Home insurance in Aotearoa is getting more expensive, and in some places harder to get. As floods, storms, earthquakes and other natural hazards put more homes at risk, and no insurance usually means no mortgage, society and its citizens are directly in the firing line.

Professor Jonathan Boston argues we cannot afford to leave this to risk-rated premiums and market forces. He makes the case for the Natural Hazards Commission to cover climate-related perils as part of a much broader adaptation strategy: avoiding new risks, funding risk reduction including planned relocation, and keeping cover affordable for longer. Insurance reform on its own, he stresses, will not be enough.

This webinar takes his case as its starting point and asks:

• How long can a well-designed framework hold as warming rises towards 3°C?

• What has to sit around it, from cutting emissions to reducing our vulnerability?

• What if the growing economy that insurance and adaptation assume does not eventuate?

SPEAKERS

Jonathan Boston Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington; author of Insuring the Future: Reimagining Home Insurance in Aotearoa.

Charles Hett New Zealand actuary linked with the Planetary Solvency work of the UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Nathan Surendran Chair, Wise Response Society, hosting.

Recommended pre-reading: Jonathan’s Helen Clark Foundation webinar; the IFoA Planetary Solvency report.

This webinar is organized by The Wise Response Society, and co-sponsored by Our Climate Declaration, Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand, and Engineers for Social Responsibility.

In this webinar, Manu Caddie discussed Indigenous Rights, Biodiversity & Land Use with respect to forestry operations in Tairawhiti.

Manu spent his first 17 years in Tairāwhiti working in community development including the establishment of a school for teenage parents and their children, a Puna Reo led by his wife Natasha Koia, and supporting a range of youth and neighbourhood projects. In 2015 Manu had a change of direction. The family moved to Makarika, just south of Ruatōrea where they built a house next to Natasha’s marae on a 130 hectare land block.

Together with Panapa Ehau and others, Manu established Hikurangi Enterprises Ltd (HEL), a charitable company based in the Waiapu Valley with a focus on establishing sustainable industry and job creation. Much of the HEL story is captured in a Master thesis by Jack Barrett (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ewbyhsie6uz9v9jyahnc8/Jack-Barrett-MA-thesis.pdf?rlkey=ey64n9hta3tewmplf4xez2e78&e=1&dl=0).

One of the ventures started by HEL is Hikurangi Bioactives Limited Partnership (HBLP), now owned by Enquire Limited, an investment vehicle established by Manu and an old school friend from Tauranga. HBLP partnered with Honey Lab / TRG Natural Pharmaceuticals to develop products for treating eczema and acne using Kānuka oil as the active ingredient. One of these products has been proven to treat eczema as effectively as steroid creams and is now in market with a global licence to a US pharmaceutical company.

The other major investment by HBLP was establishing Rua Bioscience (originally Hikurangi Cannabis Company). Manu was a co-founder and the first CEO, helping the company receive the first medicinal cannabis licence in New Zealand. RUA became the first company founded by a Māori community to list on the NZX after raising $46m pre-IPO with the first $2m invested by locals via crowdfunding on the East Coast. The company now has a cannabis breeding facility at Ruatōrea and is selling cannabis in Europe, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Manu is currently involved in a range of horticultural and biotech projects with whenua Māori partners across Aotearoa including a research programme with three iwi entities developing pharmaceuticals from wairuakohu, a marae-based clinical studies programme called Tū Wairua using native psychedelic mushrooms, research on native berries with a large land trust and a biodiscovery project with his own iwi. He recently chaired a science review panel for Plant & Food Research looking at progress on a ten year $50m project building capability around Controlled Environment Agriculture and vertical farming.

Manu regularly participates in United Nations meetings at the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Steering Committee of the multilateral mechanism on Digital Sequence Information and the Cali Fund – all focused on the rights of Indigenous Peoples to utilise and protect indigenous organisms and ecosystems.

