MEDIA STATEMENT, 18 November 2021

Was NZ-Aotearoa’s appearance at the world’s climate conference COP26 our nuclear-free moment? “Definitely not,” said OraTaiao Co-convenor Dr Dermot Coffey, “but the good news is that the government can vastly improve on its COP26 failings by putting in place an emissions reduction plan that achieves a healthier, more resilient and more equitable Aotearoa.”

Be braver about climate change, New Zealand. Dr George Laking. The Spinoff, 29 October 2021.

Seven health professional organisations groups have written an open letter to Jacinda Ardern ahead of COP26, demanding a huge increase in Aotearoa’s international climate contribution. OraTaiao Exec member Dr George Laking writes, "Human-induced climate change is the number one threat to health this century. Many people are used to thinking of health as cancer and other chronic conditions. But the things that truly decide health are such basic matters as a food supply and political stability, that in turn depend on the environment." Read here. 

Seven health professional organisations (OraTaiao, the College of Nurses Aotearoa, New Zealand Nurses Organisation, New Zealand Medical Association, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists) have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Ardern and the Climate Change Minister ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26, calling for a huge increase in Aotearoa’s international climate contribution, and asking to keep the capacity to limit global warming within a humanly adaptable 1.5 degrees.  

• Letter to Rt Hon Ardern - October 2021