I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.

The penny drops. Climate change will break our economies. Fragment our societies. Undermine our governance. And erode our security. "Ecosystem services" are our life support processes. Destroying them destroys the foundations of human civilisation.

ECB official warns climate crisis poses growing threat to ‘core financial stability’

Exclusive: As wildfires rage across Europe, Frank Elderson tells the Guardian nature loss poses a growing risk to the global economy

theguardian.com

Lessons for NZ - apparently datacentres in Ireland draw =23% of the country's power and household power bills have gone up 600 Euros in the last year as a result. Use urged from 5% of national electricity demand in 2015 to 23% in 2025. Forecast to exceed 30%

Comment: Kiwis wanting to mimic the anti-establishment, anti-elite, anti-media aspects of Trump's America risk dangerous implications for our rule of law and constitutional safeguards, writes Sir Geoffrey Palmer.

Geoffrey Palmer: Be careful what you wish for, New Zealand

newsroom.co.nz

#nzpol Electricity costs up nearly twice the rate of inflation since the 1999 market reforms www.interest.co.nz/public-polic...

Household electricity costs up 177% since 1999 reforms, nearly twice the rate of inflation

Consumer NZ calls for changes to electricity market saying NZ can continue to patch over the problems, or it can redesign the electricity system around customers

interest.co.nz

Obviously nothing has pissed me off quite as much as them killing the Marsden Fund (👉 my 📌 post), but govt claiming that the Science Investment Plan does not cut funding when the plan itself says “core science and research funding is projected to decline in future years” was the icing on the cake.

Luxon wants to ‘brutally commercialise’ science, but cuts threaten its foundation

Comment from Auckland University: Decades of research funding cannot be replaced by funding the commercialisation of that science

newsroom.co.nz

If we're going to make good decisions that look after our communities, environment, and our future, we need to invest in science and research 👩🏽‍🔬 That means funding science for the public interest, not defunding or privatising the science sector 🏥🌏🌿 We can do better💚 Funded by Parliamentary Services.

Wow - the average global sea surface temperature outside of the polar regions is currently tied for the all-time absolute hottest on record (in the NOAA/OISST dataset). The record was in 2024. More graphics like this at www.climatecentral.org/climate-brie... 🌊

This is actively embarrassing and I thought I had no more capacity for embarrassment where this government and science were concerned

samuel mehr@mehr.nz · last wk.

the current NZ govt is so anti-science that they've changed eligibility for the Prime Minister's Science Prizes to rule out awards to people doing basic science eg from 2026 the MacDiarmid is for work with "potential to generate econ, health, social, or env benefits for New Zealand" #nzpol

The NZ Gov plans to deregulate the setting of maximum residue limits for toxic pesticides. I mean hey deregulation worked so well for the building industry what could possibly go wrong. www.beehive.govt.nz/release/more...

From Auckland University - Comment: Unchecked growth of AI data centres and reliance on foreign cloud providers leave NZ vulnerable to energy crises and global conflict.

NZ sleepwalking into a digital Strait of Hormuz

newsroom.co.nz

Anyone still serious about investing NZ$ BILLIONS in LNG terminals and oil exploration instead of renewables and storage needs their heads examined 🙃 #NZPol

Scott Hamilton@sdhamiltonvic.bsky.social · 2w ago

Solar & Batteries are winning 🏆 au.news.yahoo.com/renewables-b...

"Of the emissions reductions the Government intends to achieve by the end of the decade, just 18 percent face no significant risks. The majority now face significant risk, up from moderate risk in last year’s monitoring report."

NZ increasingly off-track for climate targets as Govt hikes pollution

Analysis: The independent Climate Commission says the Govt is increasing emissions and it's too late to plant trees to turn the ship around.

newsroom.co.nz

PRESS RELEASE: One third of Canterbury private water supplies reaching nitrate contamination preterm birth risk levels www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/pre...