Manu is passionate about the potential for taonga species and ecosystems to be restored on the whenua and sustain whānau and hapū into the future. He enjoys working with Māori landowners and developing opportunities for Māori to move up the value chain from commodity producers and price-takers to IP owners and truly sustainable kaitiaki of taonga that whānau, hapū and iwi have rights and responsibilities to protect and utilise. To this end he has been supporting the development of Te Pūnaha Taonga a platform for kaitiaki deliberation and decision-making about the utilisation of specific taonga.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84602554553?pwd=Fe4R8QptZCRege1tpDF1bslOiYVnNb.1
Meeting ID: 846 0255 4553
Passcode: 007619

Manu Caddie will discuss Indigenous Rights, Biodiversity & Land Use with respect to forestry operations in Tairawhiti.

Manu spent his first 17 years in Tairāwhiti working in community development including the establishment of a school for teenage parents and their children, a Puna Reo led by his wife Natasha Koia, and supporting a range of youth and neighbourhood projects. In 2015 Manu had a change of direction. The family moved to Makarika, just south of Ruatōrea where they built a house next to Natasha’s marae on a 130 hectare land block.

Together with Panapa Ehau and others, Manu established Hikurangi Enterprises Ltd (HEL), a charitable company based in the Waiapu Valley with a focus on establishing sustainable industry and job creation. Much of the HEL story is captured in a Master thesis by Jack Barrett (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ewbyhsie6uz9v9jyahnc8/Jack-Barrett-MA-thesis.pdf?rlkey=ey64n9hta3tewmplf4xez2e78&e=1&dl=0).

One of the ventures started by HEL is Hikurangi Bioactives Limited Partnership (HBLP), now owned by Enquire Limited, an investment vehicle established by Manu and an old school friend from Tauranga. HBLP partnered with Honey Lab / TRG Natural Pharmaceuticals to develop products for treating eczema and acne using Kānuka oil as the active ingredient. One of these products has been proven to treat eczema as effectively as steroid creams and is now in market with a global licence to a US pharmaceutical company.

The other major investment by HBLP was establishing Rua Bioscience (originally Hikurangi Cannabis Company). Manu was a co-founder and the first CEO, helping the company receive the first medicinal cannabis licence in New Zealand. RUA became the first company founded by a Māori community to list on the NZX after raising $46m pre-IPO with the first $2m invested by locals via crowdfunding on the East Coast. The company now has a cannabis breeding facility at Ruatōrea and is selling cannabis in Europe, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Manu is currently involved in a range of horticultural and biotech projects with whenua Māori partners across Aotearoa including a research programme with three iwi entities developing pharmaceuticals from wairuakohu, a marae-based clinical studies programme called Tū Wairua using native psychedelic mushrooms, research on native berries with a large land trust and a biodiscovery project with his own iwi. He recently chaired a science review panel for Plant & Food Research looking at progress on a ten year $50m project building capability around Controlled Environment Agriculture and vertical farming.

Manu regularly participates in United Nations meetings at the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Steering Committee of the multilateral mechanism on Digital Sequence Information and the Cali Fund – all focused on the rights of Indigenous Peoples to utilise and protect indigenous organisms and ecosystems.

Manu is passionate about the potential for taonga species and ecosystems to be restored on the whenua and sustain whānau and hapū into the future. He enjoys working with Māori landowners and developing opportunities for Māori to move up the value chain from commodity producers and price-takers to IP owners and truly sustainable kaitiaki of taonga that whānau, hapū and iwi have rights and responsibilities to protect and utilise. To this end he has been supporting the development of Te Pūnaha Taonga a platform for kaitiaki deliberation and decision-making about the utilisation of specific taonga.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84602554553?pwd=Fe4R8QptZCRege1tpDF1bslOiYVnNb.1
Meeting ID: 846 0255 4553
Passcode: 007619

Dear Member/Supporter

We have two Webinars scheduled for November – see below for details.

