Yesterday Bill English said climate change isn’t important to Kiwis. Megan Rich, the principal of Granity School near Westport, says he’s wrong. The prime minister’s assertion that most Kiwis don’t wake up thinking about climate change is little comfort for those of us lying awake on the West Coast. Perhaps he might like to speak … Read more
Climate change is a harsh reality for the Pacific Islands. Madeleine Chapman travelled to the Solomon Islands with World Vision to meet the communities whose lives are already being upturned by climate change. The homes at the Lord Howe settlement are well built. So much so that it took me by surprise when we entered … Read more
Climate change is a harsh reality for the Pacific Islands. Madeleine Chapman travelled to the Solomon Islands with World Vision to meet the communities whose lives are already being upturned by climate change. At 105 years old, Stewart can remember a time when his island wasn’t underwater. At 105 years old, he can remember a … Read more
The Sustainable Business Council this morning released its Election Manifesto, a collaborative report representing the views of leading New Zealand businesses including Air New Zealand, SkyCity and Spark. The council’s executive director Abbie Reynolds introduces the report’s findings. As the election looms, the Sustainable Business Council Election Manifesto has revealed many leading New Zealand businesses … Read more
Climate change is harsh reality for the Pacific Islands. Madeleine Chapman travelled to the Solomon Islands with World Vision to meet the communities whose lives are already being upturned by climate change. The skipper navigated our banana boat through wooden posts that shot out of the ocean like tombstones. Beyond them, on an island no … Read more
Climate change is going to dramatically disfigure New Zealand’s economy, cutting up to half our GDP, according to fund manager Lance Wiggs. The good news? We have a chance to lead in a new low-carbon world – or we could do nothing and perhaps see our economy, and society, collapse. Sometimes the future is easy … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today, former President of Kiribati Anote Tong says that while the rest of the world ignores the gradual onset of climate change, the lives of Pacific peoples are already being … Read more
Global warming is a fact, it’s caused by humans, and it’s going to change our world. Oh, and one more truth: you may never be able to convince your libertarian, climate change-denying uncle otherwise. Dave Hansford explores the psychology of denial. The annals of inaction — the long, sorry history of human inertia — are … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today, The Morgan Foundation’s Paul Young looks at the data and uncovers some dirty secrets about New Zealand’s emissions. Aotearoa New Zealand – clean and green, principled and progressive. So … Read more
Z Energy is the largest retailer of petrol in New Zealand, yet is paying to promote Al Gore’s climate change movie An Inconvenient Sequel. Duncan Greive meets Z CEO Mike Bennetts and asks what’s up with that. The CEO stood atop the small flight of stairs leading into the multiplex of Event Cinemas’ tiring Newmarket … Read more
So far our Emissions Trading Scheme has been deemed largely ineffectual, thanks to low-integrity overseas credits and low emission prices. Motu’s Catherine Leining believes recent global and local changes mean the ETS can do its job – if we are ready to get serious about reducing New Zealand’s own emissions. Ninety-two percent of New Zealanders … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today, five journalists discuss the intricacies and importance of covering climate change. Climate change is the biggest story on any editor’s newslist right now. Legendary environmentalist David Suzuki wants journalists to … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today Don Rowe talks to departing Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright. Around the same time Al Gore released his first call to arms in the battle against climate … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Climate Change Week at The Spinoff is brought to you by An Inconvenient Sequel, Al Gore’s new movie and, says Simon Wilson, it’s not entirely what you might expect. Al … Read more
I realised that politicians can’t always be trusted to act in the best interests of the people or the planet, and felt compelled by an irresistible force to do something, writes Sarah Thomson, ahead of a date at the High Court in Wellington this month The day it really hit home was when I listened to James Hansen … Read more
