CLIMATE CHANGE
New Zealand has officially declared a climate emergency, but that has not impressed activists who see it as a symbolic act and are demanding concrete action from the Government.
NZ has declared a climate emergency, but that has not impressed activists.
When the pandemic hit, images of wildlife returning to cities and reports of pollution dropping started popping up in the news. Amid the stress and uncertainty, we clung to the silver lining that ‘the Earth was healing’. Unfortunately, that silver lining turned out to be a false dawn. The pollution levels that had dropped sprang up again as lockdowns eased and we returned to work. The ‘United in Science 2020’ report found that global lockdowns did signal a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions – in April falling 17 per cent compared with 2019.
However, by June, when many countries had eased out of lockdowns, emissions bounced back and were within 5 per cent of the previous year. “2016-2020 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record. This report shows that whilst many aspects of our lives have been disrupted in 2020, climate change has continued unabated,” said World Meteorological Organisation Secretary-General, Professor Petteri Taalas. Despite our best wishes, the Earth has not healed.
Decisions made by the world’s major leaders have fuelled the climate crisis. On 4 November 2020, in the middle of their election, the US officially left the Paris Agreement. It was a decision one year in the making, and one of the many legacies of Donald Trump’s presidency. During his term, he rolled back more than 125 environmental rules.
President-elect Joe Biden has promised to make climate change a priority during his presidency and rejoin the Paris Agreement on his
first day in office. He has also pledged US$2 trillion to build a clean energy economy and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
While Biden will have in his power to reverse many of the rules Trump put in place, he may face roadblocks. Trump’s appointment of three conservative judges on the Supreme Court will be one of his most lasting legacies, says Jody Freeman, director of the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard University, in an interview with Radio Times. “It will be challenging for the Biden administration to shape their rules in a way that will make sure they don’t meet with legal challenges. That will be Trump’s negative climate legacy.” Biden will have the power to write executive orders to reverse Trump’s rules, however, Freeman says the ambition and scope of these changes may be limited due to the conservative Supreme Court justices.
While we are yet to see whether Biden will follow through with his climate policies, his actions will be looked at closely by the rest of the world. Michael Mann, director of Penn State’s Earth System Center, says that Biden’s promise to re-enter the Paris Agreement is a message to the rest of the world about where the US hopes to stand on climate change. “What is important about Biden signalling that, is that it conveys to the rest of the world that the US is ready to resume a position of leadership under this issue.”
‘LUCK’ RUNNING OUT
One country that will no doubt feel the ripples of the new US stance on climate change is Australia. According to Climate Action Tracker, Australia has failed to implement effective climate policy since signing the Paris Agreement in 2016 and seen a drop in renewable energy investment, leading the country to fall behind on its Paris Agreement targets. In the face of pressure to adopt a ‘green’ COVID-19 recovery, the Australian Government has promised a “gas-led recovery” with continued support for the industry.
In spite of the Government’s soft response on climate change, the effects are being felt throughout the country. “With just 1.1°C of warming, Australia has already experienced unimaginable levels of destruction of its marine and land ecosystems in the space of a single summer. More than 20 per cent of our country’s forests burnt in a single bushfire season,” writes Australian climate scientist Joelle Gergis in Fire Flood Plague. “But what really worries me is what our ‘Black Summer’ signals about the conditions that are yet to come. As things stand, the latest research shows that Australia could warm up to 7°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. The revised warming projections for Australia will render large parts of our country uninhabitable and the Australian way of life unliveable, as extreme heat and increasingly erratic rainfall establishes itself as the new normal.”
As the crisis grows, the Australian public is demanding more from its leaders. A recent poll by The Australian Institute found that 79 per cent of Australians are concerned about climate change. The report also found that only 12 per cent of Australians support Morrison’s “gas-led” COVID-19 recovery, while 59 per cent favour a renewable-energy focussed recovery.
This latest polling reflects a groundswell of Australians demanding better action from the Government when it comes to climate change, largely driven by grassroots movements and Indigenous activists.
CLIMATE EMERGENCY
Here in New Zealand, leaders have promised greater action on the climate crisis, but the country is still falling behind on its climate goals. In 2019, New Zealand became one of the first countries in the world to cement a zero carbon emissions goal in law with the Zero Carbon Act, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. Despite this, the country is not on track to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, largely due to the fact that the Zero Carbon Act does not include methane emissions from agriculture and waste – two sectors that represent over 40 per cent of the country’s current emissions.
On 2 December 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern officially declared a climate emergency. Opposition parties criticised the move, calling it a political stunt and “slogan over substance”, while supporters say the claim is more than a symbolic declaration. Others say that while the statement does send a message, it is the actions of the Government that should be looked at. “While we are encouraged to see the New Zealand
Government openly acknowledge the climate crisis with its declaration, this is not sufficient or worthy of congratulations on its own – rapid and fair action that leads to measurable improvement is what is urgently needed,” says Dr Dermot Coffey, co-convener of OraTaiao: NZ Climate and Health Council. “We’d rather see planning which follows proper process to protect vulnerable groups and ensure climate justice, rather than an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.”
Twenty-year-old Sophie Handford has been at the centre of youth climate action in New Zealand, as the national co-ordinator of the School Strike 4 Climate movement. Last year, she was elected to Kāpiti Coast District Council, becoming one of the youngest councillors in the country.
Now entrenched in the inner workings and bureaucracies of local government, she says people in positions like hers must hold on to the spirit of grassroots activism if they are to see meaningful climate action. “In my view, it’s key that I hold on to the ambition that climate activism brings with it, no matter how different the council structures and processes may be from what I’m used to in the world of grassroots activism. These two avenues exist in the same world,” she says.
Handford says the Government needs to ensure young people have a voice in climate policy, and that it is vital tangata whenua voices are front and centre. “They hold much of the knowledge needed to raise us out of this climate crisis. We must look back to look forward and begin to restore balance with our environment, something Indigenous communities do so well.”
Although it may be overwhelming and disillusioning to hear about the future that lies ahead for the planet and population, young activists like Handford remain pragmatic and hopeful. “We’re alive at one of the most crucial moments in history and we have the ability to save the entire world for all those who follow us. I’m seeing more and more people begin to realise this, which brings me great hope.”
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The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies and the world needs to learn from past co-operation such as over the Indus or Mekong Rivers to help avert future conflicts.
“DESPITE OUR BEST WISHES, THE EARTH HAS NOT HEALED.”