You may have attended one of the Our Climate Declaration webinars, which examined the climate-related policies of various political parties standing in the upcoming election.

Politics and the question of climate are intertwined. This newsletter features a well-illustrated and interesting article by Simon Wilson, from his Substack, “Hopetown”. Simon spoke to young people at the Ōtaki Summer Camp about “The worst government of my lifetime”. A topic suggested by Nicky Hager. He also talks about the book “the Ministry of the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is where the question of the global response to the Climate Crisis begins. We hope you are moved by this article from a respected writer. He asks the question, who or what political theory is really is responsible for bringing the world to the brink of environmental collapse?
Here is a link to the article:

Hopetown by Simon Wilson

Everything everywhere all at once

In January this year, I was invited to give a talk to the Ōtaki Summer Camp, an annual gathering for people aged 17-35 who are interested in progressives politics. The investigative journalist Nicky Hager was one of the organisers and he suggested the topic: the worst g…

Read more

3 months ago · 205 likes · 57 comments · Simon Wilson

Upcoming Webinars (Note these webinars are on a THURSDAY)

Watch your inbox and our Substack site for further details and Zoom links.

Thursday, 5 November at 7pm, Manu Caddie – Forestry and Land Use in Tairawhiti

Thursday, 26 November at 7pm, Jonathan Boston and Charles Hett – this webinar will address climate impacts on property insurability and the broader implications for society and the economy

Join us

We need friends with inspiration, a passion for the future and some time to devote to behind-the-scenes work. We meet for about an hour by ZOOM every three weeks, but in between, we plan, and share ideas and information by email.

Join us, as an observer at our 3-weekly meetings. Email us at info@ourclimatedeclaration.org.nz so we can send you the link.

This is a recording of our conversation with Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, the Opportunity Party candidate for the Wellington Bays electorate. Her portfolios include Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Oceans and Fisheries.

A well-known environmental policy leader and advocate, Kayla believes that nature is Aotearoa’s most crucial and undervalued asset. She has a particular interest in restoring our oceans and fisheries to a state of health and abundance.

Her previous roles include Chief Executive of the WWF – New Zealand, positions at the Ministry for the Environment and Director of Policy for the Department of Conservation.

Kayla read double degrees in Commerce and International Development Studies at Queen’s University, Canada. She also has masters and doctoral degrees in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, UK.

An avid trail runner who has completed several ultramarathons, Kayla is driven by a strong ethic of community service and has a deep desire to give back to New Zealand.

Join us for a conversation with Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, the Opportunity Party candidate for the Wellington Bays electorate. Her portfolios include Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Oceans and Fisheries.

A well-known environmental policy leader and advocate, Kayla believes that nature is Aotearoa’s most crucial and undervalued asset. She has a particular interest in restoring our oceans and fisheries to a state of health and abundance.

Her previous roles include Chief Executive of the WWF – New Zealand, positions at the Ministry for the Environment and Director of Policy for the Department of Conservation.

Kayla read double degrees in Commerce and International Development Studies at Queen’s University, Canada. She also has masters and doctoral degrees in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, UK.

An avid trail runner who has completed several ultramarathons, Kayla is driven by a strong ethic of community service and has a deep desire to give back to New Zealand.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82148918066?pwd=TNWExd0YCOAjKLihWSscbpRPaKGI7b.1
Meeting ID: 821 4891 8066
Passcode: 484603

Date: Wednesday 7 October
Time: 7.00pm

Developing countries are key if we are to have significant impact on the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions and our future climate. 75% of cost-effective mitigation options in the next decade are located in developing countries. They also suffer most from climate change and will reap co-benefits from cleaner energy so have their own reasons to act. But even where their governments are committed to acting on climate they struggle with the capability and resources to act at the speed we all need.

