Taking Climate Action
Climate change is the biggest issue facing the planet. People, species and our precious environment are all at risk.
However, we know most of the solutions already. The transition is already underway.
© Global Warming Images / WWF
THIS MATTERS
Climate change is everything change
Our carbon pollution will have impacts all over the world - including here in Aotearoa New Zealand. Climate change is bigger than politics. This affects everyone.
We have a problem
Our climate is changing fast, and threatening the people, animals and places we love. New Zealand can expect melting glaciers, rising seas, and new and more frequent extreme weather events. This will have huge impacts for our lives and livelihoods – and for our unique animals, plants, and ecosystems.
We know that human activities such as burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, cutting down forests, and intensifying animal agriculture are to blame. Recent research proves that the vast majority of fossil fuels must stay in the ground. We cannot afford to keep searching for new oil, gas and coal.
But, what are the solutions?
What WWF is doing
WWF-New Zealand is working with all kinds of New Zealanders - from communities and people, to businesses and industries, to faith groups and trade unions - to show that it is 100% possible for Aotearoa New Zealand to forge a just, fair pathway to net zero carbon pollution.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
We're all in this together
No one is too small to help. Together, we can put New Zealand on track.
You have the power to demand change. As well as leading by example by switching up your own lifestyle, you can use your voice to help change local and national government priorities, and to help businesses make the switch to the renewable energy future.
Together, the future we want is possible. Will you stand with us?
- Causes of climate change
- New Zealand impacts
- Global impacts
- Why 1.5˚C?
- The solutions
The science is clear. Climate change is caused by human activities.
When we burn fossil fuels, we release carbon pollution into the air. Forests and the oceans help to absorb this carbon dioxide, while deforestation and deep-sea mining contributes to the planet's warming because they release stored carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide isn't the only greenhouse gas. Other gases, like methane and nitrous oxide also trap heat in the atmosphere. Animal agriculture is a big emitter of these gases because of the unsustainable way we farm and what artificial fossil fuel based fertilisers we are putting onto the land.
New Zealanders produce a lot of greenhouse gases, though we're a small country, our emissions per person are big. If you add up all the small countries emissions like ours, it is well over 20% of all global emissions. Per person, we're one of the thirty biggest emitters worldwide - and agriculture is responsible for around half of those emissions.
The climate crisis is already affecting New Zealand. Our people and ecosystems are already feeling the heat.
Already, the national average temperature has risen by 1.1˚C since 1900. South Island glaciers are retreating, and we're recording fewer frosts. We are already paying more for insurance to deal with extreme weather, like floods and droughts.
We can expect a lot more to come. Climate change will almost certainly cause more droughts and water shortages. It will mean increased heavy rainfall in other areas and an increased risk of flooding. Coastal areas will face greater erosion, and possible inundation.
LEARN MOREPeople around the world are already feeling the impacts of the climate crisis. Water supplies are shrinking, crop yields are dropping, forests are burning, and our oceans are becoming more acidic with larger and larger dead zones. This has huge implications for our livelihoods and human security.
Fragile ecosystems, like coral reefs and fish stocks, are also already succumbing to climate change impacts. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and new and more frequent weather extremes will leave no continent untouched.
If we let the warming continue unchecked, we run a real risk of hitting catastrophic tipping points. That's where the warming triggers positive feedback loops that lead to even more warming.
LEARN MORETo avoid the worst impacts of climate change, scientists warn that average global temperatures should not be allowed to rise more than 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels.
We will hit 1.5˚C within the next two decades, whatever happens to emissions. The good news is that keeping to that 1.5C is not yet impossible. However, we need to significantly reduce emissions and we need to do that NOW.
A rise in temperature above 1.5˚C could lead to a significant rise in sea levels, potentially displacing tens of millions of people, especially in the Pacific), a dramatic reduction in global food supplies, water shortages affecting hundreds of millions of people, and an increased risk of extinction for up to 30% of the world’s species.
Unless there are immediate rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5C will be beyond reach.
The good news is that we have most of the solutions to reduce emissions and keep warming to below 1.5˚C.
At WWF we are working on how we can reduce emissions through nature-based solutions such as:
- Regenerative farming, food system approach and the blue economy.
- Prioritise domestic emissions reductions
- Partnering with businesses to drive their emissions towards net zero though Science Based Nature Targets and Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi)
You can make a difference too. While not everyone owns a house or can install solar panels on their roofs. There are so many things you can do to reduce your own footprint and have a big impact.
Take your first step with our environmental footprint calculator. Once you have measured your footprint using this tool – you can start to talk positive action now.
Learn more