Resilience Expo, news and other events , online and in-person
Eastern Bays Climate Resonse Network

News, information, talks and most importantly ACTION in 2024

Expect a few of these as we build towards the Resilience Expo in March which will focus not just on the usual emergencies but also on longer term climate change issues, social issues and also day to day personal/ family disruption. Please share this event with your networks.

Note, this is a channel for sharing - so if you want to share an event, an issue, information or anything related to climate response with others please let us know.

A focus for the next few weeks will be this event, an opportunity to get in front of the community with information and action options. If your bay/community doesn't have a civil defence group or plan then this is the opportunity to get something happening. The expo will be broad in scope and offer opportunities to plan your personal, family and community response to household, emergency, disaster and climate change events.

Yes, you can help! The Climate Change Network will be coordinating climate change related exhibitors and resources - if you have ideas, know organisations or businesses that could contribute, or want to help in some other way please get in touch.

https://eastbourne.nz/resilience-expo/

Glean Report

A vaguely curated list of climate relevant events - check out the Glean Report for a full list.

Mon 19 February
13:00 - 14:30

Role of hydrogen in low-carbon energy transition. A seminar by Sergey Paltsev *IN PERSON or ONLINE* | at The Treasury, Level 3, 1 The Terrace | More information | 
Tue 20 February
12:00 - 13:30

He pito mata: food system security and resilience. A webinar *ONLINE* | More information | 
Wed 21 February
17:30 - 19:00

What can we learn from Covid-19 misinformation? A talk by Julia Wright and Juliet Gerrard *IN PERSON* | at Te Whare Aparangi, Royal Society of New Zealand, 11 Turnbull Street, Thorndon | More information | 
Thu 22 February
18:00

Hikurangi M9: our largest and most active fault. A talk *IN PERSON* | at Petone Library, 7 Britannia St, Petone | More information | 
Sat 24 February
12:00

An indigenous ocean. A talk by Damon Salesa *IN PERSON* | at Embassy Theatre | More information | 
Wed 28 February
11:00 - 12:30

Changing climate, changing culture: horticulture in a heritage landscape. A talk by Kate Roud *IN PERSON* | at Te Huinga Centre, Level 3, Te Papa | More information | 
Thu 29 February
19:30 - 20:30

No future for coal mining. A webinar by Cindy Baxter and Tim Naish *ONLINE* | More information | 

 

 

Co-funding for lower-emissions projects in Lower Hutt

Hutt City Council is now offering up to 50% co-funding for projects that will reduce carbon emissions in Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai / Lower Hutt.

Open now, the Low Carbon Acceleration Fund is available to any eligible legal entity such as a business, charity, incorporated society or trust, provided that the project is being implemented in Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai / Lower Hutt.

A total of $160,000 will be available for co-funding in Round #1 (2024), with a maximum of $40,000 of co-funding per applicant.

Which countries have put a price on carbon?

Putting a price on carbon helps us account for the real costs of fossil fuels in the market. Which countries have a carbon tax or trading system?

https://ourworldindata.org/carbon-pricing

Accelerating Extreme Weather Research

In February 2023, as part of the ongoing response to extreme weather events in the North Island, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) reallocated $10.8 million for urgent scientific research and data collection. The funding was distributed across several different projects and is being coordinated by Climate Sigma and the Resilience to Nature’s Challenges National Science Challenge.

https://resiliencechallenge.nz/extreme-weather-research-platform/

The Climate Change and Sustainability Committee agenda for 20 February 2024 is now available to view via the following link:

Agenda of Climate Change and Sustainability Committee - Tuesday, 20 February 2024 (infocouncil.biz)

The question is where will all the energy come from?

The industrial sector is responsible for about 25% of global CO2 emissions – or about 9.3 billion metric tonnes per year and growing. But a team at the University of Leeds says we don't need to wait for magical new tech to clean most of it up.

https://newatlas.com/environment/how-to-decarbonize-85-percent-of-all-industry-using-todays-technology/

28-ton, 1.2-megawatt tidal kite is now exporting power to the grid

Minesto's fully operational Dragon 12 looks like some sort of futuristic military drone – but it behaves remarkably like a kite underwater. It uses lift generated by tidal flows to fly patterns faster than the currents, harvesting renewable energy.

https://newatlas.com/energy/minesto-tidal-kite/

The Reduction Roadmap is an Earth-shot project which – for the first time ever - works to translate the Paris Agreement and the Planetary Boundary for Climate Change into industry-specific reduction targets for new Danish housing projects. The Reduction Roadmap identifies where we are today, where we need to go, and the speed at which we must reduce our carbon emissions to reach Earth’s safe operating space. The result is a science-based transformation tool and a call to action for the Danish building sector, working to align all building industry actors with commitment to the Paris Agreement.

https://reductionroadmap.dk/reduction-roadmap

NATURE: MATERIALS

Researchers create green steel from toxic red mud in 10 minutes

Researchers have devised an economically viable way of reducing the environmental impact of both the steel and aluminum industries by using hydrogen to melt down the toxic red mud left over from aluminum production to produce green steel in around 10 minutes.

