This month leading international medical journal The Lancet published the 2026 Europe report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change.

“As the world boils,” it states, “….the news is bleak.”

The bleakness this time comes not from scientific reports but from an analysis of the political and social environments in which the climate-aware community struggles to be heard.

And it sounds like home.

As we are struggling to make climate issues a part of election discussions, the report notes a decline in engagement with the health effects of climate change by politicians, business leaders, media and the public. This “engagement gap” is, they say, the most immediate challenge facing Europe’s climate and health community.

Partly this disengagement is the result of public anxiety about cost-of-living pressures, exacerbated by the effects of wars in Ukraine and Iran, but it also reflects the hostility to climate policies and even to the science, shown by right-of-centre populist parties.

We know society needs profound changes if we’re to survive this heated, overshot world. But the process of change, the report comments, needs to create space for a broad and diverse community of activists. It quotes “Radical Justice: Building the World We Need” (2026) by Nani Jansen Reventlow:

“You do not have to get arrested and imprisoned. You do not have to lie in the road. You can find something you are good at and pursue your own path.”

The path taken by Adam Currie, guest speaker at our AGM on Friday May 29 has seen him arrested after co-organising a five day protest camp at the Denniston Plateau that culminated in shutting down a mine when protesters climbed into a coal bucket. This was an unusual action for Adam who has spent years focused on legal campaigning and community organizing work for a range of organisations including Greenpeace, Generation Zero and freefares.nz.

He will speak about his experiences and the potential of making polluters pay for a just transition to a cleaner, fairer Aotearoa.

AGM May 29 Agenda and Convener’s Report

Ocd Agm Agenda 29 May 2026

160KB ∙ PDF file

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Agm Conveners Report 2026

147KB ∙ PDF file

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Invitation to Attend AGM

Date: May 29, 2026
Time: 4:00 PM
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88346275576?pwd=bUxIaWgxNnRXR29FUnNUbGNpazREdz09
Meeting ID: 883 4627 5576
Passcode: 867817

Lastly, a word from our Jack Santa Barbara:

The recent Fossil Fuel Transition Conference in Colombia is an important development in supplementing IPCC deliberations. But for it to succeed, there are a number of issues it needs to attend to. Here are some comments about how to upgrade the Santa Marta process.

Click the above link to view the article on Jack’s Substack.

The manifesto, “A Red Line for Airports,” is coordinated by the Stay Grounded network and highlights aviation’s impacts from climate heating to militarisation.

The Stay Grounded Network is inviting organisations and individuals to sign the manifesto:

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/10-measures-for-red-lines-for-airports/

Nathan is an energy engineer and Chair of the Wise Response Society who has been writing extensively about the current energy crisis and its implications (see below)

NZ will probably hit its climate targets. Not because of good policy, but because the economy is being forced into contraction by an energy crisis that mainstream institutions didn’t see coming - or chose not to. Nathan Surendran connects the immediate fuel emergency to the biophysical economics that conventional policy ignores: declining energy returns, thermodynamic constraints on transition, and a coming wave of insolvency and default that may cause more damage than fuel shortages themselves. He presents practical tools for community resilience, from mutual aid frameworks to fair rationing mechanisms, and argues that the response must start at the community level because government is not going to lead it.

Here is the webinar recording:

During the webinar, Jack Santa Barbara asked Nathan for a reliable source to understand the bigger picture of the oil supply predicament. Nathan now recommends this video from Chris Martenson:

OUTLINE: Be Prepared for a Lively Discussion

1. The good news on climate (that nobody wants to hear)

NZ is likely to meet its climate targets. Not because of policy. Because the economy is falling off a cliff. Energy price-driven demand destruction is cutting emissions faster than any government programme. Diesel above $4/litre, petrol not far behind. Businesses are closing, freight is contracting, discretionary travel has collapsed. When you can’t afford to burn fuel, you don’t burn fuel. Emissions fall. This is the climate trajectory nobody modelled - involuntary degrowth driven by energy supply disruption and price shock.

