The Changing Climate

Featured image: The ocean is our greatest climate regulator. It must be a stronger part of climate policy and action

The ocean is our greatest climate regulator. It must be a stronger part of climate policy and action

Guest Author • Nov 30, 2021

Sarah Seabrook, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; Elisabeth Holland, The University of the South Pacific; Lisa Levin, University of California San Diego, and Natalya Gallo, University of Bergen   The German linguist Heinrich Zimmer once described the ocean as “limitless and immortal … the beginning and end of all things on Earth”. Standing on the shores of any … Read More

Featured image: Electric cars alone won’t save the planet. We’ll need to design cities so people can walk and cycle safely

Electric cars alone won’t save the planet. We’ll need to design cities so people can walk and cycle safely

Guest Author • Nov 19, 2021

Timothy Welch, University of Auckland   At the COP26 climate summit, world politicians patted themselves on their backs for coming to a last-minute agreement. Humanity now waits with bated breath to see if countries implement the commitments they made, and if those commitments help the planet. If the rest of our climate progress mirrors the policies around transportation, we’re … Read More

Featured image: How Māori knowledge could help New Zealanders turn their concern for the environment into action

How Māori knowledge could help New Zealanders turn their concern for the environment into action

Guest Author • Nov 10, 2021

Scott Burnett, Massey University; Apisalome Movono, Massey University, and Regina Scheyvens, Massey University   As world leaders continue negotiations at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, several agreements reached so far have acknowledged the connection between climate change and the global loss of biodiversity. 📢 UPDATE: Over 130 countries, covering 90% of the world’s forests, have … Read More

Featured image: NZ’s government plans to switch to a circular economy to cut waste and emissions, but it’s going around in the wrong circles

NZ’s government plans to switch to a circular economy to cut waste and emissions, but it’s going around in the wrong circles

Guest Author • Nov 04, 2021

Hannah Blumhardt, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington   The New Zealand government is currently developing plans to address two crises — climate change and waste — and to embrace a circular economy. But it has no clear path for how to do this. The resulting muddle is watering down the potential of a circular economy to bring … Read More

Featured image: Electrifying transport: why New Zealand can’t rely on battery-powered cars alone

Electrifying transport: why New Zealand can’t rely on battery-powered cars alone

Guest Author • Nov 03, 2021

Soheil Mohseni, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Alan Brent, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and James Hinkley, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington   The transport sector accounts for 47% of New Zealand’s carbon dioxide emissions. It will be a focus for decarbonisation to meet the country’s new climate pledge to … Read More

Featured image: Widespread collapse of West Antarctica’s ice sheet is avoidable if we keep global warming below 2℃

Widespread collapse of West Antarctica’s ice sheet is avoidable if we keep global warming below 2℃

Guest Author • Oct 19, 2021

Dan Lowry, GNS Science; Mario Krapp, GNS Science, and Nick Golledge, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington   Rising seas are already making storm damage more costly, adding to the impact on about 700 million people who live in low-lying coastal areas at risk of flooding. Scientists expect sea-level rise will exacerbate the damage from storm … Read More

Featured image: Social media is reducing climate change debates to your views on veganism

Social media is reducing climate change debates to your views on veganism

Guest Author • Oct 04, 2021

Taha Yasseri, University College Dublin and Mary Sanford, University of Oxford   Ten years ago, when we ranked the most controversial articles on Wikipedia, George W. Bush was at the top of the list with global warming at number five. The article on global warming has now been re-titled as climate change, but this remains among the … Read More

Featured image: Marine heatwaves during winter could have dire impacts on New Zealand fisheries and herald more summer storms

Marine heatwaves during winter could have dire impacts on New Zealand fisheries and herald more summer storms

Guest Author • Oct 01, 2021

João Marcos Azevedo Correia de Souza, MetService — Te Ratonga Tirorangi; Amandine Schaeffer, UNSW; Jonathan Gardner, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Robert Smith   The ocean around New Zealand is getting warmer, and extreme warming events have become more frequent over the past years. These marine heatwaves can have devastating impacts on ocean ecosystems. When they … Read More

Featured image: Pinpointing the role of climate change in every storm is impossible – and a luxury most countries can’t afford

Pinpointing the role of climate change in every storm is impossible – and a luxury most countries can’t afford

Guest Author • Sep 23, 2021

Friederike Otto, University of Oxford and Luke Harrington, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington   Tropical Storm Ida recently left a path of devastation across the US, capping a summer beset by wildfires, heatwaves and floods which broke records around the world. The inevitable question after each of these extreme weather events is the same: to what extent … Read More