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Climate change and Aotearoa New Zealand
- Source :
- WIREs Climate Change. 6:559-583
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2015.
-
Abstract
- With a population of 4.5 million, New Zealand's contribution to total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is relatively low. On a per capita basis, however, New Zealand's GHG emissions are the fifth highest among Annex 1 countries, due in part to the relative size of the pastoral agricultural sector. Biophysical impacts of climate change will largely extend current climate trends, with high regional variability. A review of climate change literature identifies three key risks for New Zealand relating to economic connectedness, perceptions of ‘clean, green’ New Zealand, and social equity. Since 2008, New Zealand's main mitigation response has been the emissions trading scheme (NZ ETS), yet the ETS is currently providing little by way of meaningful incentives for behavior change and low-carbon investment. Moreover, since declining to enter the second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol, engagement with global climate governance has been modest, and recently released emissions reduction targets have raised questions over New Zealand's responsibilities as a global citizen. In this paper, adaptive responses are considered in connection to key industries (agriculture, tourism) and communities (coastal, Māori), and examine the devolved structure of adaptation. Mainstream media reporting of climate change in New Zealand appears to be aligned with the scientific consensus position, yet it continues to frame climate change as a political issue, prioritizing political over scientific voices. Public perceptions of climate change provide evidence of continued uncertainty relating to human attribution, and depict climate change as a spatially distanced risk which could affect support for government action on climate change. WIREs Clim Change 2015, 6:559–583. doi: 10.1002/wcc.355 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
- Subjects :
- Atmospheric Science
Global and Planetary Change
Political economy of climate change
business.industry
Natural resource economics
Geography, Planning and Development
Environmental resource management
Ecological forecasting
Climate change
Aotearoa
Climate change mitigation
Geography
Kyoto Protocol
Land use, land-use change and forestry
Emissions trading
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17577799 and 17577780
- Volume :
- 6
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- WIREs Climate Change
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........448a5bde0771ff423b84b8b6d764b7b0