#145: Hot Take Summer
On communicating a positive vision and eating too much fruit
Mōrena, and happy Tuesday!
Like many of you I’m sure, I’m looking forward to the holidays. I’m excited to catch up with friends and family back in my hometown, to rehydrate my eyeballs after a year of screens, eat excessive amounts of fruit, you know the drill.
Something that’s pretty much definitely going to come up is climate change. Not in the “whoa, so how about this man-made weather aye?” kind of way – climate change is now pretty firmly in the mainstream. When I talk about it this summer though, I’m keen to practice a new way of talking about it inspired by a key principle from The Workshop’s short guide on how to talk about climate change:
Give people a positive vision – one that is clear and concrete about the better world that is possible. Start with your vision before you start listing the barriers or problems.
Hope, excitement, and love are powerful long-term motivators. And there is so much to love about climate solutions!
For example, public transport and active transport like safe cycleways and walkable neighbourhoods mean less smelly fumes, better fitness, less traffic, safer & vibrant communities, and less emissions. Another example is gas appliances - swapping gas heaters & cooktops for electric alternatives means clean air with no risks to childhood asthma and other diseases, cheaper power bills, and again, less emissions.
The Climate Change Commission’s chair, Rod Carr, recently reflected on his time at the commission in his departing speech. He expressed regret that he initially framed climate action as a burden rather than an opportunity. He emphasised that moving away from expensive fossil fuels will help both the environment and our cost of living, with an independent, homegrown zero-emissions energy system.
When the topic of climate change comes up this summer, let’s start by focusing on the exciting opportunities ahead—the cleaner, healthier, and more vibrant world we’re creating.
What can we do today?
The most-clicked link last week was our submission guide for our Second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which closed on Sunday - props to all of you who submitted!
🐝 5 minutes: Plug away at these plugs
It’s the end of the year, and we’re doing our annual readers’ survey. We’re always wanting to improve to meet your needs, so let us know what you like and what we could do better!
Action: Take our annual readers’ survey
This is totally a plug, but last week my work launched a household calculator that shows you how much money & emissions you could save by swapping our fossil fuel appliances like gas heaters, cooktops, and vehicles for electric alternatives.
Action: Try Rewiring’s household savings calculator! You can also read more about the role of renewables in a circular economy and the waste implications.
🐇 15 minutes: Fill ‘er up
350 Tāmaki Makaurau recently concluded their survey of students’ experiences of public transport. Now, they’re encouraging everyone to give your input on Auckland Transport’s survey about your public transport experience, so they can improve their services. 50% of our biggest city’s emissions are from transport, and having faster, cheaper, more reliable public transport is a big part of the solution to reducing transport emissions.
Action: Fill out their 10 minute survey to have a say for better PT for Auckland
💃🏽 30+ minutes: Get some sizzling summer talking points
Are you ready for summer BBQ chats about what’s been on your mind? Brush up on top research-backed tips when talking about climate at your next end-of-year work do, and reflect on what vision you’d like to contribute to in your local community.
Action: Read through The Workshop’s short guide on how to talk about climate change effectively
In case you missed it!
We recently became a charity (yay!) and we're setting up our Board of Trustees. We’re looking for 2-3 new trustees to join our board to steward our future and keep us accountable. All candidates will go through a selection process to ensure a fair decision. Applications close 23 January 2025.
Action: Share our job ad or LinkedIn post with people who might be a good fit.
Events
17-20 January, Ōtaki, age 17-35: Registrations are now open for next year’s Ōtaki Summer Camp – a three day camp north of Wellington with workshops & discussions on politics/justice/anti-racism/environment among music, bush, and sea.
Action: Register for Ōtaki Summer Camp (Earlybird before 20 Dec, $110; full ticket $140; sponsored ticket if needing financial assistance $30)
Wins!
Homegrown energy from rooftop solar is a great way for NZ to decarbonise while saving money. After SolarZero’s collapse, the Government has announced changes (paywalled) to support the continued uptake of residential solar through a number of changes. This includes updating outdated standards which make solar installation much more expensive in NZ than overseas, adjusting energy settings to share more solar power, and exploring fairer payments and rewards for households supplying solar power to the grid. We see this as the beginnings of a win for energy transition in NZ!
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action. Enjoy these awesome climate cartoons by NZ cartoonist Chris Slane - they really hit the nail on the head!
See you next week,
Jenny & the Climate Club team
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