• Scott Metcalfe, Alistair Woodward, Alexandra Macmillan, Michael Baker, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Graeme Lindsay, Simon Hales, David Sinclair, Richard Jaine, Liz Springford, Andrew Holmes, George Laking, Rhys Jones, Harriette Carr, Richard Edwards, Caroline Shaw, Susan Wells, Jamie Hosking, Andrea Forde, Marie Bismark, Stephen Palmer, Gay Keating, Jenny Simpson, Rachel Highton, Divya Dhar, Penny Kane, and New Zealand Climate and Health.
• scott.metcalfe2@gmail.com
• N. Z. Med. J. 2009 Oct 9; 122 (1304): 72-95.

AbstractNew Zealand must commit to substantial decreases in its greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change on human health, both here and internationally. We have the fourth highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Based on the need to limit warming to 2 degrees C by 2100, our cumulative emissions, and our capability to mitigate, New Zealand should at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (i.e. a target of at least 40% less than 1990 levels). This target has a strong scientific basis, and if anything may be too lenient; reducing the risk of catastrophic climate change may require deeper cuts. Short-term economic costs of mitigation have been widely overstated in public debate. They must also be balanced by the far greater costs caused by inertia and the substantial health and social benefits that can be achieved by a low emissions society. Large emissions reductions are achievable if we mobilise New Zealand society and let technology follow the signal of a responsible target.

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