Cathrine Dyer & Bernard Hickey chat about the week's climate news, including how the economic risk from climate damage is calculated, permanent va temporary carbon sequestration, and COP29's kick-off
Would be interesting to see the impact on the government’s balance sheet if climate costs were properly accounted for.
As Piketty pointed out a lot of developed countries governments already have negative assets a position which will look a whole lot worse with the inclusion of climate liabilities.
Just an update. I finally got a meeting with the Minister Simeon Brown. He was very enthusiastic about the ultimate transition to electric. Envisioned an electric future.
He believed gas was the right transition medium for the industry to get to a point that they had enough renewables available and available consistently to power Aotearoa.
He hadn’t seen the Rewiring Aotearoa report but I gave him a hard copy and he said he would read it. He mentioned he had met with Rewiring Aotearoa some time ago.
He listened. I spoke. We conversed. As a democracy should allow.
This is just the sort of climate journalism we need. Though, as I read these bulletins every week it is hard not to get either very despondent or very angry. Or both.
But why do we not take action? Nobody will escape the impacts. It's almost like we WANT to drive off the cliff.... To stretch the Titanic metaphor, we are not only NOT taking evasive action, but we are also increasing speed.
Satire is the answer!
So, last week at my club, I asked Sir Somebody Something, a very well-heeled, retired politician and ex cabinet minister (and incidentally, a friend of an Emir and director of several large Petro-Chemical corporations), and he explained it to me like this while straining both his liver's capacity to absorb any more 25-year-old scotch and the metaphor to absolute breaking-point...
1) Evading the iceberg will only cause issues for the passengers ("I can't be late in New York!"). Who wants to deal with all the customer-service complaints?
2) We're pretty much going to hit an iceberg at this stage anyhow, whatever we do. They're all over the bloody place...If only we had altered course ever-so-slightly-a-fraction-of-a-degree to the South a few decades ago...oh well.
3) Better all round for morale in 3rd class and for the more nervous 2nd class passengers to pretend we just aren't going to hit anything. If that fails, rely on everyone aboard believing the "unsinkable" PR copy in the brochures.
4) Alternatively, let's pretend that Scotty, the Chief Engineering Officer will come up with a plan. He's a Stirling chap and that brogue inspires can-do confidence.
5) On no account should anyone do an audit of the numbers of lifeboats.
6) Airily drop into conversation with the lower orders in steerage, how refreshing a dip in the North Atlantic will be at this time of year.
7) Back in first class, quaff as much champagne and eat as many canapes as you possibly can while you have the chance now. They're not going to consume themselves you know, and I don't need to tell you that soggy vol-au-vents are a deeply unpleasant proposition.
8) When we hit, don't rush around like a headless chook. There is nothing you can do; we're all going down together. It's really cold out there and no amount of toy cork life jackets are going to help. I don't care how much you look like Kate or Leo. There is absolutely no point trying to swim for it and I don't intend to try. I've had my fun. At least I will go down wearing elegant, formal dinner attire in the first-class cabin.
Would be interesting to see the impact on the government’s balance sheet if climate costs were properly accounted for.
As Piketty pointed out a lot of developed countries governments already have negative assets a position which will look a whole lot worse with the inclusion of climate liabilities.
Just an update. I finally got a meeting with the Minister Simeon Brown. He was very enthusiastic about the ultimate transition to electric. Envisioned an electric future.
He believed gas was the right transition medium for the industry to get to a point that they had enough renewables available and available consistently to power Aotearoa.
He hadn’t seen the Rewiring Aotearoa report but I gave him a hard copy and he said he would read it. He mentioned he had met with Rewiring Aotearoa some time ago.
He listened. I spoke. We conversed. As a democracy should allow.
Indeed it should.
Keep going the Kaka!
This is just the sort of climate journalism we need. Though, as I read these bulletins every week it is hard not to get either very despondent or very angry. Or both.
But why do we not take action? Nobody will escape the impacts. It's almost like we WANT to drive off the cliff.... To stretch the Titanic metaphor, we are not only NOT taking evasive action, but we are also increasing speed.
Satire is the answer!
So, last week at my club, I asked Sir Somebody Something, a very well-heeled, retired politician and ex cabinet minister (and incidentally, a friend of an Emir and director of several large Petro-Chemical corporations), and he explained it to me like this while straining both his liver's capacity to absorb any more 25-year-old scotch and the metaphor to absolute breaking-point...
1) Evading the iceberg will only cause issues for the passengers ("I can't be late in New York!"). Who wants to deal with all the customer-service complaints?
2) We're pretty much going to hit an iceberg at this stage anyhow, whatever we do. They're all over the bloody place...If only we had altered course ever-so-slightly-a-fraction-of-a-degree to the South a few decades ago...oh well.
3) Better all round for morale in 3rd class and for the more nervous 2nd class passengers to pretend we just aren't going to hit anything. If that fails, rely on everyone aboard believing the "unsinkable" PR copy in the brochures.
4) Alternatively, let's pretend that Scotty, the Chief Engineering Officer will come up with a plan. He's a Stirling chap and that brogue inspires can-do confidence.
5) On no account should anyone do an audit of the numbers of lifeboats.
6) Airily drop into conversation with the lower orders in steerage, how refreshing a dip in the North Atlantic will be at this time of year.
7) Back in first class, quaff as much champagne and eat as many canapes as you possibly can while you have the chance now. They're not going to consume themselves you know, and I don't need to tell you that soggy vol-au-vents are a deeply unpleasant proposition.
8) When we hit, don't rush around like a headless chook. There is nothing you can do; we're all going down together. It's really cold out there and no amount of toy cork life jackets are going to help. I don't care how much you look like Kate or Leo. There is absolutely no point trying to swim for it and I don't intend to try. I've had my fun. At least I will go down wearing elegant, formal dinner attire in the first-class cabin.
That's pretty much how I imagine those conversations going down. Miscalculation is rife though.