Is Auckland exposed by climate change? Upcoming seminar

In collaboration with Auckland Council and New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) you are welcome to register or live stream this very relevant topic that may apply to may coastal towns and cities in New Zealand.  Truth, consequences and aspirations for a climate-ready city.

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21 June 2018  Upper NZI Room – Aotea Centre

5pm networking

5.30pm webinar

7pm finish

Join international sustainability expert Matt Petersen and panelists as they discuss the challenges we face as a city to get climate ready – and what it could mean for us if we don’t.

How climate-ready is Auckland?
New Zealand is a truly desirable destination. It’s clean and green, people make money launching home-grown rockets and creating movies, and we see ourselves as fun and fair. But how true is our perception of being green, innovative and fair? Are we really ready for climate change or are we in for a big surprise?

Is our growth and change a liability?
Auckland is growing and changing but this doesn’t need to be a liability.  Instead, it’s an opportunity to harness new energy, ideas and collective power to transition to an Auckland that is cleaner and fairer. Other cities and nations have shown that GDP, population, climate readiness – even happiness – can rise rapidly while emissions fall sharply.

What does a just and prosperous transition look like?
Our most vulnerable – including Māori and Pasifika communities – are most impacted by climate change and will continue to be so.  Doing nothing on climate means turning our back on our most vulnerable and creating greater inequality in our society, harming us all.  It’s time for a transition that:

  • Creates a more compact Auckland that has great places alive with vitality and restricts urban sprawl.
  • Decentralises infrastructure with clean energy and green infrastructure at a local level, healthier and more energy efficient homes, water-sensitive design and more convenient and reliable transport choices.
  • Incentivises and innovates a cleaner, stronger and more resilient economy with jobs that pay well, last longer, keep money circulating locally and develop solutions for a better future.

The future for Auckland and NZ is being determined by decisions made today.  It’s time to get it right. This Auckland Conversation brings together a talented panel with diverse perspectives to challenge what we’re telling ourselves about our current progress, explore the consequences of the status-quo and offer their aspirations for a climate-ready Auckland. Join the conversation and help us get there!

More speakers will be announced soon.

Matt Petersen

CEO at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)

Prior to joining LACI, he was appointed as the first ever Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles. Serving as CSO for four years, Petersen was the chief architect of the groundbreaking Sustainable City pLAn and helped create the Climate Mayors. Petersen co-founded Global Green USA and led the organization for 19 years as President and CEO. The organization was a pioneer in greening of affordable housing, schools, and cities as well as helping grow the solar sector. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Petersen put forth a vision and mobilized resources to green the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Petersen is chair of the Climate Mayors board, a board member of Global Green USA, Habitat for Humanity of Greater LA, Center for Environmental Health and the Sir Edmund Hilary Institute for International Leadership. He’s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the LA Sustainability Leadership Council and served as an advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative on energy and the environment while a CGI member for 10 years.

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