Tēnā koutou katoa, kia ora ngā hoa mā,

As 2024 closes we in the Team are harbouring our energies. The year has demanded maximum effort on all fronts. You will have read the latest warnings -  “many of Earth’s vital signs have hit record extremes…. that the future of humanity hangs in the balance…”

We need to recoup strength and we need four or five new committee members. Paul Bruce would like to step down as Treasurer, but will stay on the committee. Paul has faithfully kept track of your donations and guarded our charitable status since our early days in 2017.

Recent discussions have revolved around the question of whether we reformulate our constitution to conform to new govt requirements for incorporated societies.  The decision made and recorded in our minutes was to forgo incorporation (and with it, our Charitable Status) and to continue to operate more simply but with an emphasis on gaining more supporters. People who watch our Webinars and are inspired to act. People, who, from time to time may donate, to help cover the cost of NationBuilder and our technical support.

Our work has evolved to encompass a Webinar programme for the dissemination of information in line with Our Climate Declaration – all recorded on our website for future reference. We also encourage persistent lobbying of those who have the power to keep on track for our climate goals but often lack the will, until pressed. This is vital work.

Our programme of eight webinars so far this year has supported and enhanced our knowledge base and provided new insights into ways of communicating in this deeply divided world.

As Prof Sir Peter Gluckman noted in his presentation, “Neither data nor alarmism alone will change the future. We must address the political reality that all citizens need to accept the trade-offs and choices that need to be made.”

Other notable presenters were Nandita Bajaj: “Confronting Growthism and pronatalism for social and ecological justice” and Dr Paul Winton: “Raising climate ambition in NZ: barriers and where to have the most impact.”

We will finish this year with two more Webinars, the November one is on the 20^th, and the invitation and link can be found below.

OCD’s Committee also needs your help to continue this work. As well as a Treasurer, we need friends with inspiration, a passion for the future and some time to devote to this 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 meeting, on November 15 at 4pm, and Email us at [email protected] so we can send you the link.

I will end this Newsletter with a touch of humour and hope.  A great cartoon with acknowledgement to Polyp.org.uk and also a beloved green icon with acknowledgement to the late Jim Henson. How hard it is being Green.

Thank you all for your support thus far,
Beverley Short, Convenor, Our Climate Declaration.

OCD Webinar 7pm Wednesday 20th November

Offshore Mitigation: shifting from buying and exploiting to exchanging and benefitting

Catherine Leining will join us 7pm Wednesday 20th November with a presentation followed by a discussion on how offshore mitigation might be used to help Aotearoa meet its 2030 target under the Paris Agreement, while also helping reach our targets without doing harm.

The world is not on track to prevent dangerous climate change. Cooperation between developed and developing countries is essential to bridge serious gaps in climate mitigation ambition, climate finance and equity.

ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89008174559?pwd=5znm6Xs7YbzwMcUiJniXYjhXswdpAk.1
Meeting ID: 890 0817 4559
Passcode: 020636

Catherine currently serves as a Policy Fellow at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, and was appointed to He Pou a Rangi NZ Climate Change Commission in late 2019. She also served as a negotiator on the NZ delegation to the UNFCC negotiations, and is a joint author with Sasha Maher and Hannah Kotula of a Motu paper in 2024 titled: “Think globally, act cooperatively: Progressing offshore mitigation for Aotearoa New Zealand.” She will be speaking in her Motu capacity.

https://www.motu.nz/our-research/environment-and-resources/emission-mitigation/international-greenhouse-gas-mitigation/progressing-offshore-mitigation/

Your donation will help us to continue our work for a world that is safe for humanity.

Donate to Our Climate Declaration general fund:
Kiwibank # 38 9018 0711725 00

Donate to the Jeanette Fitzsimons Climate Action Grants fund:
Kiwibank # 38 9018 0711725 01

Our number as a registered charity is: CC60027

Please let us know when you make a donation - Contact us or email [email protected]

Thank you. Your donation will be wisely spent.