WORLD-LEADING ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE Words by Glenys Christian
The 2021 Horticulture Conference: Resilience and Recovery, was held on 5-6 August at Mystery Creek, Hamilton
New Zealand has been urged to step up and lead the world when it comes to climate change. Lord Deben, a keynote speaker at the annual Horticulture conference, told growers this country could “show Australia how it’s done”. “You could be the central nation to help the world with climate change,” he said. “If you don’t, problems will overwhelm us and that we cannot allow.” Lord Deben is chairman of the United Kingdom Committee on Climate Change and a former Secretary of State for the Environment and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. He visited New Zealand last year, congratulating the horticulture industry for rising to the range of challenges it is facing. The message of ‘climate change is real and is going to continue’ permeated Deben’s address. “It will get worse and if we don’t take steps now, the world will become increasingly difficult to live in,” he said. Deben believes New Zealand is in a unique position to be able to help the rest of the world. “It has all the stability without the baggage of western countries,” he said. “You can lead for countries in your corner of the world which soon won’t exist due to climate change.”
However, such a global problem will require a global effort to overcome it, he emphasised. Populations around the world will increasingly demand to know why more isn’t being done in the climate change space. He said the New Zealand government needs to stick with its climate change policies, not be pushed off course, and to recognise that if it fails to act, it will be blamed.
Such a global problem will require a global effort to overcome it ... Populations around the world will increasingly demand to know why more isn’t being done in the climate change space New Zealand is responsible for some of the best products in the world but is not always making the right choices – importing bottled water, for example. “Make the most of the qualities you have such as the almost zero cost of energy,” he said. “You’ve got to maximise your advantages.”
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