For their bi-weekly catch up with Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Milly and Rosetta chat with Desley about Auckland Council's removal of flood-damaged homes and the upcoming local elections. Whakarongo mai nei!
The International Court of Justice has delivered a landmark, albeit nonbinding ruling, that countries have a legal obligation to act on climate change.
In this context, climate news in this past week has raised worry for climate advocates.
The New Zealand government has passed legislation to reverse the 2018 ban on new oil and gas exploration projects, which is predicted to increase the country’s emissions by 14.2 million tonnes according to official analysis.
As well, the United States are seeking to negate the finding that greenhouse gas emissions pose any danger to human health, with the aim to reduce the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to restrict activities that produce these emissions.
Wire Host Sara spoke to Greenpeace executive director Russel Norman about these two cases and their potential consequences for global climate action.
For Dear Science this week, our expert, Dr Daniel Thomas on history, pre-history, and the search for Atlantis
For our weekly catchup with the National Party, Host Sara spoke to MP Carl Bates about the reversal of the oil and gas exploration ban, yesterday’s announcement of an NCEA overhaul and US tariffs.
Sara also spoke with Greenpeace executive director Russel Norman, about the oil and gas ban reversal in New Zealand, and the plans in the US to repeal the finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health.
Producer Faith spoke to Professor Treasa Dunworth from the University of Auckland about the government’s statement on Gaza.
Faith also spoke to the university’s Dr. Michael Rehm about the humidity standards in green homes, and what needs to change about the rating system.
On Thursday last week, the coalition government passed legislation to reverse the ban on oil and gas exploration — a ban which had been initiated by the previous government in 2018.
Minister Shane Jones who drove the reversal, highlighted the impact of the ban on economic growth and energy supply in New Zealand. Opposition parties have voiced concerns about the impact of this decision for New Zealand’s climate commitments.
As well, yesterday Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced an overhaul of the NCEA system, to be replaced with qualifications that they say will be better to understand, and more aligned with international standards.
Finally, as the United States places 15% tariffs on NZ exports, the Labour party have said the government needs to do more to strengthen our trade relationships to avoid a rise in the cost of living for kiwis.
Host Sara spoke with National MP Carl Bates about all these topics. Sara started by asking him to explain the government’s decision to reverse the ban on oil and gas exploration in New Zealand.