Current State of Climate Change: the U.S. and New Zealand

Climate change is happening no matter anyone's opinion or politcal affiliation. Whether or not climate change is happening is not a discussion for this site, this blog is made for going beyond that discussion and thefore each post is built upon the premise that climate change is happening whether anyone likes it or not. Some estimations through notorious organizations such as the IPCC give humans about 10 years to reduce GHGs and to avoid the more dramatic effects. Many believe that simply switching to green energy and improving the efficiency of human systems can satisfy this reduction. I argue that it will take a large societal shift away from Western, colonized lifestyles for climate change mitigation and adaptation to be successful. That being said, what is the current state of climate change? (in brief)

Climate Change in New Zealand
Based on New Zealand's Ministry of the Environment website and a 2018 Ministry of the Environment paper based on the IPCC 5th assessment:

• New Zealand's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have increased by 23.1% since 1990.
• This is largely due to the high amounts of dairy farming and fossil fuels such as coal for energy.
• NZ chose to participate in the Paris Agreement and was supposed to reduce GHG emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2020.
• There is currently no legislation or policy that will drastically change the state of climate change within NZ in the near future.

Climate Change in the U.S.
Based on the Fourth National Climate Assessment and the Global Warming of 1.5°C. IPCC Special Report:

• GHG emissions in the U.S. have increased 7% since 1990, but decreased 7% percent decrease since 2005. Emissions are projected to stay relatively the same.
• Electricity and transportation are the biggest contributors, with dips in GHG emissions being due to economic slows and the move towards natural gas technologies.
• Effects in the U.S. are already being seen. Additional increases in temps across the contiguous United States of at least 2.3°F relative to 1986–2015 are expected by 2050.
• The U.S. pulled out of the Paris Agreement, and climate change measures are handled at the state or local scale.
• There is currently no legislation or policy that will drastically change the state of climate change throughout the whole U.S. in the near future. (Though the Green New Deal has been proposed).
• Examples of state/local responses to climate change impacts in the can be viewed here: Map of climate response actions in the U.S.

Conclusion Though New Zealand has been more progressive than the U.S. in the discussion of Indigenous peoples and climate change, both countries have fallen considerably behind on any climate change related targets. What's at the root of this rather universal failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change? See Indigenous Climate Adaptation for some brief discussion.