 

Video: The surprising climate benefits of sharing your stuff

There's something simple we can all do to help the planet -- and it's probably not what you think. With one-third of all the food we produce globally each year being thrown away, entrepreneur Tessa Clarke believes that sharing more and wasting less is an underrated solution to the climate crisis. Learn more about how you can join the growing movement reducing waste and building community worldwide.

Video - Adverse Weather Events - an Insurer's Perspective 

Severe weather events are on all our minds. This week (note: Feb 16, 2023) on Shared Lunch we talk to Tower Insurance about how New Zealand needs to adapt to climate change.

Tower CEO Blair Turnbull Blair says we live in the second most riskiest country in the world. And explains how the company prepares for more frequent severe weather events, and a marked increase in claims.

Video: Dealing to climate risk - Rod Oram, Sophie Handford & Rutger Keijser

The hot days of summer are upon us, but we know global heating is pushing beyond the limits. Last year was the hottest year on record. This year global heating is expected to pass the 1.5 degree limit that had been targeted as a maximum. This Wellington Fabian session at the end of January, looks at the risks we are facing from the climate crisis - and how we start to deal with them and adapt to them.

Rod Oram is a specialist writer on climate and has been regularly attending the annual global summits – the COP meetings.

Sophie Handford is a Kāpiti Councillor – this district council is already wrestling with the implications of rising sea levels. Back in 2019 Sophie founded School Strike 4 Climate which mobilised 170,000 people across the country.

Rutger Keijser is a senior leader in the management of climate-related risks. His recent masters in strategic studies, focussed on disaster management.

Video: How to melt an ice sheet

In this lecture, Professor Robert McKay examines the geological evidence for how Antarctica’s ice sheet has responded to a shift in greenhouse gases through geological time. He will explore how this hard-won data has fundamentally altered our understanding of how quickly and extensive ice sheet melt could occur in the future. 

Video: A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow

What would a sustainable, universally beneficial economy look like? "Like a doughnut," says Oxford economist Kate Raworth. In a stellar, eye-opening talk, she explains how we can move countries out of the hole -- where people are falling short on life's essentials -- and create regenerative, distributive economies that work within the planet's ecological limits.

Podcast: We all need to cut 75% of our personal carbon emissions. But how?

9 FEB 2024 Climate justice campaigner Emily Mabin Sutton joins Bernard to discuss how to reduce your annual carbon dioxide emissions from the national average of over eight tonnes per year, down to just two.

https://thespinoff.co.nz/podcasts/when-the-facts-change (can't bookmark the actual podcast)

The essential guide to plastic pollution

The world is drowning in plastics. Here’s the essential information about this fossil fuel-driven dilemma.

https://one5c.com/plastic-pollution-136931518/

RNZ: Sea sponge temperature records point to underestimation of global warming 

A study of marine sponges has found global temperature rises may have already exceeded 1.5 degrees.

Eastern Bays Emergency Radio Network

Not many know we have a network of civil defence radios throughout the bays to provide a backup method of communicating in the event that normal communications and/or access break down. These radios are located at the community hubs, but also in individual homes. We currently need 2 radio operators in York Bay and also southern Eastbourne. The operation is fairly simple and there's not much time involved (a few minutes each month to run a test if you are around). If you are curious/ interested please contact Bruce Spedding.

Eastern Bays Climate Response Network on Facebook. Feel free to comment or post on topics related to the goals of this group on the Facebook page.

EBCRN is focussed on the need to act now to both mitigate the causes of accelerating climate change as well as prepare for the impact on our community. You can find out more about Eastbourne and the Network hereIf you have climate related events, resources, requests, suggestions or any other information you would like to share please send it to us.

 Note: we create this newsletter "on the fly" as information and events come to our attention. Sometimes short notice of event dates mean the event passes before we send this out, so each email may be triggered but an upcoming event rather than a reasonable interval since the last release. Please feel free to give feedback on content and frequency of news, and send through items you might feel are of interest to the group.

You can forward this to someone if they would like to  join the Eastern Bays Climate Response Network and/or subscribe to the email updates

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