Science Media Centre

The Australian federal government announced today its plans to cut carbon emissions by between 26 and 28 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030. The announced target comes ahead of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in December 2015. In preparation for creating an international climate […]

In the pages of the Dominion Post, New Zealand climate scientists David Wratt, James Renwick and Andy Reisinger  respond to a previous opinion article questioning the science of anthropogenic climate change and the need for action. An excerpt (read in full here): Human role in climate change is clear Warming of the climate system is […]

The release of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s third and final fifth assessment (AR5) report has garnered much media attention in New Zealand. The Working Group 3 report on greenhouse gas mitigation was finalised in Berlin this week and outlines the research showing that stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere requires […]

After lengthy talks, scientists and government representatives meeting in Yokohama have now finalised the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Working Group 2 report on climate impacts and adaptation. The report’s high-level summary has been released today coinciding with a live streamed webcast. The authors of the report say the effects of climate change are already […]

What risks from climate change will New Zealand need to confront? What areas are most vulnerable, and what actions will be required? What options are still on the table for limiting greenhouse gas emissions?  The next sections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s latest report (AR5) — the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the world’s vulnerabilities […]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released the first segment of the long awaited Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) summing up the current state of climate science and the global outlook regarding climate change. Government representatives and scientists have approved the Summary for Policymakers of the first part of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, subjecting […]

by Holly Ryan Rising sea levels will receive increased attention from climate scientists tomorrow when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveils its latest report on the state of the climate. Sea level change will, for the first time, claim its own chapter in the IPCC’s 5th Assessment Report – or AR5, as will ‘climate […]

In a NZ Herald two-page special report, Jamie Morten interviews three climate researchers from Victoria University Wellington about climate, change and the future. Prof David Frame, Prof James Renwick and Dr Simon Lamb share their insights in the feature, ‘Your future weather: A daunting forecast’ . An excerpt (read in full here): Professor David Frame […]

Evidence suggests that climate change has led to changes in climate extremes such as heat waves, record high temperatures and, in many regions, heavy precipitation in the past half century, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Climate extremes, or even a series of non-extreme events, in combination with […]

New Zealand may initially get off relatively lightly as the world increasingly experiences the consequences of climate change, but will still face moral obligations to harder-hit vulnerable nations, warn scientists.    A UN report released on Friday in Uganda found that increasing human emissions had “likely” – defined as a 66-100 percent probability – caused more […]