May Workstream Overview
Biotech
Our biotechnology workstream is a carefully considered look at what modern genetic technologies could (not should) mean for Aotearoa. It is not an attempt to guide legislation or set out a stall for a particular view on what technologies, if any, we adopt here. This work has been done by PwC, who listened to a huge range of expert voices, as they looked into possible te ao Māori implications plus community impacts, economic consequences and what the adoption of a range of genetic technologies may or may not mean for nature and climate.
The report on Phase One is nearly complete. This phase considered case studies of a small number of genetic technologies and we expect to hold a launch event in late May. The second phase of this work will look at Action Pathways which will identify next steps and in what order these would need to happen.
Energy and Transport
Both the Energy and Transport Sector Climate Scenarios have been happening in parallel, with Energy managed by PwC and Transport by KPMG. Both reports are in the final stages of preparation and in the spirit of partnership we celebrate at The Circle, these two “big four” companies are meeting to discuss the content in both reports and examine interdependencies between the sectors.
We anticipate being able to release these reports in June.
Natural Capital Regional Resilience
This exciting and large-scale workstream will be a first-in-the-world attempt to take a systems approach to understanding the links between nature and society in a particular region, and then what climate change will do to that region. The region chosen for this work is Bay of Plenty and we are in the process of selecting co-chairs from the area to guide the work with PwC.
There are several factors which add to the complexity and challenge of this workstream. Firstly, the past is no longer a good predictor for the future, given the rapidity of change caused by the twin crises in climate and nature. And a second factor is understanding where the tipping points are – at what threshold do certain economic activities become unviable?
There are a large number of parties we need to collaborate with to make sure this work is as good as it can be. With that in mind, we anticipate this report will take much of 2024 to produce, but we will keep you up to date on progress in this newsletter.
If you are based in the Bay of Plenty and interested in learning more, please get in touch