Suzi Kerr talked about work they have done on how richer countries like New Zealand could help at a country-to-country scale and then also about work with universities and think tanks in over 15 developing countries to directly build capability to support an accelerated just energy transition in their own countries. Acting within New Zealand is essential but it’s not enough. And doing more can be fun.

Suzi Kerr’s work is concentrated on mitigation. She says that it has encompassed Asia - particularly India and China, Latin America - particularly Chile and Colombia- and a little of Africa.

Suzi Kerr is the Senior Advisor, Economics and Carbon Pricing and was previously the Chief Economist at the Environmental Defense Fund. She leads the RESET-network supporting Global South-led just energy transition. After completing her PhD in Economics at Harvard she was Founding Director of Motu Research in New Zealand. She was influential in creation of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, has advised several countries on carbon market design through the World Bank PMI, was influential in the development of jurisdictional approaches to avoiding deforestation and leads the international ‘Climate Action Teams’ initiative. Suzi has also co-led the creation of two influential Handbooks on natural climate solutions crediting and emissions trading. She has worked at the University of Maryland at College Park, Resources for the Future (USA), the Joint Center for the Science and Policy of Global Change at MIT, Stanford University, Victoria University of Wellington – Te Herenga Waka, and the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

Date: Wednesday 7 October
Time: 7.00pm

Developing countries are key if we are to have significant impact on the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions and our future climate. 75% of cost-effective mitigation options in the next decade are located in developing countries. They also suffer most from climate change and will reap co-benefits from cleaner energy so have their own reasons to act. But even where their governments are committed to acting on climate they struggle with the capability and resources to act at the speed we all need.

Suzi Kerr will talk about work they have done on how richer countries like New Zealand could help at a country-to-country scale and then also about work with universities and think tanks in over 15 developing countries to directly build capability to support an accelerated just energy transition in their own countries. Acting within New Zealand is essential but it’s not enough. And doing more can be fun.

Suzi Kerr’s work is concentrated on mitigation. She says that it has encompassed Asia - particularly India and China, Latin America - particularly Chile and Colombia- and a little of Africa.

Suzi Kerr is the Senior Advisor, Economics and Carbon Pricing and was previously the Chief Economist at the Environmental Defense Fund. She leads the RESET-network supporting Global South-led just energy transition. After completing her PhD in Economics at Harvard she was Founding Director of Motu Research in New Zealand. She was influential in creation of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, has advised several countries on carbon market design through the World Bank PMI, was influential in the development of jurisdictional approaches to avoiding deforestation and leads the international ‘Climate Action Teams’ initiative. Suzi has also co-led the creation of two influential Handbooks on natural climate solutions crediting and emissions trading. She has worked at the University of Maryland at College Park, Resources for the Future (USA), the Joint Center for the Science and Policy of Global Change at MIT, Stanford University, Victoria University of Wellington – Te Herenga Waka, and the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86069325861?pwd=OaKSaixqMV4343Gvb78XND4EvJKTdk.1
Meeting ID: 860 6932 5861
Passcode: 392735

Date: Wednesday 30 September
Time: 7.00pm

Please note that the format for this webinar was changed twice.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Dr Deborah Russell was not able to join us live on Wednesday 30 September.

However, Deborah kindly agreed to record a question-and-answer session with members of the Our Climate Declaration committee on Monday 28 September.

In the recording Deborah responded to the same questions that we asked Green MP Scott Willis in our recent webinar. Topics include methane emissions, ETS, lobbying and political influence, data centres and climate migration.

We were going to play this recording during the webinar on Wednesday 30th, and then open the webinar for discussion with participants. However, this webinar had to be cancelled due to technical difficulties. We apologize to anyone who wished to attend.

Despite all these difficulties, Deborah’s recorded answers to our questions are at least available to view.

Honourable Dr Deborah Russell is Labour’s spokesperson for Climate Change, Revenue, and Associate Finance.

Deborah previously served as Minister of Statistics, Minister responsible for the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, Associate Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Justice.

With a background in accountancy and tax, she brings financial expertise and a practical approach to the Climate portfolio and is focused on reducing emissions while building resilient, climate adapted communities - recognising that climate change is also a health and cost-of-living issue, and she sees the low-carbon transition as both a necessity and an opportunity for community health and wellbeing.

Before entering Parliament, Deborah lectured in Taxation at Massey University, worked at the Tax Policy unit at Inland Revenue and co-authored the BWB Texts book Tax and Fairness with Terry Baucher.

Date: Wednesday 30 September
Time: 7.00pm

Please note that the format for this webinar has changed.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Dr Deborah Russell is no longer able to join us live on Wednesday 30 September.

However, Deborah has kindly agreed to record a question-and-answer session with members of the Our Climate Declaration committee on Monday. We will be playing this recording during the webinar on Wednesday 30th.

In the recording Deborah will be responding to the same questions that we asked Green MP Scott Willis in our recent webinar. Topics include methane emissions, ETS, lobbying and political influence, data centres and climate migration.

Following the recording, we will open the webinar for discussion with participants.

We look forward to having you join us on Wednesday 30 September at 7pm.

Honourable Dr Deborah Russell is Labour’s spokesperson for Climate Change, Revenue, and Associate Finance.

Deborah previously served as Minister of Statistics, Minister responsible for the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, Associate Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Justice.

With a background in accountancy and tax, she brings financial expertise and a practical approach to the Climate portfolio and is focused on reducing emissions while building resilient, climate adapted communities - recognising that climate change is also a health and cost-of-living issue, and she sees the low-carbon transition as both a necessity and an opportunity for community health and wellbeing.

Before entering Parliament, Deborah lectured in Taxation at Massey University, worked at the Tax Policy unit at Inland Revenue and co-authored the BWB Texts book Tax and Fairness with Terry Baucher.

ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88683718645?pwd=c6Cslbb95hszsLGToUxz2zVpOkGlbu.1
Meeting chat link: https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/88683718645
Meeting ID: 886 8371 8645
Passcode: 029024

Date: Wednesday 2 September
Time: 7.30pm

Here is a recording of our conversation with Scott Willis, Green Party spokesperson for Energy.

For years Scott has worked on community energy, including being on an advisory group at the Electricity Authority. We can have cleaner, cheaper, smarter power, and he is passionate about working for that. Scott is intent on ensuring both urban and rural communities can flourish as we work for an economy ensuring climate justice as we adapt to the rough road ahead.

Scott discussed a range of important climate issues, including the Green Party’s policies and plans for methane emissions, emissions pricing, lobbying and political influence, aviation and climate migration. He also responded to questions from attendees, sharing his perspective on what effective climate action could look like.

Date: Wednesday 26 August
Time: 7 PM

In the face of declining trust in electoral representative democracy, can principles and insights from deliberative democracy be an antidote? With almost 20 years of experience in facilitating a range of deliberative processes in New Zealand, Simon Wright will share the basics of what it is, when to use it, its history in New Zealand, and how it can contribute to trust, problem solving and democratic reform.

Simon’s first experiences with deliberative processes were while in the secretariat for Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council, which was established in response to a recommendation of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. He has used deliberative processes at the Wellington City Council and, more recently, was on the project team for the 2025 Porirua Assembly on Climate, the first assembly process to be co-designed with tāngata whenua to honour te Tiriti. Simon also has significant experience with online approaches to engagement and deliberation, especially Pol.is, a platform designed to take participation to mass scale.

Some Background Material to Review

Watch this short 3 minute video about what deliberative engagement is -

This webinar was organized by Our Climate Declaration, and co-sponsored by:
Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand
The Wise Response Society
Engineers for Social Responsibility
and the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum

Date: Wednesday 2 September
Time: 7.30pm

Join us for a conversation with Scott Willis, Green Party spokesperson for Energy.

