Planetary Ecology

Climate emergency or not, New Zealand needs to start doing its fair share of climate action

Robert McLachlan • Dec 02, 2020

• climate change emergency,
• Climate Commission,
• emissions trading scheme,
• nationally determined contributions,
• Paris Agreement,
• zero carbon act

Following this week’s climate emergency declaration, New Zealand will have to face up to the fact it has one of the worst climate records of industrialised nations. Of 43 industrialised countries — known as Annex 1 countries — 31 are experiencing a drop in emissions. But 12 have seen net emissions increase between 1990 and 2018, and New … Read More

New Zealand weighs up a nation-sized battery

Guest Author • Oct 21, 2020

• climate change,
• election,
• energy,
• Environment,
• government,
• Lake Onslow,
• renewable electricity

Ian Mason and Robert McLachlan Climate change was a small but perceptible part of the recent election. On climate change, Labour pointed proudly to their record of legislating for net zero emissions by 2050 (nicknamed the ‘Zero Carbon Act’), establishing a Climate Change Commission to set carbon budgets and advise the government, and for strengthening the Emissions Trading Scheme by … Read More

New Zealand voters divided on climate

Guest Author • Oct 01, 2020

• climate change,
• election,
• Lake Onslow,
• Paris Agreement,
• politics

Robert McLachlan, Massey University New Zealanders are polarised on climate change policy, according to a recent Stuff/Massey University survey of 55,000 readers. This puts the two major political parties in a difficult position as they seek options that are credible yet appealing to voters. Just 30% of Labour voters and 22% of National voters think the country is “more … Read More

Flight to nowhere sends the wrong message in climate crisis

Robert McLachlan • Sep 25, 2020

• climate change,
• flights,
• quantas,
• tourism

Qantas Airlines’ 7-hour “flight to nowhere”, that sold out in 10 minutes with prices from A$787 to A$3787, seemed like a sick joke to climate advocates. Apart from the waste of fuel and the pointless emissions, passengers would be able to see first-hand, from a plane just like those that carried coronavirus around the world so effectively, the sweeping devastation … Read More

Climate Commission is cleared for takeoff: James Renwick talks ice, snow, and climate action

Robert McLachlan • Feb 10, 2020

• carbon budget,
• climate change,
• Climate Commission,
• Larsen B,
• Paris Agreement,
• school strikes

James Renwick is Professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University of Wellington. He studied at Canterbury and the University of Washington and has worked on diverse aspects of climate science, including global atmospheric circulation and Antarctic sea ice. In December 2019 he was appointed to the New Zealand Climate Change Commission, which will recommend carbon budgets and mitigation strategies to … Read More

A multitude of drops: Social tipping points in climate action

Robert McLachlan • Jan 24, 2020

• climate change,
• decarbonisation,
• planetary boundaries

If you’re here, you probably know that the climate crisis is upon us, that it’s getting steadily worse, and that attempts to address it haven’t worked yet. People are still driving and even advertising SUVs with impunity, and oil companies are exploring like crazy, even in New Zealand. Politically, socially, economically, it’s a challenging problem. In Social tipping dynamics … Read More

Should I ditch my fossil-fueled car?

Robert McLachlan • Jan 09, 2020

• car,
• consumer,
• electric cars,
• environmental footprint

Yes. Reducing the number of cars in your household, or switching from petrol/diesel to electric, will dramatically reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. It’s one of the easiest and highest-impact climate steps you can take. New Zealand is being flooded with cars The New Zealand vehicle fleet is increasing rapidly. In the five years 2012-2017,  1,420,000 vehicles were imported and 660,000 … Read More

Blow, wind of fruitfulness

Robert McLachlan • Dec 20, 2019

• electricity,
• energy,
• renewable energy,
• Sustainability,
• Wind power

A short update on wind power in New Zealand, where there has been a string of positive announcements since I discussed the Turitea wind farm in May: On 22 May, Genesis committed to buy all the electricity from Tilt Renewables proposed 133 MW Waipipi wind farm at Waverley, south Taranaki, which allowed the project to go ahead. Read More

CORSIA, coming soon to an airport near you

Robert McLachlan • Dec 07, 2019

• #nofly,
• aviation emissions,
• carbon offsetting,
• Greta Thunberg

On 27 September, Greta Thunberg addressed a crowd of 500,000 at the School Strike for Climate in Montreal, saying: “You are a nation that is allegedly a climate leader. And Sweden is also a nation that is allegedly a climate leader. And in both cases, it means absolutely nothing. Because in both cases, it’s just empty words. And the politics … Read More

On the road to Net Zero, the next step is to update our UN pledge

Robert McLachlan • Nov 18, 2019

• carbon budget,
• carbon market,
• climate change,
• greenhouse gas emissions,
• Paris Agreement

A lot has happened since the UN’s report on 1.5ºC was released in October 2018. New Zealand’s Zero Carbon Bill has passed, and enshrines the 1.5ºC goal in law. The UK and France have also legally strengthened their targets to Net Zero 2050. The School Strike For Climate and Extinction Rebellion have become household names. But progress on the ground … Read More