Tuesday, 28 November 2023 13:02

More hot air

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: If we have a confirmed government by the time you’re reading this, we should know who will be flying to Dubai on our behalf to this year’s climate change gabfest – COP28.

It will be a good junket for a newly minted MP plus a platoon of extras to jet to: it is in Dubai, so expect a lavish affair with a buffet (locally sourced food, no doubt) to die for.

Whoever goes, they will emit a ¼ tonne of CO2 per flying hour, per passenger. From Auckland to Dubai, that’s 4.25t of CO2 per person.

The UK and most EU member countries will no doubt send an army. From London to Dubai, each person will produce 1.75t of CO2. Washington DC to Dubai is 3.25t of CO2. Canberra, 4.25t.

Ex-Climate Change Minister James Shaw will be disappointed he isn’t going. In 2021 he got a bit prickly defending his trip to COP26 in Glasgow when Jamie McKay accused him of taking “a rugby team” with him (he took 15) – 68t of CO2 all up. By way of excuse, Shaw said at the time that Fiji was sending 50 people. It’s a 21hr flight from Fiji, so 50 people would have emitted 262.5t of CO2.

More like this

More bad news

OPINION: Several days after securing shareholder approval for a $130 million loan from Bright Dairy, Synlait has delivered more bad news to investors.

Code Red for National?

OPINION: Recently several Labour MPs, including leader Chris Hipkins and deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni spent two days in Waikato with representatives of DairyNZ, Beef+Lamb NZ, Federated Farmers, Groundswell and Rural Women NZ among others.

OCR pressure

OPINION: While Reserve Bank boss Adrian Orr is sticking to his 'abundance of caution' messaging, the economy is in tatters and the jungle drums beat ever louder for an OCR cut no later than November (to be clear, that's Nov 2024, not 2025!).

100-year-old milk powder

OPINION: A 100-year-old sample of milk powder from Ernest Shackletons’ first solo expedition to Antarctica has been analysed by scientists.

Featured

Keep warm, boost weight

The missing link in getting maximum weight gain in your calves may be as simple as keeping them warm, says the Christchurch manufacturer of a range of woollen covers for young livestock.

Colostrum expert turns 40

Auckland-based supplement and nutritional company New Image International is celebrating 40 years of business in their home country.

National

Passing on a farming legacy

Waiuku dairy farmers Nick and Nikki Ruygrok are passing on a dairy farming legacy to their sons that they can…

Better than feared

Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold says last week's Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction went much better than feared.

Machinery & Products

Classy triple auger layout

The growing popularity of whole-crop cereals for livestock, and in some countries as a food source for anaerobic digesters, has…

JD set to run with Skechers

Probably best known for its tractors, harvesters and farm equipment, it looks like John Deere is about to put its…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

More bad news

OPINION: Several days after securing shareholder approval for a $130 million loan from Bright Dairy, Synlait has delivered more bad…

Code Red for National?

OPINION: Recently several Labour MPs, including leader Chris Hipkins and deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni spent two days in Waikato with…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter