by frog
I see the government says New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2006 were 77.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e). And they are ‘less than’ 1% more than our 2005 emissions, which were 3% more than our 2004 emissions. We are gently sliding further away from our Kyoto target of 61.9 Mt CO2-e.
On a slightly different note, in our peak oil watch West Texas Crude oil hits $115. Poneke picks that it is too high and is coming down. Me, I think it’s a few months ahead of schedule, but giving us a nice preparatory warning for the years ahead.
Published in Environment & Resource Management by frog on Fri, April 18th, 2008
Tags: Carbon, carbon emissions, climate change, Frog, frogblog, green party, greenhouse gas, greens, kyoto, new zealand, oil, peak oil
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
This is what happens when you have no real policy. Fortunately, high oil prices kept transport emissions from rising as quickly as they have in the past, and the government has finally convinced electricity generators that thermal is not the way to go (yes, I’m aware these are 2006 figures; the trends were evident even then, and I’ve been waiting to get hard numbers on them). Unfortunately, none of this does anything about our real problem: cows. If we don’t get agriculture emissions under control, then everything we do elsewhere is pretty much a waste of time.
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Three real big problems, idiot/savant – Cows, Cars, Coal.
Cows are obvious – the Government has exempted the agricultural sector so the taxpayer pays for their emissions. Appalling policy.
But Government is still insistent on building more and more roads for cars, while public transport options – rail, dedicated bus lanes and passenger ferries – take a back seat (sorry re pun).
And then, coal. Government turns blind eye here, because most of what is mined is exported overseas, so doesn’t end up as our emissions when it is burned. It’s China’s or India’s emissions and, very conveniently, those countries don’t have immediate obligations re credit purchase under Kyoto.
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Just to put another slant on this issue.
NZ is 204th in the list of countries by population density in a list of 241 countries (according to Wikipedia).
We have half the population density of the US and about 1/16th the density of the UK. India is a whoping 22 times more dense population than NZ.
My point is that if WE are still increasing our emissions, how the hell are the 203 countries with higher population densities than ours going to drop theirs?
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If the government is going to go ahead and build highways the greens should try and convince them to make sure the new highways have 3 lanes one for busses, one for HOV and one for everyone else.
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>>everything we do elsewhere is pretty much a waste of time.
Everything we do is a waste of time.
The inconvenient fact: our co2 output is inconsequential, and due to our size, always will be.
All we’re doing is posturing. Joining a club. Adding weight to an argument. Improving our image. Marketing. Paying penance. Kidding ourselves.
We are not making the slightest bit of difference in terms of warming, or lack thereof. We never can.
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Blue Peter
By “we” I assume you mean the humans who live in AotearoaNZ?
“Collectively “we” can do as much as, or more than, any group of ~4 million people can do … just as each of us individually can do as much or more than any individual human who lives on this planet can do.
Are you saying that you are content to freeload on the efforts of others?
I prefer to follow the observation of the anthropologist Margaret Mead:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
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Toad, Where are these new roads being built? They’re definitely not being built in the Island or in any of the places where the National Road Safety Committee wanted them built. If they were the road toll would have fallen below 2,000 KSI by now. KSI is killed or seriously injured and is the closest equivalent to the number of premature deaths from air pollution.
Building safer roads is a proven way to reduce road carnage. Building BRT and LRT isn’t proven to have any major effect on any of the negative aspects of car usage. Partly because half of car usage occurs on rural roads and only half of the “urban” usage is in cities with the critical mass to support efficient and sustainable public transport services.
One thing I think will both agree on is that “congestion” is not unique to Auckland and Wellington and shouldn’t be the focal point of land transport spending the way it is with Labour. Transit’s travel time surveys reveal that average workday travel speeds in Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch are all 67% +/- 1% of the legal speed limits on the survey routes. Several of the regional state highway strategies found this same percentage on intercity routes such as New Plymouth-Hamilton, Upper Hutt-Masterton and Christchurch-Hokitika. So why is the government still acting as though Auckland and Wellington are special cases?
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BluePeter
Very well said.
There is NO reason for us to kill our economy just to make some feel good, our efforts will not make one ounce of difference.
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toad: cars are indeed a problem. But at least it looks like we’ll get policy to squash emissions growth in that area. It’s already basically flatlining due to high oil prices, and soon transport emissions will effectively be capped under the ETS. More importantly, the government has also finally begun regulating fuel efficiency – something they should have done years ago.
But while this will cap emissions, it won’t really reduce them. To do that we need to decarbonise the fuel by using sustainable biofuels (trees are good for this), as well as provide people in cities with real alternatives to cars (which means investing more in public transport, particularly in Auckland).
As for coal, the problem is that the international framework is not yet universal. if it was, then everything that gets dug up goes on someone’s balance sheet – just as (at present) Saudi oil goes on ours.
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>>By “we? I assume you mean the humans who live in AotearoaNZ?
Yes.
>>Are you saying that you are content to freeload on the efforts of others?
Like China and the USA, you mean?
No amount of self-flagellation on our part (NZ) will make the slightest bit of difference to global co2 output. That is the truth. NZ policy on AGW should reflect this truth. We would be better off developing technology and processes to mitigate effects. That would be constructive.
To do anything else is wasteful.
>>“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.?
The small group of committed people should first face the truth, then act upon that truth.
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This morning’s radio news said that the overnight price of oil had hit $117 US.
Looks like even the green line might have been optimistic:
http://blog.greens.org.nz/index.php/2007/11/14/cullen-admits-green-is- better-than-red/
Trevor.
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“>>“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.?
Against the will of the majority?
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“..Against the will of the majority?..”
of course bb..!
start at/with slavery..
end with your lots’ little right-wing revolution..
the dug-luss/’strewth’ richardson years..
and when you know you have ‘right’ on your side..
(as do vegans/animal rights people..)
it makes you all the more powerful/committed..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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and certain that with the passage of time/evolution of thought/humans..
that our way will eventually prevail..
and these ‘factory-farming’/institutional cruelties/barbarisms will be looked back at with the same disgust/disdain we now view slavery of other humans..
our role as slave-masters/brutalisers to/of other creatures will end..
(i’m having a ‘cup half-full’ sorta day..)
on cup half-empty days..it’s all too late..were all fecked..and all going down the gurgler..
no matter what we attempt to do now to stave this off..
as chrissie hynde said recently when asked about this..
“we had all may as well bend over..and kiss our arses goodbye.”
but whatever eventuates..the satus quo won’t prevail..
it is unsustainable..on too many levels..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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and certain that with the passage of time/evolution of thought/humans..
that our way will eventually prevail..
and these ‘factory-farming’/institutional cruelties/barbarisms will be looked back at with the same disgust/disdain we now view slavery of other humans..
our role as slave-masters/brutalisers to/of other creatures will end..
(i’m having a ‘cup half-full’ sorta day..)
on cup half-empty days..it’s all too late..were all fecked..and all going down the gurgler..
no matter what we attempt to do now to stave this off..
as chrissie hynde said recently when asked about this..
“we had all may as well bend over..and kiss our ars*s goodbye.”
but whatever eventuates..the satus quo won’t prevail..
it is unsustainable..on too many levels..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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BB
The day that extraordinary people cannot raise the game of the society as a whole in SPITE of the ordinary, is the day you truly must dread.
BJ
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Among all else that Phil said, slavery was certainly very appropriate, which obviously opens up many other similar issues…
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