1/3 of Canterbury private water sources may pose preterm birth risk - Greenpeace Aotearoa

New Environment Canterbury data shows that 1/3 of Canterbury private water supplies are reaching nitrate levels linked to preterm birth risks.

greenpeace.org

Vector's majority shareholder says electricity market 'failing consumers'

Vector's majority shareholder says electricity market 'failing consumers'

The majority shareholder of Auckland's lines company says the electricity market is failing consumers and is calling for more competition and regulatory reform to address market shortcomings.

rnz.co.nz

New Zealand Q2 inflation at 4.1% y/y, at more than two year high reut.rs/4fMYGxq

New Zealand Q2 inflation at 4.1% y/y, at more than two year high

New Zealand's annual inflation accelerated in the second quarter to a 2-1/2-year high, reinforcing expectations the central bank will raise the cash rate when it next meets in September.

reut.rs

Comment: This hasty law change granting greenhouse gas emitters blanket immunity now challenges Europe to test whether our trade deal’s climate commitments actually have teeth

It’s not climate lawsuits that will cost NZ exporters billions; it’s the shortsighted bet to ban them

newsroom.co.nz

It's almost like #winstonpeters is a shill? #nzfirst means NZ last. Why be a technological backwater? www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3610... #nzpol #nz Electrification isn't just the future, it's fundamental economics.

New Zealand is a geopolitical chew toy – we need to electrify now

What the hell are we doing leaving the fate of our entire country’s diesel supply in the tiny, tanned hands of a man who couldn’t find us on a map?

stuff.co.nz

It’s just hot air. No new oil or gas reserves have been found in years, despite hundreds of millions being spent on the search. The future is renewable wind and solar — and everyone knows it. #YesterdaysMan

The NZ Government spent $8M to bring the Michelin Guide here. $8M is the entire yearly government funding to all food banks, who feed 500k people a month. newsroom.co.nz/2026/07/17/s... #NZPol

Starry-eyed Tourism NZ buried the downside to fund its $8m Michelin gamble

Previously secret documents imply that the famous international restaurant guide essentially guaranteed the award of at least one star to a restaurant, if the NZ Government paid its $1,901,250 fee.

newsroom.co.nz

Upper ocean heat content (0 to 700 m depth) also set a new record high with the latest data update to start 2026. 🌊 Graphic shows anomalies and is produced by www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/globa...

Zack Labe@zacklabe.com · 4w ago

🚨 The data is finally in for the first quarter of the year, and it's not looking good... Global ocean heat content just set another new record high! Data (anomalies) & methods from www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/globa...

As @louisemorris.bsky.social has said: "CCS does not fail because it is misunderstood. It fails because it does not work" thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

CCS isn't climate action, it's an offset scam

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is an offsets zombie the government keeps trying to raise from the dead to prop up the future of fossil fuel projects.

thepoint.com.au

Who's looking at all the problems created by data centres in the USA and the tiny amount of long term jobs created and deciding that just trusting the companies involved is a good idea. #nzpol www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

‘A lot of red flags’: plans for New Zealand’s first datacentre spark concern as locals demand greater transparency

Plans to build a NZ$3.5bn datacentre in Makarewa in the country’s south has drawn concern about electricity and water use, and potential noise pollution

theguardian.com

NZ higher education decimated, science and health funding decimated, but hey we're getting a few motorways built 🙃

henry cooke@henrycooke.bsky.social · 4w ago

NEW: Chris Bishop has unveiled the Govt's major backdown on the Roads of National Significance, with just six with guaranteed construction dates. Here's 2023 promises v now:

What illustrious company! #NZ and #USA are the only 'Global West' countries to sit outside the highest scores for climate action and biodiversity in the annual Yale Environmental Performance Index. #nzpol epi.yale.edu/downloads/20...

UK government set to waste a quarter of a TRILLION pounds on carbon capture mirages. Imagine what could be done with that money... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The great carbon capture con: behold the wasted billions Burnham could claw back | George Monbiot

There are far better ways to tackle climate breakdown, but successive governments have chosen to listen to the fossil fuel companies instead, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

theguardian.com

as a result of the NZ govt's "flood the zone" strategy in completely changing how science and universities are funded, it's been hard to keep track of exactly what's being done, even if one pays attention. ordinary kiwis have no idea that our government is killing off science funding

Health Minister Simeon Brown on health imperatives. My #cartoon today #HealthCare #NZpol

"Every month waiting is another month families pay more," says Chlöe Swarbrick, as energy bills and living costs continue to climb.

Parties play political football, holding back ready-made solar solution to cost of living

newsroom.co.nz

Last week the Luxon government admonished councils for using precautionary climate projections in their planning decisions. In the #ClimateCrisis. 'I feel sick': Kaikoura residents fear repeat of 1993 floods www.rnz.co.nz/news/weather...

Weather live: Road closures as heavy rain, snow cause disruption in South Island

Follow our liveblog above for the latest updates

rnz.co.nz