2. Why this is happening - the energy supply picture

The Strait of Hormuz closure and the wider Middle East conflict have taken out a significant share of global crude and LNG supply. NZ imports 100% of its refined fuel. 81% comes from refineries processing Middle Eastern crude. We have roughly 18 days of diesel physically onshore. The government’s fuel plan has no volumetric allocations. Force Majeure declarations have cascaded across every link in our supply chain. I’ve been tracking this in detail:
- “The Limits to the Energy Transition” (white paper):

- “Hoping the Ship Arrives Isn’t a Strategy”:

- “Every Country in Our Supply Chain Has Declared an Emergency”:

3. The default tsunami - the crisis before the shortage

Everyone is watching fuel gauges. But the more immediate shock may be financial. NZ insolvencies were at a 15-year high before Hormuz. Mortgage arrears at an 8-year peak. IRD tax debt past $9 billion. Household debt at 165-170% of disposable income. There was no buffer. When diesel costs flow through to freight, food, fertiliser, and farm input costs, the wave of business failures and mortgage defaults will hit before physical fuel shortages do. I’m publishing a piece on this shortly - “The Default Tsunami” - arguing we’re watching the wrong metric.

4. The deeper structure - biophysical economics

This isn’t a one-off geopolitical shock. It’s the predictable consequence of building a civilisation on a depleting energy resource. EROI decline means we spend more energy to get energy. The economy is an energy system using money, not a financial system using energy. The “seamless transition” narrative assumes the global supply chains, fossil fuel inputs, and critical minerals needed for transition will keep flowing. They are not flowing. Drawing on Hall, Keen, Smil, Hagens, Garrett, Delannoy.
- White paper covers this in depth:

5. What we can do - community resilience and policy

- Wise Response open letter: quantified essential use fuel allocation plan (with Mike Hodgkinson, Laloli Research)
- Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs) as fair rationing:

Wise Response

Fair Shares: Why Tradable Energy Quotas Are New Zealand’s Best Option for the Crisis Ahead

Wise Response Society Inc…

Read more

2 months ago · 7 likes · 8 comments · Nathan Surendran

- “When the Trucks Stop” mutual aid guide

Wise Response

What can I do in response to the Fuel Supply Crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand?

At the time of writing, New Zealand has roughly 20 to 27 days of physical onshore fuel stocks. We import 100% of our refined fuel. The Strait of Hormuz crisis has already triggered Force Majeure declarations from Gulf and Asian suppliers, and the late March escalation has destroyed refining infrastructure that will take years to rebuild, if it is rebuil…

Read more

2 months ago · 88 likes · 13 comments · Nathan Surendran

- “No Fuel, Still Fed” regional food security framework

- Local action: council deputations, community preparedness networks
- Demand reduction, negawatts, fuel-free pathways

This webinar was organized by Our Climate Declaration, and co-sponsored by:

Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand https://www.degrowth.nz/

The Wise Response Society https://wiseresponse.org.nz/

Engineers for Social Responsibility https://esr.org.nz/

The Nelson Tasman Climate Forum https://www.nelsontasmanclimateforum.nz/

Date: 29 April
Time: 7:30 PM
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86393820926?pwd=XlsEfAQn8FEWePltJZ7722pWTZcnUK.1
Meeting ID: 863 9382 0926
Passcode: 070776

Nathan is an energy engineer and Chair of the Wise Response Society who has been writing extensively about the current energy crisis and its implications (see below)

NZ will probably hit its climate targets. Not because of good policy, but because the economy is being forced into contraction by an energy crisis that mainstream institutions didn’t see coming - or chose not to. Nathan Surendran connects the immediate fuel emergency to the biophysical economics that conventional policy ignores: declining energy returns, thermodynamic constraints on transition, and a coming wave of insolvency and default that may cause more damage than fuel shortages themselves. He presents practical tools for community resilience, from mutual aid frameworks to fair rationing mechanisms, and argues that the response must start at the community level because government is not going to lead it.

OUTLINE: Be Prepared for a Lively Discussion

1. The good news on climate (that nobody wants to hear)

NZ is likely to meet its climate targets. Not because of policy. Because the economy is falling off a cliff. Energy price-driven demand destruction is cutting emissions faster than any government programme. Diesel above $4/litre, petrol not far behind. Businesses are closing, freight is contracting, discretionary travel has collapsed. When you can’t afford to burn fuel, you don’t burn fuel. Emissions fall. This is the climate trajectory nobody modelled - involuntary degrowth driven by energy supply disruption and price shock.

