James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
For every ten centimetres of sea level rise, the chances of a 100-year coastal flood increase three-fold. This means we’ll have to build flood defenses or retreat from the coast.
Discussions about climate change often skirt around the issue of population growth, but it is the main driver of rising carbon dioxide levels and many other environmental changes on a planetary scale.
The atmosphere of Mars is more than 96% carbon dioxide, but the planet is cold because its atmosphere is extremely thin, very dry and further away from the Sun.
There is evidence for catastrophic climate change from protracted volcanic eruptions in the past, but since the 1950s the emissions we produce far exceed those from volcanic activity.
In New Zealand, where more than 80% of electricity is renewable, the carbon footprint of electric cars is 62% lower than that of fossil cars. But their lithium battery has other environmental impacts.
People are more likely to deny climate change if they’re inclined toward hierarchy, have lower levels of education or are more religious. But the strongest predictor of denial is a person’s politics.
Nick Golledge, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Individual actions to reduce emissions are important in two ways. First, they have an immediate impact, and secondly, adopting low-carbon life choices sends a clear message to political leaders.
Unlike a car, you can’t just stick a battery-powered engine in a plane and expect it to fly. Despite that, small planes might be the future of electric flight.
More and more evidence has accumulated which shows that changes in global and regional climate over the last 50 years are almost entirely due to human influence.
James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
For the past two and a half million years, Earth has experienced regular ice ages, but with carbon dioxide levels now over 400 parts per million, the next ice age is postponed for a very long time.
Traditional market transactions ignore the costs of greenhouse gas emissions. An emissions trading scheme is a tool to put a price on emissions and to influence us to choose lower-emission options.
New Zealand is small and generates a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, but investment in cutting emissions is important and could influence other, larger countries.
Do you have a question about climate change? This collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre gives you the chance to ask – and we’ll provide expert answers.