Gareth Renowden • Dec 16, 2014 •
English goes silent on carbon deficit costs The Government is refusing to discuss what impact a 2030 carbon deficit will have on the economy – despite warnings from Treasury. Finance Minister Bill English has confirmed to Carbon News that Treasury is predicting carbon prices of between $10 and $165 a tonne between 2021 and 2030, […] … Read More
Cindy Baxter • Dec 14, 2014 •
1.23 am I blogged earlier in (my) day about where we were at. Since then, things have moved on. 1.20 a.m. and plenary’s about to start. There’s a new text out and one of the good things is that there’s much stronger stuff in there about how to measure the actions governments submit to the […] … Read More
Cindy Baxter • Dec 14, 2014 •
Saturday afternoon in Lima. On the good side, the one place selling good coffee is still open (the proper machines, rather than the horrible little Nescafe machines that the locals call ‘no es café.”) And I’ve managed to eke out my stack of kiwi Dark Ghana chocolate, saving the last big block for today. On […] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Dec 09, 2014 •
We’re facing a $3b carbon crisis … and it could be worse New Zealand has a $3 billion carbon headache looming – and Treasury says that’s the conservative estimate. Carbon emissions in the period 2021 to 2030 could cost the country as much as $52 billion. Official briefings to the incoming Government acknowledge that the […] … Read More
Cindy Baxter • Dec 05, 2014 •
New Zealand is coming under increasing scrutiny in Lima, not least because it’s our turn to be reviewed by the UNFCCC process. Early next week our representatives will have to defend our position and our lack of action to 190 governments in our first “multilateral assessment.” Already, there have been some tough questions, coming especially […] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Dec 03, 2014 •
It’s time to return to the delusions harboured by New Zealand’s little coterie of climate cranks about the NZ temperature record. Readers may recall that — somehow — the men who lost a court case against NIWA and then folded the charitable trust they’d used to bring the case in order to avoid paying costs, […] … Read More
Cindy Baxter • Dec 01, 2014 •
The population in the seaside capital of Peru, Lima, has grown exponentially in the last few days ahead of the latest round of UN climate talks, with 11,000 official delegates, 40,000 police, and thousands more who’ll attend the Peoples Climate Summit, all descending on the city. “The streets are filling up with gringos,” a horrified friend […] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Nov 27, 2014 •
Sea level rise of up to 40cm around New Zealand by the middle of this century is already locked in and will cause significant problems for coastal communities and infrastructure, according to a new report just released by Dr Jan Wright, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. The report — Changing Climate and Rising Seas: […] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Nov 18, 2014 •
The National Business Review — New Zealand’s biggest-selling business weekly — provides a happy media home for climate deniers of all stripes. Columnists like former ACT Party leader Rodney Hide and right wing spin doctor Matthew Hooton1 are given free rein to rant and rave about climate issues, but occasionally editor Nevil Gibson offers its […] … Read More
Gareth Renowden • Nov 17, 2014 •
Minister knows of water woes, but public information tap is turned off Finance Minister Bill English has been told something about fresh water — but the public isn’t allowed to know what it is. Last month, Ministry for the Environment officials were forced to admit they were wrong to say that the quality of our […] … Read More