2. Why this is happening - the energy supply picture

The Strait of Hormuz closure and the wider Middle East conflict have taken out a significant share of global crude and LNG supply. NZ imports 100% of its refined fuel. 81% comes from refineries processing Middle Eastern crude. We have roughly 18 days of diesel physically onshore. The government’s fuel plan has no volumetric allocations. Force Majeure declarations have cascaded across every link in our supply chain. I’ve been tracking this in detail:
- “The Limits to the Energy Transition” (white paper):

- “Hoping the Ship Arrives Isn’t a Strategy”:

- “Every Country in Our Supply Chain Has Declared an Emergency”:

3. The default tsunami - the crisis before the shortage

Everyone is watching fuel gauges. But the more immediate shock may be financial. NZ insolvencies were at a 15-year high before Hormuz. Mortgage arrears at an 8-year peak. IRD tax debt past $9 billion. Household debt at 165-170% of disposable income. There was no buffer. When diesel costs flow through to freight, food, fertiliser, and farm input costs, the wave of business failures and mortgage defaults will hit before physical fuel shortages do. I’m publishing a piece on this shortly - “The Default Tsunami” - arguing we’re watching the wrong metric.

4. The deeper structure - biophysical economics

This isn’t a one-off geopolitical shock. It’s the predictable consequence of building a civilisation on a depleting energy resource. EROI decline means we spend more energy to get energy. The economy is an energy system using money, not a financial system using energy. The “seamless transition” narrative assumes the global supply chains, fossil fuel inputs, and critical minerals needed for transition will keep flowing. They are not flowing. Drawing on Hall, Keen, Smil, Hagens, Garrett, Delannoy.
- White paper covers this in depth:

5. What we can do - community resilience and policy

- Wise Response open letter: quantified essential use fuel allocation plan (with Mike Hodgkinson, Laloli Research)
- Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs) as fair rationing:

Wise Response

Fair Shares: Why Tradable Energy Quotas Are New Zealand’s Best Option for the Crisis Ahead

Wise Response Society Inc…

Read more

2 months ago · 7 likes · 8 comments · Nathan Surendran

- “When the Trucks Stop” mutual aid guide

Wise Response

What can I do in response to the Fuel Supply Crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand?

At the time of writing, New Zealand has roughly 20 to 27 days of physical onshore fuel stocks. We import 100% of our refined fuel. The Strait of Hormuz crisis has already triggered Force Majeure declarations from Gulf and Asian suppliers, and the late March escalation has destroyed refining infrastructure that will take years to rebuild, if it is rebuil…

Read more

2 months ago · 88 likes · 13 comments · Nathan Surendran

- “No Fuel, Still Fed” regional food security framework

- Local action: council deputations, community preparedness networks
- Demand reduction, negawatts, fuel-free pathways

This webinar was organized by Our Climate Declaration

Our Climate Declaration

Our Climate Declaration aims for a just and sustainable post-carbon Aotearoa New Zealand.

Co-sponsored by:

Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand https://www.degrowth.nz/

The Wise Response Society https://wiseresponse.org.nz/

Engineers for Social Responsibility https://esr.org.nz/

The Nelson Tasman Climate Forum https://www.nelsontasmanclimateforum.nz/

Electrifying the Titanic is a useful analogy to understand the limitations of the “electrify everything” proposed solution to humankind’s dilemma.

Of all the presumed so called ‘solutions to our climate crisis’ this rallying cry is central to the ‘net-zero’ call - no need for real change, just carry on as we are but with electric stuff rather than fossil powered, net-zero 2050, no worries.

But the reality is the climate crisis is far from our only existential threat,

Electrifying New Zealand would not in any way mitigate all the other existential crises we face here and globally, in fact it would exacerbate most of them, because they are all (just like climate change) driven by overshoot.

Electrification of everything would increase of the extraction processing and transportation of materials especially critical minerals and much more (NZ is 15^th worst in world per capita) requiring even more fossil fuel use and much more harm.

