He Huringa Āhuarangi Climate Change
Climate change is one of the biggest environmental challenges we face and we’re seeing impacts now. Increasing temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, more frequent droughts, and ongoing sea-level rise. Thirty years ago, the Ruahine and Tararua ranges were cloaked in snow for two to three months each winter; now, snow barely survives a week.
“Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable and sustainable future for us all.” Professor Dr. HansOtto Pörtner. Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II June 6, 2022.
The science is clear: we created this problem through our reliance on fossil fuels. The science is just as clear that we can fix it. If individuals, communities, councils, and governments all act now, we have everything we need to keep planetary warming at levels that protect a liveable, sustainable future. We have the tools, what’s needed is the will to use them.
Whatever we do, some future warming is already locked in. As well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions we need to plan, prepare and adapt to climate change impacts.
“Climate Action is important as we are the people who will grow up in this world. We have to care for it, there’s no plan B.” OJ, Whanganui Intermediate School Environmental Club, March 2023
We have the responsibility to act now with future generations in mind. Horizons is working with councils, iwi/Māori, and communities to turn knowledge into action, to build resilience to climate impacts and moving towards a sustainable future.
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What Horizons is doing
Achieving these goals requires more than a talkfest, it requires real action. Over the last few years, we’ve made progress, including delivering most of the actions in Horizons’ Climate Action Plan.
What can we do?
No matter how small or big, cumulatively, every action counts. Actions could include simple everyday changes, encouraging others to act, or being prepared in case of an emergency.
Climate Action Joint Committee
We have established a Climate Action Joint Committee with representation from each of the region’s eight councils and eight tangata whenua representatives.
Impacts and projections
The impacts of climate change are wide-ranging, rippling out beyond weather patterns to affect people’s assets and community infrastructure, biodiversity and human health.