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If 2023's Cyclone Gabrielle proved anything, it was that New Zealand is woefully exposed to the risks of climate change and has no coherent strategy for moving people and assets away from them. Sustainability consultant Kelly Flatz tells Ross Inglis that the national conversation about managed retreat is only just starting.
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A new report by medical journal The Lancet shows heat-related deaths, food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases caused by climate change have reached record levels. In our concern for its effect on economy or the environment it’s easy to forget that climate change is also health crisis. To ensure it’s not forgotten, more than 1000 health professionals are members of Ora Taiao; a professional body advocating for health-enhancing climate action. Vincent spoke to spokesperson Dr Jan Raymond.
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You probably know Essity more what’s in your house: Purex and Sorbent in your loo and Handee towels in your kitchen. You may also know that this tissue is produced in a mill in Kawerau, central North Island, across the road from the old Tasman Pulp & Paper mill. Perhaps what you didn't know is that by the end of this year, the Essity mill will have ditched gas to run almost all on renewable geothermal steam. This shift will reduce the mill’s carbon footprint by 66% compared to 2009, cutting emissions equivalent to taking over 2,200 cars off the road.
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Few businesses have figured out how to make Aotearoa's native bush 'pay'. Helen Paul Smith husband Scott have patiently created a health and beauty brand, Oku, entirely from native extracts and bioactives. Reinvesting the profits into regenerating Ngahere in the Waikato, Oku is an inspirational story of business done right.
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In late August the wholesale energy price spiked as high as $1000 mwh (megawatt hour) as the country felt the effects of a dry winter - when the hydro lakes aren’t replenished by ice melt and rain. The spike has added woes to an already woeful economy and at least one factory - Winstone Pulp International - announced closure. In response, the government announced a suite of actions, including construction of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, a review into the energy market. This comes on top of reversing the ban on oil and gas exploration. Fossil fuels come back all is forgiven!
But do we need to more gas and oil? Could renewables fix the dry winter problem? And just how did we get into this mess? Vincent interviews energy expert Dr Christina Hood and Dr David Hall, a contributor to Rewiring Aotearoa.
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If you think you’re forgetful, spare a thought for New Zealand businesses. Mutu, a Kiwi start-up, says they routinely forget assets they bought and never used - up to five million tons of them annually.
Mutu’s resource-sharing app does the remembering for them and adds up the cash and carbon savings they make by using stuff they already own..
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James Hughes looks into the future and tells New Zealand’s councils just how bad life could get as a result of climate change. James, technical director for climate and resilience for engineering consultancy Tonkin + Taylor, performs climate risk assessments. You could call it staring into the abyss; he tells Ross Inglis it’s often the starting point for difficult conversations about the impacts of global warming.
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Solar developer Rānui Generation started ground works the Twin Rivers Solar Farm, near Kaitaia. The 31MWp project could power 6,000 households or 25,000 electric vehicles for a year - and it’s the first of four solar farms planned around the country. To talk about the project and what role solar will play in our energy future, Vincent was joined by the CEO Jason Foden.
Media release
RanuiGeneration
Electrification report
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You might know Steven Moe as a lawyer for Christchurch based Parry Field, specialising in charities and the impact sector; or as the chair of Community Finance - an investor in community housing; or as the host of Seeds, a longstanding weekly podcast; or as the author of The Apple Tree, or as a mentor for Christchurch incubator Ministry of Awesome or a quietly spoken father and friend. However you know him, Steven's seems to crop up everywhere there are sustainable causes or purpose-led businesses. Vincent chats to a quiet revolutionary at work.
Apple Tree Book https://theseeds.nz/books/the-apple-tree/
Seeds Podcast www.theseeds.nz
Legal opinion on impact investing https://www.parryfield.com/impact-investing-information-hub/
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What does ‘nature’ mean for business? How do companies incorporate nature dependency and nature opportunity into their strategy and action? And what is TNFD? Vincent was joined by two experts: Sam Rowland, the Programme Manager for Nature at the Sustainable Business Network and Kirsty Brennan, the Environmental and Sustainability Business Partner at the Lyttleton Port Company.
