The Arctic and the Antarctic are under assault - from the impacts of rapidly accelerating climate change; from increased industrialisation; and from the unchecked consumption of our planet's resources.
News and views on farming methods that are better for the pocket and planet. Produced by Greenpeace New Zealand, in support of our land and our environment.
The second of a series of UN climate change negotiations to be held this year will begin in Bonn, Germany on 1 June. The negotiations will culminate in Copenhagen, Denmark in December, where governments must agree on a deal to save the climate. Getting the ambitious deal needed in Copenhagen hinges on progress made throughout the year.
Over time, New Zealand’s dairy sector has shifted from traditional and less intensive pasture farming to a more intensive model. This is having a huge impact on the environment, rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions, eroding the clean and green brand on which New Zealand agriculture is built, and lowering economic returns to farmers.
Over time, New Zealand’s dairy sector has shifted from traditional and less intensive pasture farming to a more intensive model. This is having a huge impact on the environment, rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions, eroding the clean and green brand on which New Zealand agriculture is built, and lowering economic returns to farmers.
As the reality of climate change continues to outstrip
research findings, it is becoming clear that reaching
the 'tipping point' is a far more immediate threat than
we imagined and the window of opportunity for
avoiding runaway climate change is rapidly and
inexorably closing.
A large delegation will represent New Zealand at the UN Climate Talks in Poznan, Poland (December 1-13, 2008). These talks are a crucial next step on the road to Copenhagen (December 2009), where 190 nations will meet to decide on a historic deal to reduce global emissions. What needs to come out of Poznan, and what is New Zealand's role in it all?
Download PDF (51 Kb)
Half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. Yet there are ways to bring these emissions down without hurting farmers’ bottom lines.
"There are two things people like to have. Some call them luxuries, but really, they're just what we've come to expect. One is time and one is choice. The challenge with climate change is that we have increasingly less of both. The science is clear, by 2015 we need to have stabilised the world's carbon emissions. By 2050 we should be operating a zero carbon economy. Can we do it?"
Dear Mr Kelly
Today, Greenpeace has replanted land at Tahorakuri Forest which Landcorp has converted from plantation forestry to industrial dairy, to start reversing the damage caused by Landcorp. In doing so we are demonstrating that the New Zealand Government and other political parties are talking big on climate change, but have failed to develop any policies to tackle emissions or halt the rapid expansion of the dairy sector.
