Newsletter January 2026
E tangi ana tāua mō te raumati nei
“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