MEDIAWATCH: Why is Hooton the only one having an adult discussion about the reality of Climate Change?

New Zealand’s political class continues to lie to the public about climate change, not about whether it’s real, but about what it will actually cost, and what we will actually do when the bills arrive. In a rare moment of honesty, conservative commentator Matthew Hooton has said the quiet part out loud: New Zealand will not, and politically cannot, pay the climate penalties it has promised under the Paris Agreement. This isn’t climate denial. It’s political reality. And almost nobody else is willing to admit it.

Um. Why is Mathew Hooton the only one having an adult discussion about the reality of climate change?

Matthew Hooton Says What No Government Will Admit

New Zealand should ditch Paris payments and focus on climate adaptation – Matthew Hooton

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has as good as announced that a National-led Government will not pay the billions of dollars it will owe under the Paris Agreement on climate change, which isn’t legally enforceable anyway.

Nor, of course, would a Labour-led Government, even if supported by the Greens.

Labour’s finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds just hasn’t been as transparent as Willis yet.

The potential liability has so far only been estimated very broadly at between $3 billion and $24b.

NZ Herald

No New Zealand Government Will Ever Pay the Paris Climate Bill

No NZ Government could survive paying $3 to $24billion for our pollution sins.

None.

We have to acknowledge there’s no fucking way we are paying what we promised to pay from the Paris accords.

Come on.

You all know it.

Could you imagine how NZ would lose its shit if we paid $3billion while NZ infrastructure grinds to a halt?

There’s just no way we could do that, even Labour/Green/MP Government would never pay a bloody cent, and Hooton is acknowledging that reality.

Yes this National, ACT and NZF Government have waged a war on our environment!

Yes, they are responsible for watering down all our climate change mitigation programs.

Yes, they will be responsible for us being penalised by the Paris Accords, but our looming failure and massive penalties awarded against us epitomise what it is to be a day too late a dollar too low Kiwi attitude to everything.

Climate Adaptation Is Already Here — And We Are Failing

Right now, most of the coast line is slick with sewage caused by extreme rainfall  caused by climate change that is destroying our brittle and underfunded water infrastructure…

…We are Broken Zealand, privatisation and polluters interests have utterly dismantled our response to climate change and we are drowning in our own shit for it.

Look.

I know you stupid redneck crackers believe climate change is a socialist hoax because you hate us so much you don’t want to admit you’ve been wrong on something as huge as this, however, climate change IS real, it is here now AND it’s going to get much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much much worse.

Climate Change Is No Longer a Debate — It’s the Age of Consequences

The last 3 years are the hottest on record temperature wise, what do you think that means mathematically? If the last 3 years were the hottest, do you think it will get colder? Stay the same? Or get hotter?

Getting colder isn’t an option.

We have as a species gone beyond tipping points, this is the age of consequences now and we need to adapt to the new realities, and those new realities will be more extreme weather events, post-growth capitalism and sustainability inside circular economies.

The reality of climate change is that it means a vast reset of our culture, economy, society, community and politics.

No one is being honest about that.

Low Emissions Is Not a Get-Out-of-Reality Card

Pointing to our low global pollution rate as a reason to do nothing is not an argument. BECAUSE global warming is now out of control, the adaptations will be forced upon us now.