The reduction in consumption required in the wealthy world may be seen as radical – but also necessary to meet biophysical limits. This will not be convenient, but we must realise that how we in the wealthy world live is radical.

Click here to go to Dropbox and view or download Mike Joy’s slides for his presentation. If you want to see the full slide show, you will need to either log in to Dropbox, or download the slides and view them locally.

Mike Joy MSc, PhD (Ecology) is a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Environmental Science at the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Mike’s research includes ecological modelling, freshwater bioassessment, environmental policy, biophysical limits to growth and the role of energy in society.

Mike is an outspoken advocate for environmental protection in New Zealand and for this has received several awards including an Ecology in Action award from the NZ Ecological Society, the Charles Fleming Award for environmental achievement in 2013 and in 2023 the Callaghan Medal for science communication from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 2015 he was awarded the Morgan Foundation inaugural River Voice Award and in 2017 the inaugural NZ Universities Critic and Conscience award.

Or listen to the audio-only version here.

Then on 1st April 2026, we held a webinar where people could come and discuss the issues raised in the interview. You can view a recording of the discussion here:

Here is the original invite to the discussion:

Luke Kemp’s Goliath: The History and Future of Societal Collapse is a scholarly and thoughtful exploration of how and why early empires evolved, and then inevitably fell into ruin. Sahra Kress and Jack Santa Barbara interview Luke about his research into how humans lived prior to empires (spoiler alert – people were better off in many ways), what features empires have in common that lead to their demise (the Goliath factor), how our current global empire compares with those of the past, and where we’re headed. And of course, we also explore what’s needed to deal with the current trends toward collapse.

Of all the presumed so called ‘solutions to our climate crisis’ this rallying cry is central to the ‘net-zero’ call - no need for real change, just carry on as we are but with electric stuff rather than fossil powered, net-zero 2050, no worries.

But the reality is the climate crisis is far from our only existential threat,

Electrifying New Zealand would not in any way mitigate all the other existential crises we face here and globally, in fact it would exacerbate most of them, because they are all (just like climate change) driven by overshoot.

Electrification of everything would increase of the extraction processing and transportation of materials especially critical minerals and much more (NZ is 15^th worst in world per capita) requiring even more fossil fuel use and much more harm.

The reduction in consumption required in the wealthy world may be seen as radical – but also necessary to meet biophysical limits. This will not be convenient, but we must realise that how we in the wealthy world live is radical.

Date: Wednesday, 8th April 2026
Time: 7:30PM
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85643265503?pwd=bcXAXLxklNwJscZ8dPCQGxwXaCopb6.1
Meeting ID: 856 4326 5503
Passcode: 390464

Mike Joy MSc, PhD (Ecology) is a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Environmental Science at the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Mike’s research includes ecological modelling, freshwater bioassessment, environmental policy, biophysical limits to growth and the role of energy in society.

Mike is an outspoken advocate for environmental protection in New Zealand and for this has received several awards including an Ecology in Action award from the NZ Ecological Society, the Charles Fleming Award for environmental achievement in 2013 and in 2023 the Callaghan Medal for science communication from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 2015 he was awarded the Morgan Foundation inaugural River Voice Award and in 2017 the inaugural NZ Universities Critic and Conscience award.

Classical economics would have us believe our only choice is between economic growth or decline.

This belief has brought us to the point where, although the timing might be in question, the real choice we have to make is between managed decline or chaotic collapse.

This is the issue that motivates our webinar speakers in the first of this year’s programme.

It begins on April 1 at 7.30 with a discussion of the issues raised by Luke Kemp in his book Goliath’s Curse: the history and future of societal collapse. Kemp is a guest at the Auckland Writers Festival in May.

This is followed on April 8 by a webinar titled Electrifying the Titanic, given by Dr Mike Joy (details below).

Our webinar topic for May is under discussion, but on June 10 Dr Jamie Hosking, senior lecturer in the School of Population Health, Auckland University will present his research on Climate and Health.

Come Discuss our Interview with Luke Kemp, Author of Goliath: The History and Future of Societal Collapse

You can view the interview with Luke here:

Because of its length, we are arranging for a discussion of the issues raised for a separate event on 1 April. Bring your questions and ideas and participate in the discussion.

