A major earthquake is likely to occur on the South Island’s Alpine Fault in the next 50 years – predicting when or where is not currently possible, but a recent study suggests large earthquakes can give off seismic signals months to years beforehand echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Unique seismic signals may be detected months to years before some large earthquakes, such as those preceding the 2023 magnitude 7.8 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake in Türkiye and also strongly felt in Syria, suggests a Nature Communications paper. Continue →

The world is heading toward six risk tipping points past which systems are no longer able to cope and there are risks of catastrophic impacts or collapse, a UN University report warns echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The Interconnected Disaster Risks Report 2023 published by the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) finds that the following drastic changes are approaching if risks to our fundamental socioecological systems are not addressed. Continue →

The window is fast closing for us to cut carbon emissions and reduce the severity of global warming, a new study finds echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The amount of carbon that humans can still emit, while also limiting warming to 1.5 °C relative to pre-industrial levels, may be exhausted within the next 6 years, suggests a study published in Nature Climate Change. Continue →

A new report on infrastructure vulnerabilities and resilience has been released by the New Zealand Lifelines Council, focusing particularly on the interdependencies between infrastructure sectors echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); This iteration of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Critical Infrastructure: A National Vulnerability Assessment broadens its scope from earlier releases (2017, 2020), to include Flood Protection, Solid Waste, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, and Financial Payments infrastructure sectors. Continue →

These new investments will accelerate our efforts to increase New Zealand’s ability to respond to and prepare for future extreme weather events, says NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); NIWA has launched a $5 million per year package of new projects aiming to tackle some of New Zealand’s most pressing challenges, including responding to and preparing for extreme weather events. Continue →

The loss of fossil fuel assets would have a minimal impact on the general populace, with most financial losses being borne by the most wealthy, researchers report in the journal Joule echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); One common rationale against climate action is that the resulting fossil fuel investment losses could impact people’s retirement or long-term savings.  Continue →

The Government is consulting on four options for a better Emissions Trading Scheme, yet University of Otago Dr Sebastian Gehricke points out two of them will not even achieve New Zealand’s climate goals while the other two are not much better echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Four options for ETS reform are on the table, to avoid scenarios where it is cheaper for polluters to buy carbon credits – encouraging excessive tree planting – than to reduce their emissions. Continue →

Rebuilding some flood-damaged homes makes no sense, given the high risk of flooding in the future, some experts say echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Simply put, managed retreat represents land use change; relocating people, assets, activities, and taonga, where appropriate, from dangerous locations. Continue →

Roughly a week after clean-up efforts began from a record-smashing deluge across the North Island, a second storm in the form of Cyclone Gabrielle is raising questions around community resilience, water infrastructure, and our wider environment echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Cascading natural hazard events fuelled by climate change are the new norm for Auckland, Massey University Professor Christine Kenney says. Continue →

Auckland has recorded more than 769% of its rainfall in a normal January, but is this something we should have seen coming? Continue →

Changes to the Crown Minerals Act, intended to strengthen its environmental focus, is being criticised by a mining industry body as doing the exact opposite echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The Crown Minerals Act (CMA) will no longer actively “promote” prospecting, exploration, and mining of Crown-owned minerals. Continue →

The decision to fund poor and vulnerable nations that are experiencing some of the worst effects of a changing climate, while welcome, is being criticised as a distraction from the lack of outcomes at the annual UN Climate Change Conference echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The Conference of the Parties failed to make progress in Egypt around key goals of reducing emissions to hold the world’s temperatures at 1.5 degrees or closing the funding gap to support the world’s poorest nations to adapt to extreme weather and reduce emissions, though University of Canterbury Professor Bronwyn Hayward says the establishment of a Loss and Damage fund is a significant win. Continue →

The lack of any mention of technology in the government’s emission reduction plan was acknowledged by climate change minister James Minister Shaw as an oversight, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The idea that New Zealand can reach its emissions targets without relying heavily on technology and innovation has always struck the tech ecosystem as strange. Continue →

The Government spends over $2 billion each year on the environment – a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment explores how we are affecting the environment and whether the actions we are taking to improve it are working echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); The report completes a cycle of work the Commissioner has undertaken over five years.  Continue →

Remarkable high-resolution results in the detection of the recent Wellington earthquake could mean a change in the way we prepare for and respond to seismic events echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); FiberSense’s DigitalSeismic sensing service that operates on fibre optic telecoms cables in Wellington detected a range of activity from the earthquake centred on the Cook Strait last week. Continue →

Resource management reform will help make sure New Zealand has the right infrastructure and development in the right place, while protecting and restoring our environment, Minister for the Environment David Parker says echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Good quality infrastructure was necessary for good urban development, reducing emissions and managing natural hazard and climate change risks. Continue →

The Government’s plan to adapt to rising sea levels, hotter temperatures and more extreme weather events is being described by experts as insufficient echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); We are going see the impacts of climate change on our communities and the way we live our lives, Climate Change Minister James Shaw says. Continue →

The UK High Court has ruled that the British government’s Net Zero Strategy breaches the Climate Change Act 2008. Continue →

The endorsement of an AT transport plan and the resulting court case proves Auckland Council’s climate plan is not worth the paper it is printed on echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); Auckland Council was involved in a legal case against All Aboard Aotearoa (AAA), which asked for a judicial review of the Council Planning Committee’s decision to endorse Auckland Transport’s Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). Continue →

The Climate Change Commission’s advice on how agricultural emissions should be taxed is being criticised as a way to offset emissions produced by other sectors echo adrotate_group(33, 0, 0, 0); A farm-level split-gas levy has been recommended as an alternative way to tax agricultural emissions outside of the emissions trading scheme. Continue →