Extreme weather you say? What on earth could be causing that? Government won’t tell you

As floodwaters rise across Waikato and Wellington and boil water notices hit Christchurch suburbs, the Government’s refusal to connect extreme weather with climate policy becomes harder to defend. While ministers dodge the words “climate change,” communities are left to mop up, rebuild and brace for the next storm. The question isn’t whether this is climate-driven. The question is why the political class pretends it isn’t.

Extreme Weather and Political Denial

The extraordinary disconnection between the Government’s anti-environment agenda and the consequences of extreme climate events is a yawning chasm of ignorance that gets more and more bewildering as storm after storm hits us…

…the denial is off the charts!

Floods in Waikato and Wellington: The Climate Connection Ignored

Bernard Hickey is scathing…

• ‘Never before seen’ floods slammed the central Waikato over the weekend, killing one man, flooding homes and farms, cutting off state highways, washing out culverts and isolating communities. The storm is now battering Wellington and the lower half of the North Island, cancelling flights and cutting off power to thousands. (RNZ)
• Climate change, which makes such events more extreme and frequent, was again barely mentioned in news coverage and not mentioned by Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell. Also over the weekend, a boil water notice was put on 14,000 households in the suburbs of New Brighton, Burwood, Wainoni, Aranui and South-shore in Christchurch because faecal pathogens were found in the water. Bottled water was sold out in shops and Christchurch City Council is considering bringing in water by tankers.

…the total denial between what is happening, the climate and Government policy that has waged war on the environment is staggering.

Climate Change and the Limits of Free Market Ideology

The Achilles Heel of unregulated Free Market Late Stage Capitalism has always been the existential threat biosphere tipping causes.

You can’t repair from the last event by the time the next event hits.

Civil Defence Cuts in an Era of Escalating Disasters

This is the age of consequences and the acknowledgement that it just gets worse from here on demands extra funding for Civil Defence and a total review of how that needs to work and resource Marae, RSAs and Schools into being used as central community hubs of resilience when these events strike.

The Government’s response? They decreased $24million out of Civil Defence this year!

Insurance Companies Know Climate Risk Is Real

Look. You might think climate change is a socialist hoax, but your insurance company doesn’t!

We need a radically different view towards what a climate change future means. We need to tax the rich, the propertied boomers and the corporations far more in tax and spend that tax on climate adaptation and community resilience.

We have no choice but to work with each other on these Shakey Isles.

We can argue ideology all day, but the rain keeps falling regardless. The storms do not care about political talking points. If the Government refuses to say the words “climate change,” the insurance sector will say them for them — in higher premiums and withdrawn cover. The only adult response left is investment in resilience, adaptation and prevention. Anything less is negligence dressed up as economics.