Brundtland Commission’s definition for sustainability:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Ngai Tahu Vision Statement:
Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei
For us and our children after us
Sustainability is:
- A professional requirement:
- The Washington Accords
- Engineering NZ’s Code of Ethical Conduct
- Protect people’s health and safety
- Consider the environment
- A global priority
- UN Sustainable Development Goals
- Paris Accords: 1.5° degree goal
- Monetary repercussions for not meeting goals
- NZ committed to international sustainability targets
- We live here; basic hygiene
- Employers care
- e.g. Fisher and Paykel Healthcare integrate UN goals and stakeholder concerns into their plans
- May be lip service, but it will still be positive
NZ, 2020:
- 75% energy self-sufficiency
- Renewable energy 40.3% of total primary energy supply (including transportation, fuel, etc.)
- 81% renewable electricity generation, ~95% 2038
- Not 100% as in dry years, other renewable sources cannot pick up the slack: some fossil fuels required
Ministry for the Environment 2019 climate change programme:
- Focus on leadership internationally
- Productive, sustainable and client-resilient economy
- Just and inclusive society
- Social and environmental issues interlinked
Climate Change Reponse Amendment Act 2019:
- Reduce net emission of greenhouse gases (biogenic methanes (cows)) to zero by 2050
- Gross emissions is what is emitted, net is gross minus carbon credits, trees you paid to be planted in other countries etc.
- Reduce emissions of biogenic methane by 24-47% below 2017 levels
Financial Sector Amendment Bill:
- NZ to introduce law to require financial sector to disclose impacts of climate change on their business
- Transparency if businesses are investing in fossil fuels etc.
NZ emission reduction targets: four unconditional national targets (conditional: tragedy of the commons)
- Kyoto Protocols:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2012 (met)
- 5% below 1990 levels by 2020
- 50% below 1990 levels by 2050
- Paris Accords:
- 30% below 2005 levels by 2030
- 11% below 1990 levels
- 30% below 2005 levels by 2030
NZ Greenhouse Gas Inventory:
- In 2019, NZ’s gross emissions were 82.3 million tonnes CO2 equivalent
- Gross emissions increased 26% between 1990 and 2019
- Gross emissions are 48% from agriculture, 42% from energy
- Net emissions of 54.9 Mt CO2 e
- Meeting 2020 Kyoto goals by planting trees (or paying other countries)
- 33% of gross emissions offset
- NZ will buy 14 billion dollars of carbon credits from other countries over 10 years
- Cheaper than reducing emissions domestically
- Subsidizing private EVs won’t really help: small in terms of overall emissions
- $8,500 subsidy, but many people drive cheap, old cars - no way to afford EVs
- The people that drive the most polluting (oldest) cars are also the people least likely to pay the additional taxes from pollution
- $8,500 subsidy, but many people drive cheap, old cars - no way to afford EVs
- Electricity generation already pretty clean
- Nuclear power is very clean
- Agriculture is the industry responsible for the most emissions, but also very important to NZ’s economy
- Subsidizing private EVs won’t really help: small in terms of overall emissions
- Cost of carbon credits may increase
- Cheaper than reducing emissions domestically
Kaitiakitanga: being responsible in relation to natural and physical resources: stewardship
Issues:
- Pollution
- Rising consumption in developing countries
- Damage done decades ago by industrial countries: now first world countries
- Unfair to developing countries when we did the same in the industrial revolutions?
- Is concern for the environment a ‘first world’ privilege?
- Resource depletion
- Fresh water
- Loss of land
- Rising sea levels
- Lifestyle blocks
- Biodiversity depletion
- Famine
- Climate change, loss of agricultural land, over-fishing/exploitation of resources
- Organic farming reduces productivity levels
As a computer/electrical/mechatronics engineer:
- Renewable energy sources
- Integrating renewable power into power gid
- Energy storage
- EVs
- Reducing EoL waste, energy efficient systems
As a software engineer:
- Energy-efficiency
- Sustainability reporting software
- Understanding client change
Considering impacts: some are not ‘reasonably forseeable’:
- Lithium, graphic, cobalt mining
- Cryptocurrency