What’s the world got in store?

NZCCC_conference.jpgA long time ago, when this writer was doing a portion of his growing up on an island far, far away, if you were unfortunate enough to not attend an important or enjoyable event, you were said to have “missed yourself“. This week I shall be missing myself in Wellington at the NZ Climate Change Centre’s conference Managing The Unavoidable, in Te Papa on May 20 – 21. The focus of the conference is on adaptation to the inevitable consequences of climate change, and considers two scenarios: what if global negotiations achieve a “rapidly decarbonising world” and what if, instead, the future is one of a “high carbon world”? Keynote speakers are Chris Field, Director of the Department of Global Ecology Carnegie Institution of Washington, recently elected co-chair of WG2 for the IPCC’s AR5, and Roger Jones of Centre for Strategic Economic Studies in Melbourne. Presentations and panel discussions will address six themes: land-based primary industries, including agriculture, horticulture and forestry; energy and industry, including mining / quarrying and manufacturing; māori; health; local government, including transport and infrastructure, and conservation and natural systems, including biodiversity and biosecurity. Full programme is here. If I lived in Wellington (per the Mutton Birds), I’d be there. Environment minister Nick Smith’s opening the event: I hope he sticks around to listen to what’s said. I’ll see what more info I can dig up from the organisers…

3 thoughts on “What’s the world got in store?”

  1. Drought over!
    The storms in Southern Queensland have highlighted once again the number of extreme weather events in Australia, events which affect businesses as much as households.
    And it’s not just the Weather Bureau that’s busy looking at what lies ahead. Insurance companies spend an enormous amount of time and resources trying to gauge what natural disasters will hit where and what they’ll cost.
    http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200905/r375009_1742813.asx

  2. I was lucky enough to be at the NZCCC conference this week in Wellington. It was a stimulating 2 days, and nobody will be walking away without more collaborations, new ideas and a fresh perspective on the problems of climate change adaptation in a New Zealand context. Of particular interest to you Gareth, the organisers announced that they would not only like to produce a book of the invited speakers (which they hope incoporates the main themes and conculsions of the panel discussions on day two), but will also be making the invited speakers presentations available on the NZCCC website.
    Keep an eye on it.

  3. Thanks ‘fish. One of the organisers has promised to keep me informed about the book and presentation videos, and I’ll post about them as soon as they’re available. I’m looking forward to catching up…

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