The Climate Chap: My predictions for 2022

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17 Jan, 2022

 

First of all, I hope that you had a super Christmas, a very Happy New Year, and are looking forward to 2022 being successful and positive.

I love making new year predictions, even if I’m often wrong! So where do we now stand with regard to the climate crisis? I cannot help but think of my wonderful parents, each of whom had a powerful perspective on life. My Mum, the eternal optimist, always said “every cloud has a silver lining”. My dad, the eternal pessimist, always said “every silver lining has a cloud”. Both were always right, so it’s all about one’s perspective.

With regard to the climate crisis, I vote for Mum. There are still major problems associated with global warming, however significant progress is being made and I choose to remain optimistic as to overcoming this global crisis in 2022 and beyond.

The major achievement in 2021 was simply the recognition that the climate crisis is genuine, and that time is rapidly running out to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to a manageable level. With the exception of Covid-19, the climate crisis was the most newsworthy global event.

If there’s one positive associated with Covid-19 it was that the world came together to endeavour to overcome this plague. Aotearoa (previously known as New Zealand) was part of the global team of 7.9 billion working together to be educated, adopt new lifestyles, design and deploy vaccines, and minimise local risks. Problems still exist, especially access to vaccines and testing in the poorer nations, however the world came together to meet this challenge. To me this proves that it’s possible for the world to come together again to overcome the climate crisis by 2050.

So, my twelve 2022 predictions:

1. After many delays, by May our government will publish its program for how we are going to reduce our excessive emissions, halving them in under 3000 days.

2. All our political parties will unite to ensure that the climate crisis is not treated like a game of ping-pong as is the case in the USA.

3. Our government will extend the “feebate” program beyond March to encourage the purchasing of EVs in preference to gas guzzlers. Mangawhai will double its excellent roadside EV charging points - from one to two!

4. Greta Thunberg will finally win the Nobel Peace Prize.

5. Recycling and composting will really take off both locally and nationally with every local council fully supporting both activities.

6. Governments will cease subsidising the fossil fuel industry and start subsidising renewable energy. Sadly, the price of petrol will completely blow out. Expect a litre of 91 to cost well over $5 by December. More to follow in future articles!

7. Our dairy and meat industries will continue to dominate our government’s plans and targets and will contribute absolutely nothing to reducing methane emissions.

8. The other fast food empire will introduce a plant-based burger to compete with Burger King’s ‘Rebel’ patty.

9. Everyone who reads this article will plant at least one native tree this year. Just check out the Trees That Count website (treesthatcount.co.nz) to see how affordable and easy it is. If every Kiwi planted just 34 native trees in the coming few years we would become “net carbon neutral” by 2050 without having to do anything else.

10. Our government will deliver a consistent, holistic and quality program of information, challenges, opportunities, incentives and motivation to enable our team of 5.1 million to embrace solving our climate crisis wherever we live in Aotearoa. This will ensure all climate change initiatives are centrally funded, are not a burden to local ratepayers, and that there is consistency of approach and opportunity regardless of location.

11. Residents of Mangawhai will be brave enough to try a meat-free or dairy-free day each week.

12. The Hon James Shaw will attend COP27 in Egypt in November and commit us to even more unachievable goals by 2030.

 

So please cut out this article and revisit it on January 01, 2023, to see how hopelessly wrong my predictions were. Are we going to overcome this climate crisis? I simply do not know; however, I truly believe that we can. My cloud always has a silver lining!

 

Prediction: Residents of Mangawhai will be brave enough to try a meat-free or dairy-free day each week.

 

Will Regular 91 Octane be $5 a litre by the end of the year?

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