TedX Scott Base 2017

This week, as part of its 60-year-anniversary, Scott Base will host an independent TedX event #TedxScottBase – the remotest venue for a TedX event ever. 

TVOne News ran a full three minute segment highlighting the event in Antarctica and the connection to climate change. As the issues around climate change gain momentum in the kiwi psyche and conversation, it becomes more important for projects such as the Deep South Challenge to be part of the conversation to ensure that it’s not a doomsday story, but focusses on how New Zealand will adapt in a changing climate.

New Zealand rates well on the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index, due to a number of fortunate features: our position of the globe, away from the tropics that will experience the most extreme increases in temperature; our access to stable water supplies (although research shows New Zealand can expect some changes that will need addressing, especially in the Far North); and our status as an innovative first world country with the ability to adjust its economic platforms.  However, our success will rely on understanding the climatic changes that are on the horizon, the potential risks to our current industry practices and allowing that to inform strategic planning at many levels of society including city infrastructure and primary industry.  To this end, New Zealand has made a considerable investment by way of the Deep South National Science Challenge that brings together some of New Zealand’s top climate expertise, to develop the first New Zealand Earth System Model (NZESM) in order to provide the localised climate information and future projections.  This will allow decision makers access to potential impacts and implications of climate change, particularly in terms of climate sensitive industries and infrastructure, that will affect all of us.

While the world watches Antarctica, and TedX that will be released online this Sunday, the Deep South National Science Challenge will continue working towards better decision making for all New Zealanders in the face of changing climate.

TVOne feature – Influential visitors share their passion in Ted talk

Stay connected to the #TedXScottBase event