The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. 

The latest report from the IPPC is clear and disturbing stating that: 

"Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5˚ C will be beyond reach.”

Yet in spite of the clear evidence from the IPPC and the evidence we can all see every day in the news both here in NZ and around the world, it does not seem to me that we are doing enough right now to try and minimise the impacts that we are already experiencing. I would have expected that this issues was the number one issue in the world today.

I attended a recent lecture given by Professor James Renwick, a professor of Physical Geography at Victoria University of Wellington. He has been a lead author for the IPCC for the last 20 years.

One simple message I took from his lecture, in terms of what needs to be done, was to stop burning oil and gas right now.

Climate change is a real existential threat. I thought my kids - possibly grandkids - would be the ones to see the worst of it. But the bad stuff is accelerating a lot faster than even the climate scientists predicted. Now fully expect that I will be alive to see the upheaval begin.

SaltyNZ:

 

Climate change is a real existential threat. I thought my kids - possibly grandkids - would be the ones to see the worst of it. But the bad stuff is accelerating a lot faster than even the climate scientists predicted. Now fully expect that I will be alive to see the upheaval begin.

 

I feel we are at the start of the Climate Change Bell Curve. One in 100 year and one in a thousand year events is over. They will be regular now, and when the weather and random chance stars align that gives you the 1 in 100 event, that will be huge from here on. Phoenix, AZ, 25 days in a row of 43.3 C or higher that's unreal

Here in ChCh, unscientific obervations this Winter. Hardly any frosts, spring bulbs came up late June. Daffodils in flower. Big dump of rain here last weekend (not unusual this time of year) but it was double July rainfall in 2 days. Last week we had 3 days in a row of 17 to 18+ degrees. Yes, any of these can happen in any given year, but not unusual now 

I think one of the main issues we're facing regarding changing habits is related to the convenience factor. 

It's really inconvenient to go back to the way we did things in the past and to do things to minimise our footprint. 
It can also be expensive. 

I drive a Hybrid - I wouldn't be able to afford to buy one myself, but I was lucky enough to be given a job with a company car. 
My wife's car uses petrol - I'd love to buy her a hybrid, but we simply can't afford it (let alone a fully electric car). My son's car is also a petrol car.

Recycling and composting and buying things without wrapping and sourcing environmentally friendly products can be exhausting. It's simply not in the forefront of most people's minds. 
It's harder to do than living the way we've been conditioned to live for the last 50+ years. 

There needs to be a fundamental shift in the way we all live, but I fear the worst. 

Handsomedan:

 

Recycling and composting and buying things without wrapping and sourcing environmentally friendly products can be exhausting. 

 

As it happens, recycling doesn't have a major impact on climate change. It's good for other reasons, obviously, but not so much climate change in particular. The best things you can do for climate change are going car-free and related strategies - use PT more, switch to an EV, fly less.

For us 'fly less' isn't really an achievable goal: we flew once this year and that was the first time since 2018. Even before that it was Australia, once every couple of years, so there isn't really much 'less' we can get.

Clearly EVs have a way to go before they will be in the hands of everyone but most people can make more use of PT.

Lethal wet bulb temperatures. It's the combination of where high temperatures and high humidity mean even if the body sweats, evaporative cooling doesn't occur. So the body overheats and dies of heatstroke. 

This is already happening in some parts of the world. (Persian Gulf, India, Pakistan, etc.).

The opening chapter (scanned PDF, university uploaded for review purposes) of Kim Robinson's Ministry for the Future is a horrifying peek into what parts of the world are already dealing with.

It seems obvious to me that we've already gone past the tipping point - it's too late.

No matter how many people switch to hybrids or EV's in NZ it won't make an iota of difference to the big picture.

There needs to be an equal effort put into mitigation as there is in emission reduction or there will be nothing left to save.

SaltyNZ:

 

 The best things you can do for climate change are going car-free and related strategies - use PT more, switch to an EV, fly less.

 

 

 

Clearly EVs have a way to go before they will be in the hands of everyone but most people can make more use of PT.

