Mōrena, and happy Tuesday! 🌱It’s Earth Day this Saturday. Gather some friends in celebration of Papatūānuku, who we rely on for everything. But it’s also New Zealand’s overshoot day tomorrow (19 April): the day at which if everyone on Earth consumed like we did, we’d overshoot the biocapacity of the planet by this day each year. Put simply, we’re using up 170% of Earth’s capacity. Oh shoot.
The irony of these clashing dates shouldn’t be lost on us. Cognitive dissonance is the state of having inconsistent thoughts or beliefs. Put bluntly, it's a bit like celebrating Earth Day by liking a cheery corporate social media post and then avoiding the article about overshoot because that’s too much to handle right now. Humans are exceptional at cognitive dissonance, and to be honest it's held us in pretty good stead for a long time. But there comes a point where our willingness to just get on with it gets in our own way.
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin.
Facing our overshoot can feel overwhelming, but it’s also the first step against business as usual. Like starting up a bike, going from 0 to 1 is the hardest, but once folks get moving, the movement is unstoppable. Encouraging friends around you to take that first step into climate action, no matter how small, is our biggest weapon against climate change.
I started by biking more, reducing meat, and looking into the ETS. Over time they all add up - now I’m sharing this story, and am enjoying running workshops on climate action for rangatahi. When I look back on the journey, I’m quite a different person!
In 2 weeks, Climate Club will be taking part in the Climate Action Conference, a free 2-day weekend event in Auckland for young people (13-24yos). We’ll be running one of our interactive workshops, and also a seminar on Civic Engagement 101. If there are young people in your life who live in Auckland, please consider sharing this with them!
What can we do today?
The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was First Union’s call for public ownership of this public good. They’re nearly at 1,600 signatures!
🐝 If you have 5 minutes: Watch our waste line
Us kiwis throw out a lot of stuff every year. This includes broken things which could be repaired, which translates to less consumption, less emissions, and less need for material resources. Consumer NZ is petitioning to have a repairability label added to products so we can tell how easy a product is to repair before purchasing it.
Action: Read & sign the repair label petitionMany New Zealanders are struggling with the cost of living. Meanwhile, gentailers (energy generator-retailers) are artificially driving up electricity prices for massive profit. 350 Aotearoa, NZCTU, and First Union compiled a report that exposed this, and we previously shared an email template you can send to MPs about it. Now, 350 Aotearoa have launched a petition for a windfall tax on these gentailers, to curb profiteering and to make sure that excess profits are shared with the public.
Action: Sign the petition to tax gentailers
🐇 If you have 15 minutes: Phone it in on fossil fuel finance
Did you know Aussie & NZ’s fossil fuel financing increased by 148% (more than doubled) from 2021 to 2022? This is one of the largest relative expansions of fossil fuel investment worldwide. This was released in a new Banking on Climate Chaos 2023 report, compiled by a coalition of climate groups and endorsed by over 600 organisations across 75 countries.
Action: Check your bank’s investments with this handy NZ-specific resource from 350, and try one of the actions to amplify your impact
💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more: Budget some time for climate chats
Thanks to all of you who submitted on the Auckland Council Budget! The proposed budget cuts out many climate measures, and will make it that much harder to reach a sustainable future. The work continues - councillors are now making decisions on what the budget will look like, which makes it a great time to call/write/meet with your local councillors.
Action: Use our guide to get in touch with your local councillorsWe all have more influence than we think - just in your day-to-day lives, you may come into contact with family, friends, and colleagues to name a few. Earth Day is a great chance to start up a conversation about climate change with those around you. Getting more people involved in climate action is one of the best ways we can push for more climate action!
Action: Use this great guide on How To Talk About Climate Change to start a chat (or share Climate Club with them!)
In case you missed it!
Recently, we submitted a petition on ETS reform. It has been getting quite a bit of media intention, including an article in Stuff this morning - read & share!
Join Save Our Trains or Restore Passenger Rail meetings this week to get our trains on track
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action! Enjoy this Earth Day quiz to test your climate knowledge.
See you next week,
Emily & the Climate Club team