For years Scott has worked on community energy, including being on an advisory group at the Electricity Authority. We can have cleaner, cheaper, smarter power, and he is passionate about working for that. Scott is intent on ensuring both urban and rural communities can flourish as we work for an economy ensuring climate justice as we adapt to the rough road ahead.

Scott will discuss a range of important climate issues, including the Green Party’s policies and plans for methane emissions, emissions pricing, lobbying and political influence, aviation and climate migration. He’ll also respond to questions from attendees, sharing his perspective on what effective climate action could look like.

ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83990090122?pwd=q1M3VtrkJRi8uaIXS0Jol9mwPebZ2H.1
Meeting chat link: https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/83990090122
Meeting ID: 839 9009 0122
Passcode: 420913

Unless we work hard, this election could wreak changes as destructive to the environment as the economic policies of the Lange government were to the welfare state. It is true we need to electrify essential services and it’s true we can’t do this without minerals and rare earths which lie beneath our forests. But we need to do this mindful of where we seek them, how we use them and where the profits go.

Before the advent of the coalition government we had a minimum set of rules and guidelines that protected vulnerable biodiversity from exploitation. But many of those laws have been weakened or deleted. Also during this government’s term there has been a huge increase in donations to political parties. The sum declared is a little more than $52 million of which National received $22.4 million.

The majority of these donations are from fast track developers, mining companies, fishing companies, petroleum companies – all seeking law, regulation changes or resource consent approvals for commercial enterprises. Consider the effects these fossil fuel-using activities will have not only on global heating but on environmental health and the ability of our population to survive increasingly extreme weather events.

OCD believes therefore that laws governing donations to political parties need reform.

We support the call for a government-mandated citizen’s assembly on political finance reform.

The time for hard work on election issues is diminishing. To make the most of the remaining weeks OCD is holding a series of webinars featuring candidates from Labour, The Opportunity Party, and the Green Party. We will be questioning them about their party’s policy on political donations and other climate-related major issues.

We want to know whether data centres will be required to have additional renewable electricity and adequate water resources.

Would the candidate’s party support the proposed LNG terminal at New Plymouth?

How will they address the problems of bio-methane and synthetic nitrogen fertilisers inherent in agribusiness and whether they would give assistance to farmers transitioning to more eco-friendly systems?

Our question on emissions pricing will ask how they will ensure reductions are actually achieved rather than simply allowing businesses to purchase credits or shift costs elsewhere.

We want to know whether a new government will establish a pathway for climate migrants to settle in Aotearoa.

Please participate in these webinars and bring your own questions.

Election webinar series – Our climate, Our vote

2 September
7.30pm

Scott Willis
Energy spokesperson
Green Party

30 September
7.00pm

Dr Deborah Russell
Climate Change spokesperson
Labour

TBD

Kayla Kingdon-Bebb
Wellington Bays
The Opportunity Party

These are some of the questions we explored with Julie Haggie, Executive Director of Transparency International New Zealand.

Date: 12 August, 2026
Time: 7 – 8:30 PM

Additional Reading

1. Greenpeace NZ’s Anti-Corruption Campaign:
   10-point plan for election finance reform

2. Transparency International:
   Questions to put to political candidates this election

Background

Julie Haggie is Executive Director of Transparency International New Zealand.

Julie has 20 years of experience as a Chief Executive Officer and senior manager in regulatory, professional and NGO organisations.
She is an accomplished leader, advocate, negotiator and communicator. She has facilitated standards development, and research projects, and has overseen complaints and disciplinary processes.
Her earlier career was in secondary teaching. Julie is a strong advocate for civil society participation. She loves her leadership role at TINZ, as it enables her to interweave several decades of skill and knowledge towards great outcomes for Aotearoa.

