Newsletter - October 2023
October 2023
Kia ora koutou
Spring has sprung and with it the promise of longer, sunnier days! Hopefully this means more action in the garden and BBQ’s with whānau.
This newsletter has been brought to you by the Climate Action co-leads, Esther Whitehead and Arohanui West. The climate co-leads support signatories of the Funders commitment for a tika/just transition to a low carbon society.
Climate Co-leads update
Lots has happened since the climate co-leads first came on board in February. The 2023 Funders Commitment inaugural report was successfully launched and can be found here. To support the report, a short (13 minute) webinar highlighting some of the key findings was published and can be found on our website.
Arohanui and Esther presented an interactive ‘Your Sphere of Influence on Climate Action’ workshop at PNZ conference and the Auckland Climate Festival. The aim was to empower self determination in Climate Action, it received great feedback and is now available online.
In November we will be piloting an Implementation Plan for the Funders Commitment on Climate Action. The idea is for you to test the implementation plan and provide us with feedback so that this is a helpful tool. Ultimately, we want to be able to provide better support for your organisation to implement the seven commitments of the pledge and to develop greater knowledge across our organisations. This is a means to do that. Please look out for an email from Esther and Arohanui in November.
Follow us on socials
We’ve just launched our Climate Action Aotearoa instagram page. We will post regular visual updates of our mahi on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Follow us & stay connected!
News
In some exciting news, Cabinet has made significant changes to the ETS and decided to bring the settings in line with Climate Change Commission’s advice. This means it is a much more effective tool for meeting Aotearoa’s emissions reduction targets. The price floor for carbon will almost double from December, and the number of emission units available for auction over 2023-2028 will be reduced by 17.6 million. Learn more here: https://www.lawyersforclimateaction.nz/news-events The Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ have released the latest, three-yearly update about the state of Aotearoa’s atmosphere and climate: https://environment.govt.nz/publications/our-atmosphere-and-climate-2023/ The report provides further evidence that emissions from human activities are putting pressure on our climate, which is adversely impacting the environment, communities, Māori interests, infrastructure, and the economy.
Sharing Success Stories
The first Climate Action Campus in New Zealand has been established in Ōtautahi Christchurch, with the support of Rātā Foundation.
Rātā Foundation Chief Executive, Leighton Evans, says the programme's strength is educating young people about Climate Change and its impact while empowering them to implement change. Learn more about this awesome mahi here.
We’re eager to hear from you! Our newsletters will go out quarterly, and we'd love to use them as a platform to showcase your successes and share your learnings with the network. Please don't hesitate to share your stories with us; your experiences can inspire and motivate others. Kia pai te toenga o te marama: have a great rest of the month and please don't hesitate to contact your climate co-leads for guidance, or just a friendly chat. Thank you for your consistent, awesome mahi. Together, we’re taking steps towards a better future for our mokopuna.
Noho ora mai,
Esther & Arohanui.