News

New Scientist: How should we control the power to genetically eliminate a species?

Friday, October 12, 2018

The power to re-engineer or eliminate wild species using a “gene drive” needs to be brought under international governance, say Simon Terry and Stephanie Howard Commentary, New Scientist. Thanks to a form of genetic …

A Constitutional Moment – Gene Drive and International Governance

Monday, July 30, 2018

Research into gene drives – a new form of genetic engineering to wipe out pests – has had a lot of attention, but there has been scant recognition that …

Gene Drive GMOs Would Need NZ’s Neighbours to Agree

Monday, July 30, 2018

New Zealand cannot decide to release a “gene drive” GMO on its own without a significant impact on its international relations. Research into using this new form of genetic engineering …

Gene Drives: Governance Must be International from the Start

Thursday, May 31, 2018

“Gene drive” has been heavily promoted as a “breakthrough” technology for meeting the goal of New Zealand being predator free by 2050. However even before such a gene …

Carbon Budgeting – Integrated Planning for Climate Action

Thursday, August 31, 2017

A carbon budgeting process is essential to securing serious emission reductions.  It takes targets, assesses the options, and describes an overall plan for achieving those outcomes.  The Sustainability Council …

GM Food Production Still a Story of the Americas

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

GM agriculture today is overwhelmingly just four commodity crops: soy, maize, canola and cotton account for 99%. And 97% of the GM food crops produced in 2016  were grown …

Zero Tolerance, Billion Dollar Losses

Friday, June 30, 2017

Growing GMOs before they have been approved for use in export markets continues to result in punishing consequences. Most of New Zealand’s key trading partners have zero tolerance …

The best way to resist Trump ditching Paris? Divest from fossil fuels

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Divestment provides us with a powerful way to cut our ties with this destructive industry and start moving in a new direction, says jamie Heen in The Guardian. After …

Trump’s reneging on Paris climate deal turns the US into a rogue state

Friday, June 2, 2017

Joseph Stiglitz argues in Project Syndicate that action is needed to safeguard economic progress against a prejudiced White House that rejects science and enlightened values. Trump’s reneging on Paris climate …