A joined-up response to climate crisis

Academics from across the University of Otago continue to offer solutions to the climate crisis.

What will it take for governments around the world to take real action on climate change? The science is very clear on the causes and consequences of climate change, and the solutions and pathways to get to net zero emissions have also been well-documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Sometimes people think that the "I" in IPCC stands for "International", but in fact it is "Intergovernmental"; in other words, the governments of the world have requested the many reports that the IPCC has put out. Those same governments have then failed to act collectively in a way that is consistent with the IPCC reports. Why?

As a physicist, I cannot answer those two questions, because they require expertise in social sciences and humanities, using multi- and cross-disciplinary approaches. However, the University of Otago has academic staff and research students in politics, management, philosophy, ethics and other disciplines researching topics related to those questions. Regular readers of the Otago Daily Times’ "Resilient" column in "The Weekend Mix" or online may have noticed columns on climate change from University of Otago staff members or research students affiliated with He Kaupapa Hononga: Otago’s Climate Change Research Network. So what is He Kaupapa Hononga, and how is it helping to address those two key questions?

The name "He Kaupapa Hononga" was gifted by Dr Lyn Carter when she was a senior lecturer at Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, at the University of Otago. The name points to the process of joining together with shared objectives, aims and values. He Kaupapa Hononga is a revitalised (2019) and reshaped (2020) network that started out as the Otago Climate Change Network (OCCNet). OCCNet was established in 2011 by Colin Campbell-Hunt, then a professor in the department of management, and Prof Ceri Warnock in the School of Law. OCCNet was initially comprised of academic staff from commerce and humanities who were concerned about climate change’s societal consequences and wanted to provide research-informed responses. OCCNet members established the undergraduate paper called "Interdisciplinary Aspects of Climate Change" (ENVI312).

For the 2019 revitalisation work, kaitiaki kaupapa assistant research fellow Kate Turner reached out and connected 60 climate change researchers from the sciences, commerce, health sciences and humanities divisions of the University of Otago and 60 members of the public and external organisations. He Kaupapa Hononga was funded equally by the four divisions from 2020 onwards in recognition of the multi-disciplinary nature of the network. He Kaupapa Hononga now connects more than 130 University of Otago researchers and more than 150 members of the public and external organisations. This reflects the increased growth in concern about climate change over the past few years as well as our efforts to connect with people.

In addition to building relationships within the University of Otago, and our regular contributions to the ODT, the Science Media Centre and other print media, He Kaupapa Hononga also communicates the latest in climate change research via our YouTube channel. This channel has 50 videos (and counting) of talks and workshops from 15 minutes to two hours in length from our seminar series, symposium and policy school events.

In 2024, He Kaupapa Hononga put a great deal of effort into multidisciplinary, research-informed policy submissions to government. Our most comprehensive submission was on the Second Emissions Reduction Plan: https://tinyurl.com/mrhz6s5.

We made nine main recommendations: (1) set clear decarbonisation targets (with timelines, and for all sectors); (2) reform the Emissions Trading Scheme (in particular, dealing with cheap and free credits); (3) enhance public transport and lower-carbon freight modes (e.g., rail and maritime freight transport); (4) support the agricultural sector to transition to low emissions farming models; (5) address the big issues in the energy transition (e.g., intermittency, dry year risks, incoming large demand sources such as data centres); (6) align technology availability (e.g., realistic timelines for emissions-reducing agricultural technology); (7) reassess forestry policies (especially to shift the focus from carbon offsetting through exotic conifers to protection of biodiversity and more sustainable forestry practices); (8) update assessment of conservation value prior to permitting forestry activities on Crown land (only permitting native afforestation on Crown land); (9) fund detailed regional and local measurement of carbon storage (for soils, wetlands and riparian margins).

Our past members and postgraduate students have gone on to do great things; for example, our original kaitiaki kaupapa assistant research fellow Kate Turner went to work for the Deep South National Science Challenge as a climate change knowledge broker, and is now principal adviser, climate change adaptation for the Wellington City Council.

I am one of the co-directors of He Kaupapa Hononga, but on Monday, I officially hand over my position to Dr Christine Winter (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa) from the University of Otago’s politics programme. Prof Janice Lord, from the department of botany, took over the other co-director position from Prof Sara Walton, from the department of management, last year. Along with assistant research fellow Andrea Foley (Kāi Tahu), the new co-directors and their team have exciting plans ahead for He Kaupapa Hononga, so keep an eye out for more on multi- and cross-disciplinary, research-informed action on climate change.

Inga Smith is an associate professor and climate scientist in the University of Otago department of physics. Each week in this column writers address issues of sustainability.