Date: Wednesday, 1st April 2026
Time: 7:30PM
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82714358561?pwd=boR1HaxXBGPjg05a7ClP8gwbnntRAh.1
Meeting ID: 827 1435 8561
Passcode: 543473

Electrifying the Titanic

Electrifying the Titanic is a useful analogy to understand the limitations of the “electrify everything” proposed solution to humankind’s dilemma.

Of all the presumed so called ‘solutions to our climate crisis’ this rallying cry is central to the ‘net-zero’ call - no need for real change, just carry on as we are but with electric stuff rather than fossil powered, net-zero 2050, no worries.

But the reality is the climate crisis is far from our only existential threat,

Electrifying New Zealand would not in any way mitigate all the other existential crises we face here and globally, in fact it would exacerbate most of them, because they are all (just like climate change) driven by overshoot.

Date: Wednesday, 8th April 2026
Time: 7:30PM
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85643265503?pwd=bcXAXLxklNwJscZ8dPCQGxwXaCopb6.1
Meeting ID: 856 4326 5503
Passcode: 390464

Mike Joy MSc, PhD (Ecology) is a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Environmental Science at the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Mike’s research includes ecological modelling, freshwater bioassessment, environmental policy, biophysical limits to growth and the role of energy in society.

Mike is an outspoken advocate for environmental protection in New Zealand and for this has received several awards including an Ecology in Action award from the NZ Ecological Society, the Charles Fleming Award for environmental achievement in 2013 and in 2023 the Callaghan Medal for science communication from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 2015 he was awarded the Morgan Foundation inaugural River Voice Award and in 2017 the inaugural NZ Universities Critic and Conscience award.

Earth Day and Earth Overshoot Day

Earth Overshoot Day, July 25th in 2025, marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s ‘Earth Overshoot Day’ 2026 is April 10th, so we would need almost 4 Earths if everyone lived as we do! We need to consume less, and care more about the consequences of our overconsumption.

The official theme for Earth Day 2026 (April 22nd) is “Our Power, Our Planet”.

“Progress does not happen in silence. It happens when people show up. Environmental progress is built through everyday action. Clean air, safe water, and climate resilience aren’t optional - they are essential. Every voice matters. Every action counts.”

See https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2026/ for ideas on actions you could create in your community, and https://www.nelsontasmanclimateforum.nz/2025/04/04/take-the-jump-ambassador-training/ for individual actions.

Or listen to the audio-only version here.

Because of its length, we are arranging for a discussion of the issues raised for a separate event on 1 April. Bring your questions and ideas and participate in the discussion.

Date: Wednesday, 1st April 2026
Time: 7:30PM
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82714358561?pwd=boR1HaxXBGPjg05a7ClP8gwbnntRAh.1
Meeting ID: 827 1435 8561
Passcode: 543473

Luke Kemp’s Goliath: The History and Future of Societal Collapse is a scholarly and thoughtful exploration of how and why early empires evolved, and then inevitably fell into ruin. Sahra Kress and Jack Santa Barbara interview Luke about his research into how humans lived prior to empires (spoiler alert – people were better off in many ways), what features empires have in common that lead to their demise (the Goliath factor), how our current global empire compares with those of the past, and where we’re headed. And of course, we also explore what’s needed to deal with the current trends toward collapse.

Some questions to discuss:

• Is the war in Iran an example of Goliath behaviour?

• Has the process of societal collapse started?

• What options are available to us to deal with our current and emerging risks?

These two large sectors have proven to be capable of rapid growth (for example in long-haul tourism and the cruise industry) and extremely difficult to rein in. In addition, New Zealand has become more and more reliant on aviation and shipping both economically and socially. No technological solution is ready yet. Despite this, the global aviation and shipping industries have both set net-zero 2050 targets. Can that really be taken seriously? What are our options and what should New Zealand do?

Robert McLachlan is Distinguished Professor in Applied Mathematics at Massey University and writes on climate and environment at planetaryecology.org. He is a member of the Planetary Limits Academic Network.

