In the last week Australia has insulted Pacific nations by refusing to commit to a 1.5 degree maximum increase in global temperatures and by claiming that Pacific Islands will be fine because they can pick Australia’s fruit. And Alan Jones has almost lost his job through misogynist attacks on Jacinda Ardern.
As Labour moves to protect prime food growing land around our cities, we should be having a wider discussion about food security in New Zealand.
If we thought the devastation and mess caused by a flood ripping through the old dump at Fox Glacier village was bad, just wait until a decent storm punches through the old dump of New Zealand’s fifth largest city on its coastline. It’s getting close.
New Zealand First’s late decision to promote a referendum concerning abortion has caught everyone including its spokesperson Tracy Martin by surprise and is the latest example of last minute changes of position.
The case for reducing mass air travel rests in looking at whole systems rather than counting the carbon emissions of each flight.
Take a breath, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. In an age of climate breakdown, where reforesting is a critical component of climate mitigation and adaptation, we need to stop cutting down so many trees, and move to forest-based thinking.
Activist Greta Thunberg is attending a United Nations global warming summit in New York, and will get there by boat not airplane. But should she consider flying?
Only 6 months ago the UK Liberal Democrat party was at a real low, with their leader resigning and the polls about 7%: same as the last five years. Fast forward five months from that and they are ready to become a major opposition party of opposition. Can the Greens do the same?
James Shaw lays it out in his AGM speech: the new climate denial sounds reasonable and is the gravest danger we currently face.
Last week the Embark 2019 conference involved corporations discussing what they can do to address climate change.
National Climate Change spokesperson Todd Muller has publicly stated that he is broadly supportive of the Government’s proposed EV incentive policy.
Simon Wilson has suggested in the the Herald this morning that for purely political reasons National will frustrate and stymie action on climate change
Brian Easton has put up a interesting post at Pundit which looks at how we should measure and constrain in our methane emissions. My initial impression is that his approach defeats the purpose of trying to reduce the effects of climate change over the coming century.
Many a bold claim has been made for the necessity of responding to climate change, but when it comes to storms affecting one’s own home, Matata is surely the test case of this century.
Stacey Kirk thinks that Julie Anne Genter should not have criticised National’s spin on the Government’s fuel efficient importation policy but forgets to do her basic job of analysing National’s spin.
Dinosaurs are speeding up our extinction.
There are rumours that the Interim Climate Change Committee will propose that agriculture is included in the Emissions Trading Scheme as an interim measure to allow a levy/rebate system that can operate at a farm level.
Simon Bridges is barking madly at green cars.
The submission period for the Zero Carbon Bill closes shortly. Please make a submission. This may be the New Zealand Goverment’s last chance to put in place measures to get us to carbon neutrality in time to make a difference.
A guest post from Anthony Rimell about a very disturbing attempt by ECAN to allow the levels of nitrate leach into Christchurch’s water supply to increase.
Julie Anne Genter has released a policy document proposing rebates for the purchase of electric and fuel efficient vehicles funded by a surcharge on gas guzzlers to start the transition of our vehicle fleet to carbon neutrality.
Recent scientific analysis has suggested the planting of a trillion trees is feasible and may go a long way to addressing the effects of climate change.
Regular Standard contributor Robert Guyton put up a great fight but has failed to persuade the dinosaurs on Environment Southland to declare a climate emergency.
The Interim Climate Change Commission has come out saying that making our electricity generation 100% renewable would be really expensive and that that expense would land on the poor of New Zealand. But the Government has already indicated it could be flexible on the target. ICCC should be helping us plan, not throwing road blocks in the way.
Republican State Senators in the state of Oregon have headed for the hills and are being protected by a local nut job militia in an effort to thwart the democratically elected majority from doing passing a law to address climate change.
Greenland holds a large store of fresh water. If fully melted, it will raise sea levels by roughly 7 metres. It is melting – fast. Last week, temperatures across Greenland about 22 degrees Celsius warmer than the normal for that time of year. It produced an extraordinary visual effect of dogs walking on water through surface melt over sea ice.
In the same week that Donald Trump said that the American climate was the cleanest climate, Ian Dunlop, former chairman of the Australian Coal Association, has warned of massive social consequences ranging from increased religious fervour to outright chaos. And UK Chancellor Philip Hammond is questioning if remedial action is affordable.
I confess that I wear underpants and that my body is exactly like Dan Carter’s – except maybe for some details around shape and size.
Simon Bridges has conceded that his claim that talk about Alfred Ngaro setting up a conservative party was “rumour and speculation” was not actually true. And Ngaro has gone on the offensive describing abortion as an unholy holocaust.
Forestry is forcing an important tilting point between mitigating climate change and land use, and it’s going to affect the viability of some North Island towns.
Bill Nye has decided that anger is the only adequate response to the climate change crisis.
It has been reported that US Presidential hopeful Joe Biden is hoping to craft a middle ground position between the extraordinarily strong scientific consensus suggesting we have a climate crisis and the industry supported anti scientific knee jerk opposition to doing anything.
The Zero Carbon bill is already being attacked by farming groups who are clearly concerned at the implications for their industry. And National is already showing signs that it will play politics with the issue.
The Government has announced that the Zero Carbon Bill will have as a goal carbon neutrality by 2050 and the halving of methane emissions by that time.
* and I don’t feel fine.
Tony Abbott is facing electoral defeat from Zali Steggall, an independent candidate who has put combating climate change at the centre of her campaign.
