Clock ticking on New Zealand Space Policy Review

MBIE is seeking feedback on your interests in space and the values and objectives that underpin New Zealand’s space policies. Submissions close on 31 October.

Global space industry revenues are now more than NZ$600 billion per annum, and in 2018/19, New Zealand’s space sector contributed $1.69 billion to the national economy and supported 12,000 jobs.

“Space is also becoming more crowded and complex, and making sure it is used sustainably is a global challenge,” stated Minister for Economic and Regional Development Stuart Nash in the foreword to the New Zealand Space Policy Review Consultation document. “As a small nation, we have an interest in having a strong international rules-based system that ensures space is used responsibly and peacefully.

“As the Minister responsible for all payloads launched from New Zealand, I am acutely aware that we must ensure our system, and the principles and policies that we adhere to, remain consistent with the expectations of New Zealanders.

“Your feedback on this consultation will help us develop a National Space Policy that reflects the values and interests of New Zealand in space, and will guide our future policies, regulations, and international engagements.”

Feedback will be collated into a summary of feedback report and will inform thinking around: • Creating a National Space Policy: a document which outlines New

Zealand’s values and objectives on space, including for our international partners. • Articulating New Zealand’s broad interests on space across multiple activities and engagements: including at

United Nations fora and with international space and security partners. • Developing future space strategies, policies and regulatory changes: including adjusting our policies and regulations to meet advancements in space technology. • Further engagement on space policy with the New Zealand public: including on any key areas of interest identified through the consultation. • Considering whether any legislative changes are required to the Outer Space and Highaltitude Activities Act 2017.

MBIE has commissioned PublicVoice to produce a summary of feedback report on the space policy review consultation. The summary of feedback report will ultimately be made available on the MBIE website.

The New Zealand Space Policy Review Consultation document outlines: • The role of government: The New

Zealand government’s role in space policy development. • Values: New Zealand values which are reflected through our space activities and engagements. • Interests: The range of crosscutting interests that the New

Zealand government has in space; including economic, national security, regulatory, international and environmental interests. • Policy objectives: Existing policy objectives which reflect the government’s interests in space.

Five public meetings are scheduled to take place between 11 and 20 October: in Mahia, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and online. Registration is now open via MBIE’s New Zealand Space Policy Review webpages.

The government is also consulting on an Aerospace Strategy which sets out a vision and goals to grow the wider aerospace sector (which includes space and advanced aviation) in New Zealand.

2022’s supercharged summer of climate extremes

Dr Kevin Trenberth of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and University of Auckland explains how global warming and La Niña fuelled a year of disasters on top of disasters.

Dr Kevin Trenberth is a Distinguished Scholar at the US National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and an Honorary Academic in the Department of Physics, University of Auckland. There’s an old joke about the fellow who has his left foot in a bucket of ice water and the right in a bucket of hot water, so that his overall temperature is average. That seemed to apply to the climate during 2022’s northern summer of extremes.

Global warming is undoubtedly a factor, but just how the increasing extremes – heat waves, droughts and floods, sometimes one on top of the other – are related can be bewildering to the public and policymakers.

As a climate scientist, I’ve been working on these issues for more than four decades, and my new book, “The changing flow of energy through the climate system,” details the causes, feedbacks and impacts. Let’s take a closer look at how climate change and natural weather patterns like La Niña influence what we’re seeing around the world today.

The Northern Hemisphere’s extreme summer Summer 2022 has indeed seemed to feature one climate-related disaster after another.

Record-breaking heat waves baked India and Pakistan, then monsoon flooding left about a third of Pakistan under water, affecting an estimated 33 million people. Temperatures exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) for prolonged periods in many places, and even broke 122 F (50 C) in Jacobabad, Pakistan, in May.

The Asian heat helped to melt some glaciers in the Himalayas, elevating rivers. At the same time, three times the normal annual rain fell in Pakistan during the weekslong monsoon. More than 1,500 people died in the flooding, an estimated 1.8 million homes were damaged or destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of livestock were lost. Food for the coming seasons will be in short supply.

Extreme heat in Europe led to wildfires, especially in Spain and Portugal. The drought in Spain dried up a reservoir, revealing the long-submerged “Spanish Stonehenge,” an ancient circle of megalithic stones believed to date back to around 5000 B.C. Electricity generation in France plummeted, with low rivers reducing the ability to cool nuclear power towers, and German barges had difficulty finding enough water to navigate the Rhine River.

In the United States, the West and the Midwest suffered through intense heat waves, and the crucial Colorado River reservoirs Lake Powell and Lake Mead hit record lows, triggering water restrictions. Yet, the country also saw major disruptive flooding in several cities and regions, from Death Valley to the mountains of eastern Kentucky.

In China, heat waves and drought stretched over eight weeks and dried