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This research undertakes a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to determine the climate change potential of a typical newly built steel detached dwelling in Palmerston North, New Zealand (NZ) and assesses its results concerning the 2 °C and 1.5 °C 2050 Paris Agreement targets. The proposed, upcoming policy and actions of the NZ government relating to its residential building and construction sector, which are set with an overarching aim to allow NZ to progress towards meeting the 2050 Paris Agreement targets, are also discussed in this paper. The results of the LCA demonstrate that the projected stock of steel-framed detached houses significantly exceeds the calculated climate budget and eventual 2050 Paris Agreement targets. For both the 2 °C and 1.5 °C scenarios, the magnitude of exceedance of the climate budget is 5.2 and 7.3 times more than the acceptable limit, correspondingly. These findings suggest that the sector will need to undergo a significant transition in order to fulfil the 2050 Paris Agreement targets. In the meanwhile, the sector's upcoming policies and regulations must be achievable while progressing toward achieving net-zero carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic CO 2 emissions are one of the principal driving forces of climate change. Climate change leads to systematic changes of ecosystems that cause significant impacts on species interactions, ecosystem processes, and result in profound socio-economic consequences. While carbon offsetting of terrestrial forests and their monetary value are well accepted, the carbon offsetting potential and value of coastal and marine ecosystems (Blue Carbon, BC) remains excluded from the international carbon accounting framework. In this study, we estimated the carbon offsetting value of kelp forests (Ecklonia radiata) against urchin barrens (dominated by crustose coralline algae) using the standing stock biomass as a metric. We propose that standing stock biomass is a crucial next step in introducing BC to the general carbon offsetting framework. Our approach is informed by long-term ecological research conducted in a marine reserve, which highlights the potential of utilizing trophic cascades to limit the dominance of urchin barrens in shallow coastal habitats. We found that the value of carbon standing stock in current kelp forests with reforestation in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (HGMP) is worth up to $NZ 7.9 million, based on 2021 carbon market pricing in New Zealand. This simple step towards realizing the value of marine conservation and its multiple benefits to society highlights the missed opportunities when policy and plans do not align with ecology and economics. Including the ocean's contributions to carbon storage is a critical step in using monetization techniques to overcome climate change challenges. Monetizing the carbon offsetting value of kelp forests contributes to establishing funding mechanisms to attract diverse investments in marine ecosystem restoration while providing ecological benefits in ocean governance. • This paper draws attention to the missed opportunity of including kelp forest in the current carbon offsetting framework. • The CO 2 stored in kelp standing stock biomass could be worth up to NZD 7.9 million (2021, with reforestration) in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. • Monetizing the carbon storage value of kelp contributes to the establishment of funding mechanisms to attract investments as a nature-based solution to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of climate change, the drive for zero carbon buildings is known as one response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Within New Zealand, research on climate change mitigation and environmental impacts of buildings has received renewed attention. However, there has been no detailed investigation of zero carbon building practices. This paper undertakes an exploratory study through the use of semi-structured interviews with government representatives and construction industry experts to examine how the New Zealand construction industry plans and implements zero carbon buildings. The results show that New Zealand's construction industry is in the early stage of transiting to a net-zero carbon built environment. Key actions to date are focused on devising a way for the industry to develop and deliver zero carbon building projects. Central and local governments play a leading role in driving zero carbon initiatives. Leading construction firms intend to maximise the carbon reduction in building projects by developing a roadmap to achieve the carbon target by 2050 and rethinking the way of designing and constructing buildings. The research results provide an insight into the initial practices and policy implications for the uptake of zero carbon buildings in Aotearoa New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate, high‐resolution and sector‐specific greenhouse gas emissions information is increasingly needed for the development of local, targeted mitigation policies. We describe a detailed, spatially and temporally resolved CO2 emissions data product, Mahuika‐Auckland, for Auckland, New Zealand, based on Auckland's regional greenhouse gas and air emissions inventories. Emissions are provided at 500 m spatial resolution and at a 1‐hr time step, a level of detail not previously available for any New Zealand city. We divide fossil fuel emissions into six sectors that comprise the majority of Auckland Region's CO2 emissions profile: on‐road transport, industrial non‐point buildings and point sources, commercial non‐point buildings, residential non‐point buildings, air transport and sea transport. We also include separate layers representing biogenic CO2 emissions (primarily waste and wood burning), as these are significant sources in Auckland. We distribute emissions spatially and temporally based on activity data, energy and fuel consumption patterns, and population statistics. The code to generate Mahuika‐Auckland has been designed to be flexible so that updated information and/or data from more recent years can easily be incorporated. This data product improves upon New Zealand's current inventories that are only resolved at the regional and annual scale, providing a new level of detail that can be used as a prior estimate for atmospheric inversions, to inform emissions reduction policies and to guide the development of zero carbon pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea-level rise resulting from climate change is impacting coasts around the planet. There is strong scientific consensus about the amount of sea-level rise to 2050 (0.24–0.32 m) and a range of projections to 2100, which vary depending on the approach used and the mitigation measures taken to reduce carbon emissions. Despite this strong scientific consensus regarding the reality of climate change-related sea-level rise, and the associated need to engage publics in adaptation and mitigation efforts, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding people's understanding of the issue. Here we investigate public understanding of the amount, rate and causes of sea-level rise. Data from a representative sample of New Zealand adults showed a suprising tendency for the public to overestimate the scientifically plausible amount of sea-level rise by 2100 and to identify melting sea ice as its primary causal mechanism. These findings will be valuable for scientists communicating about sea-level rise, communicators seeking to engage publics on the issue of sea-level rise, and media reporting on sea-level rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]