Helen Clark - Climate Aotearoa: Whats happening & what we can do about it

First published in 2021

Copyright individual contributors

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand

ISBN 978 1 98854 763 3

eISBN 978 1 76106 167 7

Design by Megan van Staden

Cover image by Rachel Mataira

This book of contributions on the climate crisis is being published as New Zealand, along with the rest of the world, continues to experience another crisis of global proportions the Covid-19 pandemic.

The difference in nature of these two global crises is striking. Warnings of pandemic risk over the years have attracted far less publicity than those of the impact of climate change. When Covid-19 struck, however, its impact was rapid, dramatic and highly visible with far-reaching effects across human health, economies and societies. In the case of climate change, its impacts unfold over time as a slower onset disaster; if not addressed decisively, they will be far-reaching across the full spectrum of biological and non-biological systems.

Furthermore, while effective measures for addressing the impact of Covid-19 have emerged quickly such as physical distancing, hygiene, mask-wearing, testing and tracing systems, quarantine, treatment, and now vaccination, there is no parallel set of measures with immediate and dramatic impact for climate change mitigation all necessary measures for that take time to implement and to gain traction.

Then, such has been the extent of social and economic carnage wrought by Covid-19 that governments have been forced to act albeit with some doing so more effectively than others. In the case of the climate crisis, the same political dynamic and momentum have not been present, despite the staunch advocacy of many.

So, what of the book to hand? Does it provide a basis for optimism when it comes to tackling climate change in Aotearoa New Zealand? In the two opening chapters, Haylee Koroi and Jim Salinger set out current concerns within a longer-term perspective. Haylee points out that Mori have been dealing with the dynamics of the environment for centuries, and that New Zealand now has an opportunity to move into right relationship or whanaungatanga aligned with the patterns and symmetry of our woven universe. Jim Salinger reminds us that while differences in average temperature in our climate journey over centuries into the future may look small, they have a huge effect on the environment and the lives of plants and animals.

Three further chapters respectively by Rob Bell, Matt McGlone, and Simon Thrush and Andrew Jeffs bring us up to date on the specifics of what science has to say about the impacts of sea-level rise, the effects of climate change on native flora, fauna, and biodiversity, and the trajectory for aquatic environments. What these chapters show is that human settlement in Aotearoa New Zealand has already inflicted huge damage on natural ecosystems, that climate change will add to this over time unless contained and mitigated, and that many of the actions we need to undertake for climate change mitigation are what we should do in any case to protect our environment.

After this essential work of setting the scene with the bigger picture, the book moves to more immediate issues, actions, and solutions. Rhys Jones and Kera Sherwood-ORegan canvass the health impacts of climate change, warning that (A)s climate change worsens, health inequities are likely to be magnified. Activists Jason Boberg and Sophie Handford add to this the perspectives of people with disabilities and young people respectively, underlining the interest and energy of wider communities in climate issues and their implications.

Then, on solutions, Jamie Morton, a science journalist at The New Zealand Herald, argues that individuals can make a difference, and that it is important that news media and scientists avoid doomsday narratives and focus on positive messages. Rod Oram takes a glass half-full look at the issues posed by agriculture and food production, concluding that there is growing interest in regenerative agriculture among farmers, and that there are sound economic and environmental reasons for progressing down that path. Adelia Hallett of Carbon News notes that climate change is a classic tragedy of the commons because no one owns the climate, and so no one person or country has the incentive to take care of it. She concludes that by the time this book is published, Aotearoa New Zealand will have just nine years to halve its emissions.

Among the reassuring features of this book is that it demonstrates that New Zealand has a community of scientists, journalists and activists that is passionate and well informed about climate change and willing to press the case. As well, action we take will be positive for our health and wellbeing and for our natural heritage. We want to preserve our indigenous forests. We want to prevent irreversible damage to coastlines, estuaries, wetlands, and other ecosystems. Our major cities are overrun with private vehicles and in need of containing urban sprawl. Our train network needs rescuing. Our primary industries are in almost all cases reaching and surpassing their environmental limits. As well, they are not yet adding sufficient value to our economy to support our lifestyle, and are in danger of becoming increasingly out of touch with changing consumer attitudes around the world. Our major tourist attractions were fully stretched pre-pandemic.

All this we know, but the need for change has to date been consigned to the slow lane of political possibility. Yet, as the Covid-19 crisis shows, when the team of five million acknowledges the need to act, it does so to great effect. That is the sense of urgency with which the climate crisis now needs to be addressed.

New Zealand needs to revisit many features of its economic, social and environmental policy settings. The need to do so has often been foreshadowed during our pandemic experience. Both the pandemic and the climate crisis should be catalysts now for making the necessary changes.

I congratulate the authors on their contributions to this book and hope that New Zealand policymakers will draw on them as they design responses to the climate crisis. Like the pandemic, it has the potential to destroy our prospects, but it doesnt have to be that way. It is within our collective capacity to design and implement a more sustainable future.

Indigenous sovereignty activist and Mori public health advisor

Ka t tonu Whakarongorua,
E whakarongo ana ki ng tai e rua,
Ko te tai tama tne e papaki mai nei ki Hokianga,
Ko te tai tama wahine e papaki mai n ki Taumrere

Whakarongorua stands in perpetuity,
And I listen to the two tides
The tide of the male aspect which beats at Hokianga
And the tide of the female aspect which laps at Taumrere