National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research’s annual climate summary for 2017 sends a clear message that New Zealand is right to be addressing the impacts and risks of climate change, says Minister for Climate Change James Shaw.
NIWA’s data ranked 2017 as the fifth warmest year on record since the institute began annual measurements in 1909. Seven of the warmest 10 years since 1909 have been in the last decade.
“When you combine NIWA’s latest report with New Zealand’s new ranking at a ‘high hazard’ level for most flooding and cyclone events, according to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, it’s clear the government is moving in the right direction by adopting strategies like zero carbon legislation to move New Zealand towards a low emissions economy,” he said.
In 2018, according to Shaw, all New Zealanders will have the chance to participate in setting a national plan for climate action, which will create opportunities to increase communities’ resilience to extreme weather.
The minister said New Zealand will also invest in infrastructure that will withstand extreme weather, in the coming decades.
“Moving public and private sector investment into clean technology and sustainable infrastructure both reduces climate-related risks and sets up New Zealand for a prosperous and stable economic future,” he said.
“If further warnings were needed that we cannot be complacent, the fact that New Zealand’s insurance bill for extreme weather events – at $242 million in the first seven months of last year - was five times higher than the bill for 2016, sends that clear warning.”
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