness of the Government spend on the sheep farm in the middle of a Saudi desert the Government has announced a further spend of $2.6 million on a kit set abattoir. And the resumption of live exports by ship may be in the pipeline.
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, December 4th, 2015 - 29 comments
Gareth Morgan calls Key out as a climate change cheat, and concludes that “We are dangerously close to being laughed out of Paris”.
Written By: - Date published: 4:14 pm, December 3rd, 2015 - 7 comments
On carbon emissions I don’t have any hope for NZ under National, which is still stuck in a stupid fossil fuel mentality. I do have hope for the people, organisations, and regions within NZ who are collectively taking action. And I’m proud that my home of Dunedin is leading the way.
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, December 3rd, 2015 - 17 comments
McClay said he could not answer the specific question because he had “been advised” no such data exists.
How convenient.
Written By: - Date published: 7:56 am, December 2nd, 2015 - 19 comments
John Key has announced an increase in funding on research into the reduction of agricultural emissions of greenhouse gasses of $20 million over four years or $5 million a year. Which is the amount the Government cut from this research two months ago.
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, December 1st, 2015 - 32 comments
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said there is a voluntary regime in place for the manufacture and sale of high sugar food but where there is is self regulation it is often ignored.
Because of the danger high sugar foods potentially pose it’s important to have a regulatory body and licensing/education regime to ensure manufacturers and retailers only provide food that has healthy outcomes.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, December 1st, 2015 - 13 comments
The Youth Delegation at COP 21 has secured a copy of the Government’s negotiation guide and has published it …
Written By: - Date published: 9:04 am, November 30th, 2015 - 10 comments
The Australian Labor Party will today announce its goals for emissions reduction with a plan for zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Written By: - Date published: 11:24 am, November 29th, 2015 - 21 comments
Why are the so called leaders meeting at COP21 so afraid of public demonstrations? Let the people have their say…
Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, November 29th, 2015 - 22 comments
About time the Police got around to becoming a “very evidence based” service. Building great relationships with academia is a sensible way to start.
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