John Key

Morality, government and fossil fools (Bryan’s back!)

by Bryan Walker May 24, 2013

I signed off regular writing for Hot Topic some months ago. But failing eyesight doesn’t mean failing concern, and my anger at the way our government heedlessly pursues the expansion of fossil fuel exploration led me recently to reflect I could still see sufficiently to write letters to editors. Publication of a letter by the [...]

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Symptoms too serious to ignore: a call to face up to NZ’s critical risks

by Gareth February 25, 2013

A loose affiliation of New Zealand’s great and good will launch an appeal to parliament next week, asking for a dispassionate and non-partisan risk assessment of the “unprecedented threats to our collective security” facing the country as a result of climate change, fossil fuel extraction and economic uncertainty. The Wise Response group features poets, writers, [...]

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Don’t worry Kyoto (National’s Only Looking Out For Its Friends)

by Gareth November 12, 2012

The New Zealand government has announced that the country will not join the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (CP2), but will instead make voluntary commitments within the Kyoto framework [Herald, NBR]. Climate change minister Tim Groser presented this move as: …aligning [NZ's] climate change efforts with developed and developing countries which collectively are [...]

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John Key’s fossilised vision for NZ

by Bryan Walker July 7, 2012

One wearies of lamenting the government’s inability to view proposed paths of economic development from the perspective of climate change. But as they continue to trumpet economic solutions which are inimical to facing the challenge of global warming there is little option but to keep reiterating that they need to take a longer term view. [...]

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Human stupidity and the NZ election (Heigh ho! Heigh ho!)

by Gareth November 23, 2011

I’ve been writing about climate science and policy for the last five years, and taking an interest in the subject for far longer, but I’ve seldom read more depressing news than Fiona Harvey’s Guardian article last week — Rich nations ‘give up’ on new climate treaty until 2020. According to Harvey, expectations for the UN [...]

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We must change the way we think about the future, now

by George November 18, 2011

Hot Topic’s NZ election 2011 series continues with an excellent piece by Dr George Laking, an Auckland-based medical oncologist. George is a member of OraTaiao: New Zealand Climate and Health, a group of senior doctors and other health professionals concerned about the effects of climate change on population health. This article first appeared in the [...]

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A snake swallows the elephant in the room and then flogs a dead horse – climate change politics in NZ Election 2011

by Mr February November 16, 2011

Possible the longest ever title on a Hot Topic post: Simon Johnson continues our series on the NZ election by examining the entrails… So whats happening with climate change in the election? I was originally thinking about writing a wonkish post comparing climate change policies between parties. You know the sort of thing. Which parties [...]

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Agriculture: National’s double whammy on the environment

by cindy November 15, 2011

Here’s the first in a series of NZ election special articles from Hot Topic’s contributors. More pithy comment to follow… Last week I was open-mouthed when I heard the National Party release its environment and climate policy pretty much in the same breath as  releasing the agriculture policy (same province, same day). I can’t figure [...]

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Three years of “very serious” climate policy failure

by Gareth November 9, 2011

A damning review of the climate policy of the current government by three leading academics finds that it has made “little substantive progress” on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, that work on adapting to climate change impacts has been “even more deficient”, and that current policies are likely to be “economically wasteful”. End-of-term review of the [...]

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Baby steps: Australia’s carbon tax passes Senate vote

by cindy November 8, 2011

Today could be viewed as an historic day for Australia, where the carbon tax has just today been voted through the Senate. Historic, yes, because it’s taken 20 years for Australia to finally implement this legislation. Finally, a price has been put on carbon in Australia. O my, what a fight it has been. If [...]

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