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Could congestion pricing be the way to address traffic gridlock and reduce emissions? Auckland Council seems to think so, suggesting congestion pricing within the next two years. If so, how will it work? Mark Heine is the CEO of eRoad, the Kiwi company managing electronic road user charges, or eRUCs. He sees a promising future for transport management using eRUC and shifting funds from roads to alternatives.
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When it comes to aviation emissions, New Zealand is far from clean and green. Economist Dr Paul Callister tells Ross Inglis that we are the world’s sixth highest per-capita aviation polluter, emissions are tracking the wrong way, and the sector’s plans to cut emissions offer little real hope.
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You’d be hiding under a rock if you haven’t noticed that there’s fierce disagreement about the growth of pine plantations on rural New Zealand. On the one hand, we need fast growing permanent forests to act as carbon sinks. Lots and lots if we’re meet our net zero goals. If grown on marginal these forests make welcome additional income for farmers and reduce reliance on sheep and beef – a win for landowners, win for climate, win for New Zealand. On the other hand, we need more permanent pine forests like a hole in the head – they lack biodiversity, they’re fire risks, harbour pests and are poor at creating rural jobs. Lose/lose/lose.
So, which is it: win or lose?
This is just the sort of trade-off that interests Geoff Simmons. Working as the chief economists of the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Geoff has been wrestling with the complexities of rural land use – what’s good for farmers, what’s good for communities, for biodiversity, for Māori, for the climate and for the future generations. What we do with land, the rules and policies that govern it, has huge implications for all of us. That’s all captured in a new report from the Commissioner called ‘Going with the grain: Changing land uses to fit a changing landscape’ He spoke to Vincent.
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So businesses love parking and hate cycleways. Or do they? Bike Auckland chair Karen Hormann tells Ross Inglis about a new campaign that tackles a lopsided narrative about commerce and cycling.
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We know that about a third of food is wasted. If global food waste was a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind only China and the USA. No one believes it’s a good idea. So why does it keep happening? And who’s in charge of this madness? It’s turns out, it’s no one. Those numbers are mere guesses and gaps in the system remain unsolved. Someone needs to do something.
Kaitlin Dawson is making a start. Kaitlin is head of Foodwaste Champions 12.3 and is seeking a systemic solution. Iain Lees-Galloway is interim General Manager of Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance which represents 35 community organisations, who are feeding 5500 Kiwis with rescued food everyday. They join me today on the show.
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There’s a fast-growing thicket of regulations and trade agreements standing between corporate New Zealand and its overseas markets. This emerging landscape has been mapped out by law firm Chapman Tripp in Protecting New Zealand’s Competitive Advantage, a report for the Aotearoa Circle. Co-authors Nicola Swan and Alana Lampitt told Ross Inglis what it all means for businesses big and small.
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David Williams is a journalist with Newsroom. He recently interviewed Extinction Rebellion protesters, Nick Hanafin and Siana Fitzjohn who climbed aboard the oil rig COSL Prospector in the Cook Strait in 2020 and were subsequently prosecuted. The interview piqued my interest, as it got into the minds and hearts of two incredibly brave and yet, surprisingly ordinary people who were prepared to push the law and their own safety to the limit.
Now, as our government throws down the welcome mat to the oil and gas industry and walks back on climate change commitments, I want to know will we see more protests and indeed is civil disobedience an effective tool in the fight against the fossil fuel industry.
Read David’s excellent story here https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/04/04/inside-the-minds-of-the-oil-rig-climbing-activists/
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Is another plastic bottle the way to disrupt the plastic bottle business?
Jayden Klinac of Anew believes so. The Anew system builds on years of trying to find a sustainable, commercially viable plant-based, recyclable, compostable, cradle-to-cradle plastic packaging solution. Brave man. Vincent spoke to Jayden ahead of his talk at the Spark Future State conference.
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Two years ago Unilever Australia-NZ became a B Corp. It was the first really large corporate, with household brands Surf and Persil, to join a scheme that’s been home to environmental hero brands such as EcoStore. Why did Unilever join? What did they discover in the process? And what impact has a major corporate had on such a spirited brand as B Lab? Vincent was joined by Cam Heath, MD of Unilever NZ and Andrew Davies CEO of B Lab.
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