Climate change research is very important

The government is looking for public input on investing a cool $60 million into research over several years. We think climate change related research should be the top priority.

There are many worthy causes for research listed, but addressing climate change is the overarching issue. Without addressing climate change it will be difficult if not impossible to protect our biodiversity and seas, to improve the quality of our land and water, and to resist natural disasters.

On the other hand, climate change research also provides us with huge opportunities to lead the world with new solutions and technologies. It has the potential to boost New Zealand’s exports, our clean green image and international reputation.

You can easily support it...

 

Contribute in 1 minute - vote for climate change research

1) Go to https://www.thegreatnzscienceproject.co.nz/our-changing-climate
 
2) Sign in with Facebook or register (this is needed to vote and comment)
 
3) Vote for climate change research.
 
4) Share these steps on Facebook (or Twitter, or email) so your friends do the same!

Contribute in 2 minutes - leave a comment on the web site

 
After voting, you can also leave a comment telling other people why climate change research is important. 
 

Contribute in 15 minutes - make your own submission 

 
The climate research areas on the Great New Zealand Science Project web site are focused on adaptation to climate change, but that is far from sufficient!
 
You can make a submission to highlight other areas of climate change research. 
 
Click on YOUR IDEAS on the right hand side of the Great New Zealand Science Project web site, then look for a button that says "Submit your idea on Facebook" near the top of the page. Click the button and follow the steps to make a submission.
 
 
Below is a template to get you started but we encourage you to make your own submission as original submissions will probably carry more weight compared to lots of identical ones.
 
 

Idea title: New Zealand becoming the global leader in climate change solutions

 

Brief description (note: 500 characters max): 

Climate change is the most urgent and important issue facing humanity. We need to make alternative energy generation cheaper, so that it can displace fossil fuels even without effective CO2 emissions pricing.

The climate is changing and will continue to change. In addition to phasing out fossil fuels, we need solutions to mitigate the impact of change.

It can be a huge opportunity for New Zealand to be a leader in finding solutions. It will boost our exports and international reputation.

Details (note: 2000 characters max):

 

Part 1: Phase out fossil fuels from electricity generation and transport

Benefits:

  • Doing our part to prevent economic, ecological and social impacts of climate change

  • Meeting international obligations for reducing CO2 emissions

  • Safeguarding NZ’s clean green image which is a huge marketing asset both for NZ exports and for tourism

  • Opportunity to export new technologies

  • Decreasing and eventually removing the need to import fossil fuels

  • Reducing and eventually eliminating the environmental impacts from fossil fuel production (e.g. deep sea oil drilling and fracking)

 

Research components:
 

  • Lowering the cost of renewable energy generation (wind, solar, tidal, biomass)

  • Distributed small scale generation and its integration into the national grid

  • Energy storage and demand management

  • More effective public transport and its integration into existing cities

  • Safe & efficient energy alternatives to fossil fuels for transport

  • Urban design to enhance the usability of public transport and minimise travel distances

 

Part 2: Mitigate climate change effects


Like every other country, New Zealand needs to mitigate the effects of climate change. It’s also important to keep in mind that New Zealand imports many products from global markets and participates in the global economy.

Finding solutions to apply around the world is important for preserving the standard of living for New Zealanders. It also presents huge opportunities for exporting solutions.

 

Research components:
 

  • High temperature resistant crops

  • Drought resistant crops

  • Mitigation of other effects of droughts on agriculture

  • Flood mitigation, changes to buildings and infrastructure design for flood resilience, and cost effective methods of retrofitting existing buildings and infrastructure for flood resilience

  • Prediction and mitigation of the effects of rising sea level, including erosion and coastal flooding

  • Mitigation of the effects of ocen acidification on fisheries and aquaculture

 

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