Chris Watson, the author of Beyond Flying: Rethinking air travel in a globally connected world, hosted Robert McLachlan on the challenge of aviation and shipping emissions.

Chris, after growing up in an airline family, getting his private pilot licence and flying for his business, drastically reduced his flying upon learning about the climate impacts. In 2014, he produced the book ‘Beyond Flying’, which chronicles alternatives to flying.

“Let us weep for this summer”

The OCD Team offers you these reflections on this summer’s tragedies.

Some memories are short - like the declaration a mere six years ago of a “climate emergency” which followed the passing in 2019 of the Zero Carbon Act. That legislation made New Zealand one of the few countries to have a zero-emissions goal enshrined in law.

Others are likely to be long-lived. The memories of 2024’s Cyclone Gabrielle and the fatal weather disasters of 2026’s summer will be etched in the minds of those whose lives were changed and those who shared vicariously, grateful to be inconvenienced but alive and safe.

Or will these recent memories be overtaken by those of storms yet to come? Of worse disasters as warmer air soaks up more moisture and atmospheric rivers drown whole towns and destroy food-producing plains?

Some of us have been expecting this. Others of us have had our heads in the sand. Acknowledging the evidence, which has been before us for a couple of generations and doing nothing amounts to collective suicide.

The actions of the leaders of both major political parties make them complicit in this ghastly future. The framework was established six years ago for a re-prioritization of our political and economic goals. We must implement strategies to reduce our emissions rapidly by:

• Reducing methane by getting rid of gas as a fuel and drastically reducing livestock numbers

• Halting deforestation and restoring native forests

• Subsidising the uptake of solar for both transport and electricity

Public support for these policies will require clear statements of long term benefits. The future is not uncertain – as long as emissions rise the storms will get worse.

With best wishes and hope for action this election year: Sue Parsons, Joanna Santa Barbara, Torfrida Orme, Paul Bruce, Robin Treadwell, Paul Bruce, Gareth Jones, Pat Baskett

Here are a couple of upcoming webinars in February - one that we are sharing, and one that we are running ourselves:

Green Party - RMA replacement submissions webinar

Green MP Lan Pham and regional councillor Craig Pauling present a webinar on submitting on the Environment and Planning system bills on Thursday 10th February at 7:30pm.

Join Green MP Lan Pham, and Craig Pauling for a webinar focussing on submissions to the RMA replacement.

Click here to RSVP for the webinar

The webinar will be informative and assist you make your submission on the Bill, which is due on Friday the 13th February.

The challenge of aviation and shipping emissions

A webinar presented by Robert McLachlan, hosted by Chris Watson.

Date: Thursday, 12th February 2026
Time: 7pm

These two large sectors have proven to be capable of rapid growth (for example in long-haul tourism and the cruise industry) and extremely difficult to rein in. In addition, New Zealand has become more and more reliant on aviation and shipping both economically and socially. No technological solution is ready yet. Despite this, the global aviation and shipping industries have both set net zero 2050 targets. Can that really be taken seriously? What are our options and what should New Zealand do?

Robert McLachlan is Distinguished Professor in Applied Mathematics at Massey University and writes on climate and environment at planetaryecology.org. He is a member of the Planetary Limits Academic Network.

Chris Watson, the author of Beyond Flying: Rethinking air travel in a globally connected world, will host Robert McLachlan on the challenge of aviation and shipping emissions.

Chris, after growing up in an airline family, getting his private pilot licence and flying for his business, drastically reduced his flying upon learning about the climate impacts. In 2014, he produced the book ‘Beyond Flying’, which chronicles alternatives to flying.

Date: Thursday, 12th February 2026
Time: 7pm

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84023733153?pwd=gQ8ca61VtXE8T31ypE6NhGphB61VkX.1

Join Green MP Lan Pham, and Craig Pauling for a webinar focussing on submissions to the RMA replacement.

Click here to RSVP for the webinar

The webinar will be informative and assist you make your submission on the Bill, which is due on Friday the 13th February.

Click here to endorse the Treaty.

Here is what the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative has to say about their Treaty:

While the climate crisis deepens, many governments are still approving new fossil fuel projects, despite the damage they cause to our planet and communities. To protect our climate, health, and future, we need a binding plan to end the expansion of coal, oil, and gas. That’s what the Fossil Fuel Treaty aims to do.

