Engineers For Social Responsibility
Submissions
From time to time ESR makes submissions to Local Bodies or to Government, on issues of concern. These submissions are listed here and can be accessed for perusal.
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Submission in response to proposed changes in NZ ETS Regulations 2025 This submission relates to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) consultation document, Proposed changes to the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) regulations 2025. In this document the MfE raises a number of specific issues. But we consider that there are also much more important steps that need to be taken so that we can… Read more
Effect of AM Network closure on disaster communications Letter to Hon. Mark Mitchell, Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery, on effect of AM network closure on disaster communications Read more
ESR Submission to Parliament on Traffic Congestion Charging ESR made a submission to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee of Parliament on the Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill 2025 to sensitively support the use of congestion charging in a way that doesn't penalise the poor Read moreMembers’ Papers and Media
From time to time ESR members prepare papers that provide useful guidance on particular topics, or invite us to attend and view webinars from like-minded organisations. Opinions provided in members’ papers and video media do not represent the official viewpoint of ESR.
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Recent Event: Quantifying the contribution of climate change to extreme weather events When an extreme heat wave, torrential downpour, or massive wildfire occurs, how do we know whether and how much of a role climate change played? Resilient River Communities hosted this presentation by Dr. Kristina Dahl on 16th December, covering the basics of climate attribution science. Read more
Browse ESR’s YouTube channel Discover ESR on YouTube — your gateway to visionary insights and boundary‑pushing ideas. Dive into sharp analysis and content that challenges the status quo. Subscribe now — inspiration for your next engineering breakthrough could be just one video away. Read more
Join the conversation on LinkedIn Join the movement with Engineers for Social Responsibility on LinkedIn! Be part of a community by sharing ideas, sparking dialogue, and championing ethical innovation. Connect now - we welcome your contribution to thought leadership on technological issues that will have an impact on our environment and society. Read moreNewsletters
We publish a Newsletter from time to time, with news of ESR activities, articles and discussion on topics of interest.
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April 2026 CONTENTS: The Russia-Ukraine energy shock: Why geopolitics demands a clean energy shift - Iran war shatters Trump Administration's case for fossil fuels - Climate Challenge: A Decade After Paris Agreement - How extreme weather is leaving thousands of homes uninsurable - The Guardian view on EV charging: China took the right lessons from Britain’s past… Read more
February 2026 CONTENTS - schools, airports, high-rise towers: architects urged to get ‘bamboo-ready’ - first global hybrid renewables project - farmers are producing record crops despite droughts and floods - an data centres slake their insatiable thirst for water? - inside the battle to power AI - US exit of key UN climate treaty criticized as self-sabotage… Read more
November 2025 CONTENTS - Three Sobering Charts - Shanghai’s Underwater Data Centre - Transforming Africa’s food system with renewable energy - Australia's clean power push - EU agrees weakened climate target for COP30 - How sickly forests are felling Europe's climate ambitions - Solar Geoengineering Read moreClimate Fact Sheets
Engineers for Social Responsibility and the Sustainable Energy Forum are concerned about the consequences of human-induced climate change and global warming and the need for widespread understanding of the facts and underlying science. Our combined organisations have prepared a series of discussion sheets and further papers will be published soon. Each paper is peer reviewed by top professionals with specialist knowledge about the topic being described.
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Global Climate Change from a Pacific Islands’ Perspective Pacific island countries and people have many mutually reinforcing perspectives on global climate change. Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) are minor emitters of greenhouse gases. Still, they are on the frontline to experience the many serious, adverse consequences of the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Read moreThe Carbon Cycle – Towards Becoming Carbon Neutral Early chemists believed that organic compounds were fundamentally different because they contained a vital force that was only found in living systems. In fact, the common elements in all organic compounds are hydrogen and carbon. Read more
Climate Change – Living in a Warmer World Planet Earth has experienced large shifts in climate over time. In the depths of the last Ice Age, around 20,000 years ago, average temperatures were about 5°C lower than they are today. It looks now as though global warming is likely to heat up the world between 2 and 6°C by the year 2100. Read more