“The Road Ahead” – Cross-party discussion on NZ’s transport future

After the sell-out, runaway success of the first Auckland Transport Blog fundraiser earlier this week (post with photos coming soon apparently) I’m pleased to notify you all of the next event in the transport calendar. The only problem, as far as I’m can tell, is that it’s in Wellington, which also means that by extension it’s not being organised by the unflappable, indomitable Kent Lundberg.

Instead, this event is being put on by the awesome people over at Generation Zero.  The poster for the event (and all the juicy details) is below. Basically they’re getting some important people together in a hall for an evening of jest, with notes of seriousness. Noice. Also, I’m picking that one of the three politicians present will be the next Minister of Transport. Wink wink.

Lovely piece of graphic design there – I wonder if the choice of a “give way” sign is a subliminal hint to the Government that they need to yield to future generations who want to grow up in a world that is not seriously buggered by the ongoing extraction and consumption of fossil fuels?

I acknowledge that NZ can’t do a lot about climate change emissions, but on the other hand we could be a principled voice of reason on the international stage in arguing for more comprehensive, dramatic cuts: We be the glue that holds countries together within a new multi-lateral pact designed to prevent us all from cooking the planet. But to be in that position NZ should get our own house in order, which in turn means: a) removing subsidies for driving (i.e. end the RoNs); b) abolish tax breaks for fossil fuel exploration; and c) bringing agriculture into the ETS. NOW!

My only hope is that the politicians involved in the Gen Zero debate are prepared to put partisan ideology to one side for an evening and instead find some common ground – God knows climate change is getting away from us. As Bill McKibben noted in a recent article in the Rolling Stone, to keep within 2 degrees average global warming we collectively can only afford to emit only another 565 GT of CO2 emissions. To put that in perspective, that’s only about 20% of the oil, gas, and coal reserves we already know about.  Yes, that means we can afford to burn only 20% of the fossil fuels that we already know to exist. Great statistic to bust out at your next BBQ …

Anyway, while 20% is a very haunting figure, it is also one that makes me very thankful for the efforts of Generation Zero. Go you good things – the stage is yours (and apologies if I’ve missed any crucial details)!

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