While the world is dealing with the unprecedented impacts of Covid 19, we should not lose sight of climate change and its long-term impacts on our health and economies.
So says EU Ambassador, Nina Obermaier, who will discuss Europe’s Green Deal with Catalyst Trust in Queenstown on Thursday, August 27.
Europe’s goal to be climate neutral by 2050 remains in place despite the Covid-19 crisis and Europe is looking to work with other countries, including New Zealand, to push for a greener global future.
“For some 20 years already, Europe has demonstrated that resource use can be decoupled from economic growth and this will continue. Europe will transition to a circular economy,” Mrs Obermaier says.
A key tool in this is the EU budget, with 30% of all spending committed to climate action. “But clearly Europe cannot cure climate change alone and I look forward to hearing people’s views of how countries can work together.”
Mrs Obermaier will be in Queenstown as part of her “meet the locals” introduction around New Zealand, as she arrived in the country just prior to lockdown.
During her diplomatic career, she has worked in fields from protection and crisis management to West Bank/Gaza, information society and E-government policy, Brexit negotiations and Ireland/Northern Ireland. Prior to joining the diplomatic service, she was a senior TV journalist. She will be happy to take questions on any of these subjects after her initial talk.
Her Catalyst discussion will take the form of a Kiwi soiree – with numbers capped at 30, in the Rees Hotel Queenstown’s executive penthouse and a glass of wine kindly provided by Domaine Thomson, an organic Central Otago winery that also owns vineyards in Europe.
Thursday, August 27, 6pm-7.30pm, the Rees Hotel Queenstown executive penthouse. Preregistration required on Catalyst Trust’s Eventbrite page, as numbers are strictly limited.