Friend, can you watch this video and share it with your friends, family, and social networks and sign up to the treaty? The more people we can mobilise, the stronger our case becomes.

Kia ora

In February 2026, Climate Health Aotearoa will be running three online, half-day courses as part of the Public Health Summer School programme and would like to share this information about it with you. Please feel free to forward to others who may be interested.

Monday 9th February (AM)

Foundations of climate change and health, Summer School, University of Otago, Wellington | University of Otago

Learn about the links between climate change, health, and health equity in the Aotearoa context. Learn how systems can be changed to support responses to climate change. This foundation course is a prerequisite for the “Introduction to sustainable healthcare” and “Climate health and healing” courses.

Monday 9th February (PM)

Introduction to sustainable healthcare, Summer School, University of Otago, Wellington | University of Otago

Learn how our health system can respond to the challenge of climate change. This introductory course will increase your knowledge and give you practical ideas and skills to support systems change.

Tuesday 10th February (AM)

Climate health and healing, Summer School, University of Otago, Wellington | University of Otago

Learn about holistic multi-level solutions to climate mitigation, adaptation, and related health and environmental issues that centre te Tiriti and te ao Māori approaches. Roles and implications for communities, health professionals, and decision makers will be explored.

2026 Public Health Summer School
Note an early bird discount of 25% applies until 19 December 2025.

To register or to view more information on other courses, please visit:
Public Health Summer School

Ngā mihi nui

Associate Professor Caroline Shaw and Dr Cristina Cleghorn (Course convenors)

Together with the PHSS Organising team
Michael Baker | James Stanley | Cristina Cleghorn

Yet another COP has ended. It’s tempting to say yet again nothing has been achieved - but maybe not this time? A breakaway group of 80+ nations, dissatisfied that the official final statement contained no mention of fossil fuels and phasing them out, came up with an alternative.

They committed to working towards a “roadmap” that “calls for efforts” to transition away from the unmentionables – gas, oil, coal. Supporting countries include Australia, the UK, most European nations and numerous island states.

In April next year Colombia and the Netherlands will host the first International Conference for the phase-Out of Fossil Fuels.

But we won’t be there! Our minister for climate change Simon Watts didn’t sign us up.

Is this surprising, given this government’s demolition or downgrading of key aspects of our emissions reductions policies? The Zero Carbon Act has been eviscerated, the hardworking body of experts brought together in the Climate Change Commission has had their advisory role sidelined, public consultation has been restricted.

We should be alarmed. These actions bring us close to the denialist camp of Trump followers in the US. They also mirror their autocratic anti-democratic methods of governing.

Are we seeing a gradual division of the world into believers and denialists? What level of disasters will it take for humanity to begin to work together for survival?

Where and how do we start the process of resilience?

Here, at OCD, we’re committed to exploring these questions and discussing some of the answers.

For instance, our first webinar for 2026 examines the challenge of aviation and shipping emissions. This will be on February 12, presented by Robert McLachlan, Distinguished Professor in Applied Mathematics at Massey University. He writes on climate and environment at planetaryecology.org and is a member of the Planetary Limits Academic Network.

Find details for this event here:

To take you into the summer holiday season, we offer you this account of resilience…

Sarah McFadden, manager Kelmarna Gardens, Ponsonby

Heartwarming stories are rare in this age of impending crisis. We hear the warnings from climate scientists of tipping points - the Amazon forest on the point of becoming a source of emissions rather than sequestering them; the over-heated acidified ocean no longer absorbing the carbon we emit; close to home, the West Antarctic ice sheet is melting and will slowly raise sea levels of our coasts.

But in my neighbourhood the Kelmarna Community Farm is stunningly alive. You can almost hear the plants growing: long rows of vegetables, beds of flowers – snapdragons, calendulas, salvia, alstroemeria – cultivated to keep the insect population strong for pollination.

A market garden area grows vegetables under a tunnel house for the on-site farm shop, veggie box subscriptions and some restaurants and cafes. Various trees in the food forest provide a range of fruit including bananas, babaco, cherry guavas, persimmon, pears and peaches. Hens free range over a small paddock and half a dozen sheep graze nearby.

