Climate change - the problem?

Comprehensive scientific research about the impacts on us, of this global temperature rise, has concluded that, to enable a liveable world for us and our descendants and to avoid a range of hugely damaging impacts, we need to keep the temperature increase to well below 2C (above pre-industrial levels) and try and limit it to 1.5C

The magnitude of the rise (~1.5C to date) does not seem lot in the context of the seasonal variations we experience every year, however the average global temperature is now the highest it has been for over 10,000 years. Further, unless we rapidly reduce the levels of emissions of the the atmospheric “greenhouse gases” [GHG, including carbon dioxide and methane] that are the cause of the problem, we are on track to reach a 3C increase by the end of the century. This would be something not seen on Earth for millions of years - well before the human race and its forebears existed.

The existing solutions to the climate change problem we face - mitigation and adaptation - have been known for several decades now. Mitigation reduces GHG emissions and therefore reduces future impacts. Adaptation involves making changes to how we live that will manage the various future impacts (such as sea level rise) that increased GHG levels have already ‘locked in’.

What has been, and remains, lacking here and in most other countries however, is the political will and leadership needed to implement these solutions at the pace needed

Climate change - why do we need to urgently do more now?

Failure to reduced global emissions at a sufficient rate has resulted in a situation where urgent action in this areas is now needed, over the next 10 years. If we do not do this then, in the coming decades and longer, the functioning of our communities, economies and societies will be placed under huge pressure.

Our children and grandchildren in particular will be directly impacted by a number of massive problems including - at various times and in different parts of the country - severe drought, extreme weather events such as rainfall and storms causing flooding and slips, an increased frequency of vegetation fires, sea level rise and the adverse health impacts of very high temperatures.

These challenges will have huge costs they will have to meet (e.g. as insurance becomes unaffordable for properties and infrastructure deemed to be at risk from climate change) and will place many of their communities, and society in general, under severe economic and other pressures.

It is up to us to ensure they they are not left to deal with a problem that we (much more so than they) are responsible for enabling.

Climate change - what are the challenges that stop us taking action?

While surveys suggest that the majority of New Zealanders are concerned about the impacts of climate change that are already being seen here (e.g. making the rainfall during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 10% worse than it would have been in the absence of any climate change process).

Translating this support into action in New Zealand (as in other developed countries) however has been, and continues to be, problematic. A number of reasons have been proposed about why this is so, including:

• Humans are not very good at weighing long-term risks against short-term benefits

• People do not have the time or energy to spare as they are too busy dealing with other problems in their lives - such as the cost of living

• The very large scale, level of complexity of the problem and the multi-generational impacts make it difficult to know where to start

• Many New Zealanders have not yet been personally or otherwise (e.g. financially) impacted

• There is a lack of knowledge about what people can do in practice and the fact that some of the actions (e.g. the purchase of an EV or E-bike) cost a lot of money.

Climate change - what is it that we now need to do?

The above, and other, difficulties are very real and so this site will include and will further develop, some content about specific actions that people can take to better understand, and reduce their personal/family/business “carbon footprints” (i.e. their emissions).

While the importance of individual actions cannot be overstated, we need to remember that many of these measures have been known about for decades but have not yet been effective in reigning in reducing the GHG emissions that are driving the climate change process.

We now have at most 10 years to reduce emissions to the point that climate change impacts will be at least manageable rather than hugely disrupt lives and communities.

I believe that the urgency of this situation requires us to also to take action, on our own account or with others to encourage influencers and, especially, decision-makers to implement (at the necessary scale and pace) the known solutions to our climate change problem.

Leadership at these levels, and especially by our elected representatives in government, is vital as they have functional control over both the policy setting and budgetary levers that control what work is undertaken, the desired outcomes and the pace with which it is carried out.

I believe we need to let our MP’s know that climate change is the election defining issue for us and that we require them to step-up and lead in this critical area.