Climate Change - Summary For Business Leaders

Why carbon management is important

Impacts on Society

New Zealand is projected to get hotter nation-wide and dryer east of the main divide and in the far north

Maps of New Zealand showing projected climate changes; left map shows temperature increase in degrees Celsius with warmer colors indicating higher increases; right map shows changes in precipitation percentages with blue to green indicating increases and red to yellow indicating decreases from 1995 to 2090.

NZ Government climate projections by NIWA indicate a solid warming trend nation wide, and reduced rainfall east of the main divide and in the far north.

Aerial view of a flooded area with trees and a building with a green roof. Surrounding fields and roads are also submerged under water.

Flooding will intensify

In a warmer climate we have more water vapour in the air because of more evaporation off the oceans. This gives additional energy to storm systems that hit harder, do more damage, and cost more.

Man wearing a cap and black tank top kneeling on dry grass in a hilly landscape under a clear blue sky.

Droughts will get longer and hotter

A warming climate is a drying climate for many parts of the world including much of our farmlands. Our hill farmers are already suffering from low commodity prices, and the prospect of more intense droughts will hurt them even more.

The cost of carbon pollution can be measured in the damage done by extreme weather events.

Cyclone Gabriel in 2023 cost around $4 billion and also added to inflation around the country.

The societal cost of ex-tropical cyclones is escalating

Bar chart comparing financial costs of major natural disasters in New Zealand, including Canterbury earthquakes (2010-2011) at $22,883 million, Cyclone Gabrielle (2023) with an unknown cost, Kaikoura earthquake (2016) at $2,270 million, and others like Bay of Plenty earthquake (1987) adjusted for inflation at $393 million, and several storms and floods ranging from $171 to $88 million. Source: ICNZ.

Scientific Basis

Human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2021)

Observed changes in global surface temperature relative to 1850-1900

Graph showing global surface temperature changes from 1-2020, comparing reconstructed, observed, simulated human & natural, and natural factors.

Source: IPCC AR6 WG1 Report 2021

Global surface temperature is rising and project to rise further

Rising temperatures will shift rainfall distribution, change seasonality, increase storm intensities, increase drought intensities, melt glaciers and polar ice caps raising sea levels.

Graph showing global surface temperature change from 1950 to 2100. It displays projections for very low, low, intermediate, high, and very high emissions scenarios. Shaded areas indicate uncertainty ranges. Noted: 2011-2020 was about 1.1°C warmer than 1850-1900.

Source: IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report 2023

Projections in global sea level

Graph of global mean sea level rise projections from 1950 to 2100, with scenarios labeled as very low to very high risk, indicating potential sea level increases relative to 1900. Includes a note about low-likelihood, high-impact events involving ice-sheet processes.

SourceL IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report 2023

Rising sea levels will threaten coastal property and infrastructure, erode coastlines, and cause flooding in the lower reaches of river catchments. This will be exacerbated by storm surges that raises sea levels due to the low atmospheric pressure in storm systems.

Adverse impacts from human-caused climate change will continue to intensify

Among the biggest negative impacts of global heating is the increase in the intensity of droughts. This will make it more difficult to feed the 8 billion people now in the world - a population that is rising by around 80 million annually (births minus deaths).

Timeline chart illustrating global temperature changes above 1850-1900 levels, with scenarios for future emissions from 2020 to 2100 showing potential temperature rises from very low to very high. Includes life stages of individuals born in 1950, 1980, and 2020, reaching the age of 70 in 2020, 2050, and 2090, respectively. Highlights the impact of climate choices on temperature experiences.

Source: IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report 2023

Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C and 2 degrees C requires rapid, deep GHG emission reductions.

Graph of global greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2100, showing past emissions, projected emissions with implemented policies, and pathways to limit warming to 1.5°C and 2°C. Key indicates color codes for each scenario. The graph illustrates that emissions were higher in 2019 compared to 2010, and notes various scenarios based on different levels of warming. Includes a horizontal line for net zero emissions.

Source: IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report 2023

Your emission reductions are part of a global effort to reduce the threat of dangerous climate change.