Otago Daily Times: Study finds plant-based diet could save climate
Article on research showing the emissions reductions, health benefits, and health cost savings which could be achieved from NZ moving to a plant-based diet, with comments from study author and OraTaiao member Jono Drew and OraTaiao Co-convenor Dr Alexandra Macmillan. "Fortunately, foods that are health-promoting tend also to be those that are climate friendly." Read here.
Newshub: Schools' climate change resource right about meat - study
Interview with OraTaiao Co-convenor Dr Alexandra Macmillan on the impact of diet and food production on greenhouse gas emissions. Watch/read here.
Stuff.co.nz: Plant-based diets a 'win-win' for health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions - study
Article on the emissions reductions, health benefits, and health cost savings which could be achieved from NZ moving to a plant-based diet, with comments from OraTaiao Co-convenor Dr Alexandra Macmillan. Read here.
NZ Herald: Plant-based diet: The case to help slash emissions and save billions
Article on the the emissions reductions, health benefits, and health cost savings which could be achieved from NZ moving to a plant-based diet, with comments from study author and OraTaiao member, Jono Drew and OraTaiao Co-convenor, Dr Alexandra Macmillan. Read here.
Healthy and Climate-Friendly Eating Patterns in the New Zealand Context
Article by Jono Drew, Dr Alexandra Macmillan and Anja Mizdrak. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol 128, No 1, 22 January 2020. Read here.
Emissions Trading Reform
OraTaiao submission, 17 January 2020
It is encouraging to see a cap on emissions units, a sinking lid mechanism and the phasing out of industrial allocation of free units incorporated into the draft Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Bill.
"We remain concerned however about the ongoing delay in integration of agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme, the slow phase down of free units to industry and the lack of a mechanism to recycle revenue from the sale of New Zealand Units to support a low carbon transition for those most likely to be impacted by the changes - low income, Māori and Pacific households."
Read full submission here (PDF). This submission is endorsed by the New Zealand Medical Association, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa / New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), the Public Health Association of New Zealand, and the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine.
Newly appointed climate change commission a crucial step with major expertise gap
MEDIA STATEMENT, 18 December 2019
The newly appointed climate change commission is an important step towards New Zealand being able to put the necessary policies in place to protect our health and wellbeing from climate change, but it lacks the full expertise to bring about the transformative change that New Zealand needs to meet its climate change commitments to ensure our safety and well-being into the future, according to Dr Alexandra Macmillan, Co-convenor, OraTaiao: NZ Climate and Health Council.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill
OraTaiao submission, 11 December 2019
"The significance of climate disruption for the mental health and well-being of those alive today and for future generations simply cannot be ignored. A focus on the climate crisis thus needs to be highlighted in legislation defining the Commission’s role."
Read full submission here.
Should health professionals participate in civil disobedience in response to the climate change health emergency?
Viewpoint by Dr Hayley Bennet, Dr Alexandra Macmillan, Dr Rhys Jones, and Dr Alison Blaiklock with Prof John Mcmillan. The Lancet, Vol 395, 25 January 2020. Read here (PDF).
Climate medicine: our changing climate and health inequity in New Zealand
Article by Cameron Toogood. New Zealand Medical Students Journal, Issue 29, November 2019. Read here.