This webinar was organized by Our Climate Declaration and co-sponsored by:
The Wise Response Society
Engineers for Social Responsibility
Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand

• Our response to Simon Watt’s climate planning letter to local councils

• August Webinars

Dear Member/Supporter

Climate minister Simon Watts has sent a letter to Mayors, Chairs and Chief Executives “regarding the use of climate change assumptions in council planning….”

It betrays a curious mixture of alarm, semi-denial and contradiction. His primary aim appears to be to prevent councils from being influenced by the latest “worst-case” predictions of the IPCC. He fears that this could result “in unnecessary costs being imposed on ratepayers, businesses and communities.”

“Unnecessary”, in the face of more storms?

“Worst-case assumptions”, he writes, should not become “the default basis for investment decisions….”

IPCC scientists use evidence to make two broad predictions – one for what is most likely to happen and another warning of a worst-case scenario. Evidence shows that this is a shifting scale. What was considered to be the most likely effects of global heating has taken over the worst case slot, leaving the world facing the possibility of a worse worst-case future.

This is the result of recent studies that have indicated that climate sensitivity to GHG emissions is greater than previously understood. This means that actual climate impacts have accelerated over time. In other words, things are getting worse faster than previously believed.

Our Climate Declaration’s Jack Santa Barbara comments:

“It is also the case that the intermediate scenarios between most likely and worst-case would be devastating for human wellbeing, resulting in disaster-related deaths, mass migration and massive damage to human infrastructure.”

Yes, Watts urges councils to plan for climate change but he exhorts them to “use a range of credible climate scenarios when assessing infrastructure and planning decisions.”

Which scenarios, one must ask, does he find credible?

His urgings appear to perpetuate the myth that expenditure is a binary choice between climate responses and other works - when that need not be the case. Abundant evidence shows that the two can frequently be combined in synergistic ways, giving better value than if either were addressed singly.

Energy and transport sectors are examples. Moreover many effective adaptation actions bring co-benefits, such as the improvements to health brought by the cleaner air as the number of EVs increases.

Climate impacts are already imposing massive, escalating costs - costs that could have been avoided had earlier planning been adequate. Let’s not perpetuate this inadequacy but encourage strong investment in well-targeted responses and avert worse consequences.

Watts reminds those charged with spending our rates and taxes and keeping us safe that many parts of the country already face “significant infrastructure challenges”.

One way or another we could be in for hard times. The OCD Team urges you to follow up the Minister’s letter with your own council. It’s accessible on the link below.

Letter From Minister Watts Regarding Climate Change Assumptions In Council Planning V2

116KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Our Climate Declaration - Upcoming Webinars

Wednesday, 12 August, 7.00 pm
Julie Haggie, Executive Director of Transparency International New Zealand, will discuss How Accountable Are Our Politicians? Julie will examine political accountability, transparency, and the systems that help ensure good governance.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82032241655?pwd=3zBq3ib0ImISOTbBo3cxzuPE0fN8mp.1

Wednesday, 26 August, 7.00 pm
Simon Wright, Chair of Trust Democracy will present Making a Trusted Democracy: How Can Deliberative Democracy Help? Simon will explore the role that deliberative democracy can play in strengthening trust, participation, and confidence in our democratic institutions.

Note: This webinar was originally scheduled for 5 August, but it was postponed to 26 August.

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84946984615?pwd=nlQYbYZ58QeaabyVKhrVgc3WbHKkSO.1

Looking Ahead

We are also putting together a series of webinars featuring spokespersons from a range of New Zealand political parties. These sessions will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the parties on key climate and policy issues in the lead-up to the election.

We’re currently confirming speakers and dates, and we’ll share the full programme as soon as it’s finalised.

Join us

We need friends with inspiration, a passion for the future and some time to devote to behind-the-scenes work. We meet for about an hour by ZOOM every three weeks, but in between, we plan, and share ideas and information by email.

Join us, as an observer at our 3-weekly meetings. Email us at info@ourclimatedeclaration.org.nz so we can send you the link.