 

Agree with this - we all need to look at how we individually can burn less gas and oil.

This may mean walking, riding a bicycle, taking a bus, changing to an EV, fly less. It will all add up. The CO2 we produce from burning oil and gas stays around for a long time so best to avoid doing this when ever possible.

We have a PHEV that spends 90% running as an EV, I have an electric mobility scooter and a human powered wheelchair. My wife travels to work by train unless she needs to go out of town for meetings. When things get better we have E-Bikes. We no longer use our gas heating and only use electric heating and we will shortly swap out our gas hob for an induction hob. I would like to get rid of our Infinity water heater but I don't know of viable alternatives for water heating.

MikeB4:

 

We have a PHEV that spends 90% running as an EV, I have an electric mobility scooter and a human powered wheelchair. My wife travels to work by train unless she needs to go out of town for meetings. When things get better we have E-Bikes. We no longer use our gas heating and only use electric heating and we will shortly swap out our gas hob for an induction hob. I would like to get rid of our Infinity water heater but I don't know of viable alternatives for water heating.

 

Yeah, when our gas hob retires we will switch to electric, and like you I have no good alternative to the infinity system for water heating for a family with teenagers just yet. Presumably electric ones will be available at some time in the near future, and/or heat-pump powered storage water heaters as well. In the meantime, there's nothing comparable to cooking with gas unfortunately. Induction hobs don't cut it in my opinion.

If youre interested in personal choices which can reduce your climate impact, this is a good (and very scientific) place to start: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab8589/pdf#page=14

SJB:

 

It seems obvious to me that we've already gone past the tipping point - it's too late.

 

No matter how many people switch to hybrids or EV's in NZ it won't make an iota of difference to the big picture.

 

There needs to be an equal effort put into mitigation as there is in emission reduction or there will be nothing left to save.

 

The experts are still holding out some hope so hopefully it's not too late to ensure that we - or our grandchildren - at least manage to survive this.

It may be too late for sea level rise but the warming may still yet slowed down and eventually turned around.

Yes mitigation has to happen as well but if we give up on the possibility of stopping the warming there seems little point in mitigation as it will be for nothing.

I don't agree that we shouldn't switch to hybrids or EVs in NZ as "it won't make an lota of difference to the big picture". We are one earth and all connected and what we do in NZ is just as important as what is done anywhere in the world.

MikeB4:

 

We have a PHEV that spends 90% running as an EV, I have an electric mobility scooter and a human powered wheelchair. My wife travels to work by train unless she needs to go out of town for meetings. When things get better we have E-Bikes. We no longer use our gas heating and only use electric heating and we will shortly swap out our gas hob for an induction hob. I would like to get rid of our Infinity water heater but I don't know of viable alternatives for water heating.

 

Assume by electric heating you mean a heat pump which uses a fraction of the power used by a heater for the same amount of heating?

There are now heat pump water heaters available which have similar efficiency benefits.

SaltyNZ:

 

MikeB4:

 

We have a PHEV that spends 90% running as an EV, I have an electric mobility scooter and a human powered wheelchair. My wife travels to work by train unless she needs to go out of town for meetings. When things get better we have E-Bikes. We no longer use our gas heating and only use electric heating and we will shortly swap out our gas hob for an induction hob. I would like to get rid of our Infinity water heater but I don't know of viable alternatives for water heating.

 

 

 

 

Yeah, when our gas hob retires we will switch to electric, and like you I have no good alternative to the infinity system for water heating for a family with teenagers just yet. Presumably electric ones will be available at some time in the near future, and/or heat-pump powered storage water heaters as well. In the meantime, there's nothing comparable to cooking with gas unfortunately. Induction hobs don't cut it in my opinion.

 

IMHO Induction is vastly better than gas in all ways apart from having no wok option. They are faster, more energy efficient and easier to clean while offering the same or better control than gas. Yet they do not fill your house with water vapour nor generate CO2.

Currently back on gas while renting. Awful. Just awful compared to our old induction cooktop.