Oceans Reform in Aotearoa New Zealand: a just transition?

The concept of a ‘just transition’ has become strongly linked to climate change and the idea that the process of decarbonising society needs to be done in a way that is fair to all. However, it is equally relevant to other areas in which a transition is needed. This article explores what a just transition might mean for the reform of Aotearoa New Zealand’s oceans management system. It argues that the concepts of justice and fairness are a useful way not only to manage the process of change, but also to frame and justify why change is needed. Different conceptions of justice – distributional equity, environmental justice, intergenerational equity, ecological justice and procedural justice – are all important lenses to look through when asking the hard questions about what the future of our seas should look like.

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Zero Carbon Building Practices in Aotearoa New Zealand

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14154455 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (15) ◽

pp. 4455

Author(s):

Thao Thi Phuong Bui ◽

Suzanne Wilkinson ◽

Niluka Domingo ◽

Casimir MacGregor

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New Zealand ◽

Construction Industry ◽

Local Governments ◽

Early Stage ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Building Projects ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Zero Carbon

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.

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Māori environmental knowledge of local weather and climate change in Aotearoa – New Zealand

Climatic Change ◽

10.1007/s10584-007-9372-y ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 90 (4) ◽

pp. 385-409 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

D. N. T. King ◽

A. Skipper ◽

W. B. Tawhai

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New Zealand ◽

Environmental Knowledge ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Weather And Climate ◽

Local Weather

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Co-Management in Theory and Practice: Co-Managing the Waipaˉ River

Decolonising Blue Spaces in the Anthropocene ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-61071-5_8 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 325-357

Author(s):

Meg Parsons ◽

Karen Fisher ◽

Roa Petra Crease

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

New Zealand ◽

Environmental Justice ◽

Sustainable Management ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

River Catchment ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Equitable Sharing ◽

Research Findings ◽

Formal Recognition

AbstractIn Aotearoa New Zealand, co-management initiatives are increasingly commonplace and are intended to improve sustainable management of environments as well as foster more equitable sharing of power between the settler-state and Indigenous Māori iwi (tribes). In this chapter we examine one such co-management arrangement that recognises and includes Ngāti Maniapoto iwi in decision-making about their ancestral river (the upper section of the Waipā River Catchment) and whether the implementation of initiative translated into tangible benefits for the iwi. Our research findings highlight how co-management agreement is perceived as overwhelming positive by both government and Ngāti Maniapoto representatives. However iwi note that they still face substantive barriers to achieving environmental justice (including the lack of formal recognition of their authority and power, and limited resourcing).

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Climate Change Adaptation in the Environment Court: Revisiting the 2010 Holt Case

Victoria University of Wellington Law Review ◽

10.26686/vuwlr.v50i4.6304 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 609

Author(s):

CJ Iorns Magallanes ◽

MJ Dicken

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New Zealand ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Coastal Area ◽

Common Law ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Court Case ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand

Common law precedents for some resource consent approvals in Aotearoa New Zealand are out of date due to the rapid increase in the science and understanding of the effects of climate change. This article considers one 2010 Environment Court case on a resource consent for building in the coastal area. It examines how the case would be decided if it arose today, with the benefit of the relevant law, policies and guidance now available to decision-makers. It suggests that the option taken by the Court in 2010, whereby the owners assumed the relevant inundation risks, would not be so available to a court today. This case is thus no longer good law.

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Conclusion: Spiralling Forwards, Backwards, and Together to Decolonise Freshwater

Decolonising Blue Spaces in the Anthropocene ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-61071-5_11 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 463-482

Author(s):

Meg Parsons ◽

Karen Fisher ◽

Roa Petra Crease

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Environmental Justice ◽

Settler Colonialism ◽

Theory And Practice ◽

Colonial State ◽

Tribal Group ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Settler Societies ◽

Key Dimensions ◽

Justice Movements

AbstractIn this concluding chapter, we bring together our earlier analyses of the historical and contemporary waterscapes of the Waipā River (Aotearoa New Zealand) to consider the theory and practice of Indigenous environmental justice. In this chapter, we return to review three key dimensions of environmental justice: distributive, procedural, and recognition. We summarise the efforts of one Māori tribal group (Ngāti Maniapoto) to challenge the knowledge and authority claims of the settler-colonial-state and draw attention to the pluralistic dimensions of Indigenous environmental (in)justice. Furthermore, we highlight that since settler colonialism is not a historic moment but still a ongoing reality for Indigneous peoples living settler societies it is critically important to critically evaluate theorising about and environmental justice movements through a decolonising praxis.

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Climates of Change: A Tuatara’s-Eye View

Humanities ◽

10.3390/h9020038 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 38 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anna Boswell

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New Zealand ◽

Ultraviolet Light ◽

Vulnerable Species ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

The Future ◽

Sphenodon Punctatus ◽

Soil Temperatures ◽

Slow Breathing

The tuatara or New Zealand “spiny-backed lizard” (Sphenodon punctatus) is the sole surviving member of an order of reptiles that pre-dates the dinosaurs. Among its characteristics and peculiarities, the tuatara is renowned for being slow-breathing and long-lived; it possesses a third eye on the top of its skull for sensing ultraviolet light; and the sex of its progeny is determined by soil temperatures. This article unravels a tuatara’s-eye view of climate change, considering this creature’s survival across geological epochs, its indigenous lineage and its sensitivities to the fast-shifting conditions of the Anthropocene. This article examines the tuatara’s evolving role as an icon of biodiversity-under-threat and the evolving role of zoos and sanctuaries as explicators of climate change, forestallers of extinction, and implementers of the reproductive interventions that are increasingly required to secure the future of climate-vulnerable species. It is also interested in the tuatara as a witness to the rapid and ongoing human-wrought climate change which has secured the lifeworld reconstruction that is foundational to the settler colonial enterprise in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Linking this to the Waitangi Tribunal’s Wai 262 report (Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, 2011), the article considers what the tuatara teaches about kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and climates of change.

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From apathy through anxiety to action: emotions as motivators for youth climate strike leaders

Australian Journal of Environmental Education ◽

10.1017/aee.2021.22 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Maria L. Bright ◽

Chris Eames

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New Zealand ◽

Global Climate ◽

Motivational Factors ◽

Educational Framework ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Suitable Climate ◽

Climate Action ◽

Pedagogy Of Discomfort ◽

Depth Interviews

Abstract The climate strikes of 2019 motivated millions worldwide onto the street and provided a platform for youth voices that demanded global climate action. This article explores the experiences of climate strike leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand questioning the motivational factors behind the youth action. In-depth interviews with 15 climate strike leaders identified emotions that influenced engagement and could motivate action. Climate strike leaders reported experiencing a series of turbulent emotional stages from apathy to action. Their experiences suggest that anxiety and anger are important stages in the emotional journey towards action. Using Boler’s Pedagogy of Discomfort, this paper examines these emotional stages that can disable or enable action. Considering youth perspectives increases our understanding of a suitable climate change educational framework that potentially supports both educators and students on this challenging journey.

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