GET THE LOW DOWN ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Northland speakers to float solutions at two-day Whanga¯ rei conference

I think that all people should get an idea about what the changing climate means to them and what they can do to mitigate or adapt to it – because we need to do both of those things. Doctor Carol Peters

Northlanders are invited to take part in the region’s first broad-based initiative to take action on climate change. The Climate Change Tai Tokerau Northland Trust and NorthTec, with support from sponsors Whanga¯rei District Council and Reconnecting Northland, will host a two-day Climate Change Tai Tokerau Conference next Thursday and Friday at NorthTec in Whanga¯rei.

D r Carol Peters, a community climate change advocate and one of the conference organisers, said all Northlanders should take part to gain an insight into how climate change will impact their lives in the region.

“I think that all people should get an idea about what the changing climate means to them and what they can do to mitigate or adapt to it – because we need to do both of those things.”

Both days, starting at 9am, feature a variety of Northland speakers discussing topics related to eight solutions — or clusters of solutions — to climate change most relevant to Northland.

These include reducing food waste, plant-rich diets, regenerative agriculture, Northland’s opportunity to sequester more carbon and reshape land use off the back of the Government’s ambition to plant 100 million trees a year for 10 years, Ma¯ ori response to climate change, electricity and transport, and project coordination.

“The conference is about educating ourselves to understand the implications of living in Northland – and not just people living on the coast – as things like temperature increases will affect everyone, and also the health implications,” Peters said. “Also we can learn more about how we can reduce our carbon footprint.”

These solutions were identified from high-profile American environmentalist Paul Hawken’s global Project Drawdown.

Hawken, alongside Buckminster Fuller Institute executive director and environmentalist Amanda Ravenhill, founded Project Drawdown in 2014.

It is a nonprofit organisation designed to provide information and insight into climate solutions globally to assist the world to reach ‘‘drawdown’’ — the point at which the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere start to decline.

The conference – organised by a team from Northland Regional Council, Amokura Iwi Consortium Ltd, Northland District Health Board, and NorthTec – will also celebrate the diverse action already happening in Northland.

People unable to physically attend the conference can access the event as a group remotely in Waimamaku and Kaipara. Free access will be available via Zoom.

Climate change-focused events and field trips — including a climate action focus for some local churches — will precede the conference with the first on Sunday and running until Wednesday.

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