Spanning just over 1.7 hectares, this organic garden has nourished the souls and bodies of its Ponsonby neighbourhood for 40 years.

Sustainable food is my thing, says Sarah McFadden who, along with a team of seven, manages the farm. It’s a much used term and I ask her what it means.

Sustainability, she says, is shorthand for how we live on the planet, for our connection with the whenua and all the life forms we share it with.

Climate change, she’s noticed, has brought heavier rainfall, less predictability in the weather and winters that are not cold enough to kill off the germs.

“Survival day to day can be a challenge,” she says, “but we’re consulting with the community about what Kelmarna could be in 20 years.”

That long term view is fed by her positive sense of hope.

“So many things can seem out of control but we can all make a difference, we all have a role to play by contributing to something local.”

Sarah’s own journey began with management and commerce and then a paper on environment and sociology took her into the relationship of health, environment and food. Since that time her working life has been dedicated to community agricultural projects, at first in the UK , then back in Christchurch before joining Kelmarna.

Food, she says, is a tangible way to get people to think about the environment. This is especially important for cities where there’s little or no contact with where and how food is produced. But cities are also rich in small spaces where things can grow and Sarah cites “agrihoods” where communities combine residential living with small scale agriculture. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/agrihoods/105875986

People are inspired, Sarah observes, and as they learn they take their knowledge and their energy into the community.

Kelmarna’s integration into the neighbourhood can perhaps be measured by the educational projects it runs for schools, the workshops for home gardeners and its therapeutic programmes for people in need. Meanwhile the weeding, planting, horticultural work is carried on by 500 community volunteers who give 9000 hours of work each year.

Sustainable? The odds are positive.

Pat Baskett

Ngā mihi o te tau hou

These two large sectors have proven to be capable of rapid growth (for example in long-haul tourism and the cruise industry) and extremely difficult to rein in. In addition, New Zealand has become more and more reliant on aviation and shipping both economically and socially. No technological solution is ready yet. Despite this, the global aviation and shipping industries have both set net-zero 2050 targets. Can that really be taken seriously? What are our options and what should New Zealand do?

Robert McLachlan is Distinguished Professor in Applied Mathematics at Massey University and writes on climate and environment at planetaryecology.org. He is a member of the Planetary Limits Academic Network.

Chris Watson, the author of Beyond Flying: Rethinking air travel in a globally connected world, will host Robert McLachlan on the challenge of aviation and shipping emissions.

Chris, after growing up in an airline family, getting his private pilot licence and flying for his business, drastically reduced his flying upon learning about the climate impacts. In 2014, he produced the book ‘Beyond Flying’, which chronicles alternatives to flying.

Date: Thursday, 12th February 2026
Time: 7pm

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84023733153?pwd=gQ8ca61VtXE8T31ypE6NhGphB61VkX.1

PS. The recording of last week’s webinar is now available to view:

As most people know, we are facing a climate crisis due to human emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The outcomes if we don’t change course are likely to be disastrous.

Yet many people seem to be relatively unconcerned about the risk. The emissions underpinning this hazard are potentially controllable, so why don’t people do more to prevent the looming outcome?

One source of this inaction is our psychology. This talk looked at these psychological factors, such as the way we perceive risk and people’s belief that nothing we do will make a difference (fatalism) or it will cost too much. The talk suggested some ways that we can counter these unhelpful tendencies.

John McClure is Emeritus professor at Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka. After working in various roles such as freezing worker, he completed a BA and MA(Hons) at Auckland University and his doctorate at Oxford University. After a year as lecturer at Wollongong Australia, he took up his position in psychology at Victoria, eventually as professor. His research focuses on risk perception, fatalism and attributions (the way people explain events in their lives).

Date: Thursday, 6 November
Time: 7pm

The original recording of this webinar was incomplete because of technical issues. To remedy this, the webinar was re-presented in private and re-recorded. This new recording is available below:

This webinar contains questions for listeners, including questions about new ideas for how to manage climate stress - both in yourself and in the people around you. Please leave a comment on this Substack post with any ideas you have, and you can discuss them together!