The 12 Days of Climate Christmas: Lessons from NY Climate Week & COP
At the KiC Auckland Christmas event, it was a pleasure to host our two guest speakers – David Hall (Toha Network, and one of the KiC book authors) and Charlotte Rutherford (Fonterra).
It’s been hard yakka (technical term) working in the climate space this year, so we wanted to bring some international flavour to our end of year drinks, as well as provide the opportunity for KiC’ers to raise a glass and toast their mahi this year.
Charlotte spoke of her experience at NY Climate Week, and David his recent sojourn to COP30 in Bélem, Brazil.
Our guest’s insights were as plentiful as the craft beer on tap and the lively conversations. Fortunately, their comments were also audible after we cleverly rigged The Beer Spot’s amp and microphone - who would have thought KiC members had ‘fashioning a sound system out of leftover karaoke equipment’ in their repertoire?
Here’s our 12 key take outs from the evening; feel free to sing along (karaoke equipment not included).
12. Events a minute
COP and NY Climate Week are like a chaotic Christmas day with the In Laws– everything is happening everywhere all at once. And, as David said, the FOMO is real – and a good reminder that each of us is one of many, all trying to make change.
11. Hushed up targets
Many businesses seem to be channelling Silent Night when it comes to targets – going all green hush on their green goals. Charlotte speculated this is because either targets are old news or because they won’t be met. Let’s hope it’s the former.
10. Reasons why
Everyone has their own motivation for taking action. Some might want to fight for the underdog; others might want to capitalise on the rise of clean tech. You do you boo. What matters is that we are aiming for the same end goal - leaving the planet better than we found it.
9. Innovations
David remarked that Aotearoa has the opportunity to learn from larger markets like Brazil, and their approach to nature-positive land use. And this goes both ways - we should be looking for opportunities to bring Aotearoa’s climate and nature innovations to the world.
8. Diverse voices
It’s not enough for indigenous people to just be present at events such as COP – they must have meaningful participation in decision-making. For us in Aotearoa, matuaranga Māori and leadership is crucial.
7. Coalitions
The Brazilian COP presidency is pushing coalitions of the willing that can act more quickly than the slow, unanimous UN system. Proving that sometimes, smaller groups can drive bigger change (or, in keeping with the festive theme, fewer cooks = faster Christmas cookies).
6. Local actions
System-level change at COP is vital, but so is action on the ground – like reducing on-farm emissions, building digital infrastructure for nature-based solutions or retrofitting Santa’s sleigh with a battery to store reindeer power.
5. Well-chosen words
Don’t talk about the moral imperative to people who aren’t interested. If you’re influencing a CFO, focus on ROI and risk— – not just “doing the right thing.” As Charlotte astutely observed, put yourself in the shoes of your audience and tailor your message for them.
4. Adaptations
As we move past 1.5°C, there’s increasing focus on adaptation over mitigation. It’s more tangible to many people, and the investment case is more obvious.
3. Echo chambers
Charlotte highlighted the risks of staying within your own echo chamber– where ideas are recycled and rarely challenged. When we only speak to those who already agree with us, our impact is limited. To drive real change, it’s crucial to add materiality and make your message resonate with a wider audience.
2. Simple phrases
Even senior executives can get lost in jargon like “adaptation.” Use plain language – preventing risk’ ‘cleaner air’. To quote Auckland’s latest consumer giant: create a better everyday life for the many people.
And a Pukeko in a Ponga tree
Never has there been more of a reason to regenerate the Pukeko’s stomping ground. Nature and climate are fundamentally linked and holistic solutions are more effective than siloed approaches.