As emitter-in-chief Donald Trump pulls out of the Paris Climate Accord, the time has come for a top-down approach to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Jack Close explains. Environmentalists are quick to sing out about New Zealand’s excessive greenhouse gas emissions – and rightly so. In the large part, we are a gas-guzzling, river-polluting, plastic-bag-wasting … Read more
Crowds in Wellington today were seen raising their middle fingers at the motorcade carrying the American secretary of state. We’d like to take the opportunity to say sorry. Donald Trump’s diplomat-in-chief was in the New Zealand capital today, and it welcomed him with grey skies and blustery rain. We’re sorry about that, Secretary Tillerson. This is … Read more
With secretary of state Rex Tillerson in New Zealand on Tuesday, Bill English and Paula Bennett have a chance to strongly condemn the dereliction of international leadership in quitting the Paris deal – and to use the occasion to galvanise action here, writes climate scientist James Renwick This morning we heard President Donald Trump formally state … Read more
Jonathan Cotton hears how technology can help literally save the world at Techweek’17’s Disrupting Climate Change event in Christchurch. Big-brained idealistic-types made up the crowd at Wednesday night’s Disrupting Climate Change event at the EPIC (Enterprise Precinct and Innovation Campus), part of Christchurch’s Techweek’17 offering. There’s was lots to hear and lots to learn. The … Read more
The excuses are feeble and unacceptable. We need to take sincere, authentic, practical and innovative action to reduce climate change gas emissions at home, writes Bronwyn Hayward. An Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Canterbury and a lead author for the International Panel for Climate Change special report on reducing climate change … Read more
From an idea floated in Rolling Stone magazine just five years ago, divestment – the withdrawal of investments in immoral industries – has grown into a global campaign. Now New Zealand businesses, government organisations and community groups are being encouraged to join the movement, writes 350 Aotearoa’s Niamh O’Flynn. A whole town evacuated, powerless in … Read more
The increasing impact of South Pacific cyclones on our own weather systems are the latest evidence that ‘kick the can down the road’ global warming policies aren’t enough. Lisa McLaren of youth-led climate change organisation Generation Zero explains why they’re campaigning for a legally binding target of net zero carbon by 2050. New Zealanders are … Read more
A major new report gives New Zealand a road map for achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this century. Now it’s time for business to stand up and be counted, says the Sustainable Business Council’s Abbie Reynolds. You’ve probably never heard of UK-based independent economics consultancy Vivid Economics, but the report they’re … Read more
Increasingly people are recognising that climate change is an enormous threat – while at the same time talking about it less, and becoming less likely to let it affect the way they vote or behave. Why is that? And is the only sane response to a suddenly insane world to surrender to the void? Patrick … Read more
All evidence points to one hard fact: it is incredibly improbable that you will remain alive. Hayden Donnell recommends either signing up for life insurance or fleeing to an apocalypse bunker this very minute. Are you reading this? Congratulations. Somehow you’re not dead. Good luck keeping it that way. Right now 11 major organ systems … Read more
As New Zealand’s Scott Base celebrates 60 years of science on ice, Veronika Meduna looks at one of Antarctica’s most puzzling features – the wayward behaviour of sea ice around the continent. Every southern winter, Antarctica doubles in size. As the sun sets on the continent, the surface of the ocean around it freezes, kicking … Read more
From confirmation that 2016 was New Zealand’s warmest year on record to the imminent inauguration of a big-emissions US president, it’s easy to understand desperation in the face of climate change. But we need to channel all our energies into urgent action, writes James Renwick. Climate change and global warming have been in the news … Read more
There’s one thing we know for sure about climate in 2016: it was the hottest year on record – both globally, and here in New Zealand. But what else was big news in climate change? Carys Goodwin takes stock. In November last year, I had the happy privilege of attending the 2016 climate conference in … Read more
This is the final episode for this season of The Get. A new season will start in the near future. In the meantime if you have journalists and writers you’d like us to talk to send your suggestions to jose@thespinoff.co.nz. “It might be a week or even a couple of weeks where you’re on the … Read more