We also want to inform you that the webinar announced yesterday, which we had announced to be on 5 August, has been postponed until 26 August.

NZ is considered one of the least corrupt nations in the world, but just how accountable are our politicians to the laws and regulations in place and basic Kiwi values? And how adequate are those laws and regulations in the first place? How do special interest groups exert undue influence in the political process? What is being done to ensure that political decision-making is transparent and that governments work for the benefit of all, not just those with power and influence? What do NGOs need to know about how special interest groups work around existing safeguards to disrupt the democratic process?

These are some of the questions we’ll be exploring with Julie Haggie, Executive Director of Transparency International New Zealand.

Date: 12 August, 2026
Time: 7 – 8:30 PM
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82032241655?pwd=3zBq3ib0ImISOTbBo3cxzuPE0fN8mp.1
Meeting ID: 820 3224 1655
Passcode: 002407

Julie Haggie is Executive Director of Transparency International New Zealand

Julie has 20 years of experience as a Chief Executive Officer and senior manager in regulatory, professional and NGO organisations.
She is an accomplished leader, advocate, negotiator and communicator. She has facilitated standards development, and research projects, and has overseen complaints and disciplinary processes.
Her earlier career was in secondary teaching. Julie is a strong advocate for civil society participation. She loves her leadership role at TINZ, as it enables her to interweave several decades of skill and knowledge towards great outcomes for Aotearoa.

This webinar is organized by Our Climate Declaration and co-sponsored by:
The Wise Response Society
Engineers for Social Responsibility
Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand

Date: Wednesday 26 August
Time: 7 PM
ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84946984615?pwd=nlQYbYZ58QeaabyVKhrVgc3WbHKkSO.1
Meeting chat link: https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/jc/84946984615
Meeting ID: 849 4698 4615
Passcode: 867260

In the face of declining trust in electoral representative democracy, can principles and insights from deliberative democracy be an antidote? With almost 20 years of experience in facilitating a range of deliberative processes in New Zealand, Simon Wright will share the basics of what it is, when to use it, its history in New Zealand, and how it can contribute to trust, problem solving and democratic reform.

Simon’s first experiences with deliberative processes were while in the secretariat for Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council, which was established in response to a recommendation of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. He has used deliberative processes at the Wellington City Council and, more recently, was on the project team for the 2025 Porirua Assembly on Climate, the first assembly process to be co-designed with tāngata whenua to honour te Tiriti. Simon also has significant experience with online approaches to engagement and deliberation, especially Pol.is, a platform designed to take participation to mass scale.

Some Background Material to Review

Watch this short 3 minute video about what deliberative engagement is -

This webinar is organized by Our Climate Declaration, and co-sponsored by:
Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand
The Wise Response Society
Engineers for Social Responsibility
and the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum

David Spratt is the Research Director for the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration in Australia.

Description

Does responding to climate warming require both a fast reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) AND efforts to protect people and nature from the impacts (adaptation)? Should we do both? Can we do both? Would adaptation at the expense of emissions reduction create an unliveable world?

David put on a presentation, followed by a discussion and Q&A. These were recorded, and you can watch the recording below:

Date: 8 July, 2026
Time: 7 PM

Slides

2607 Adaptation Talk

3.02MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Papers discussing why Climate Change remains a serious risk

https://thebulletin.org/2026/05/sorry-climate-change-is-still-dangerous-no-matter-what-nonsense-trump-emits/#post-heading

https://www.climatecodered.org/2026/06/avoiding-worse-case-climate-warming-is.html#more

Background

https://www.climatecodered.org/2011/02/4-degrees-hotter-adaptation-trap.html

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-021-01808-9

https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/04/has-climate-policymaking-gone-completely-off-the-rails/

This webinar was cosponsored by:
Our Climate Declaration
Degrowth Aotearoa New Zealand
The Wise Response Society
Engineers for Social Responsibility
Seniors Climate Action Network
and the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum