Our Mission
The 1point5 Project aims to focus and amplify the voices of those working towards a 1.5°C world. This not-for-profit is generously supported by Temple and various generous souls who have contributed time, money and skills.
Our Story
One morning in 2018, Paul woke up and read an article in The Guardian about the loss of biodiversity triggered by climate change. This was a penny-drop moment to the seriousness of climate change and the inadequacy of the actions being taken to avoid the worst outcomes.
In addition he observed that in many cases people were confused about what actions would have the most impact. He wanted to know what people could focus on to really make a difference.
Paul decided to use the same skills he uses in his day job to analyse New Zealand’s emissions and identify the most pragmatic path to the 1.5°C future that New Zealand has committed to under the Zero Carbon Act of 2019.
Paul’s diagnostic analysis explored current New Zealand emissions and took into consideration available
To achieve a 1.5°C world, Paul’s analysis showed that New Zealand must reduce its carbon-equivalent emissions by around 60% from 2020 levels by 2030. Doing this requires, amongst other things, the almost complete decarbonisation of road transport by 2030. All paths to 1.5°C are difficult but the analysis suggests this is the least hard of a bunch of hard options for New Zealand. And its achievable if New Zealand deploys a pick-n-mix of solutions that already exist around the world today.
The 1point5 Project shouldn’t be needed and let’s hope that soon it won’t be. Like other issues of public importance such as smoking or drink driving, ideally there would be a government initiative that would communicate the scale and timing of emissions’ reductions that New Zealand will need to deliver. But there isn’t. Such a recommendation is coming from the good people at Climate Change Commission in late 2020/early 2021 and the government will respond in late 2021. By then another two years will have passed, companies will have invested in diesel cars with twenty year lives, gas assets with thirty year lives, roads with fifty year lives and we’ll have locked in emissions that might otherwise be stopped.
So our job is to raise awareness of the scale and rate of change needed until such time as the government fills the gap. The 1point5 Project is a public place for this research and related resources that we hope will help focus the efforts of change agents on the stuff that makes a difference, and amplify their voices by helping them better understand New Zealander’s sentiment around climate change
Paul is often asked to present to and support leading NGOs, company boards and management teams and has delivered and tested the analysis in dozens of workshops and seminars in New Zealand over 2019 and 2020. The work continues to evolve as new information becomes available.
Our research and additional support is available to help focus and amplify their voices of individuals or groups targeting a 1.5°C world.
Please check out the Resources page and Contact us if we can help.
Dr. Paul Winton
Paul Winton has a PhD in engineering, is a former McKinsey & Company consultant and a founder of Temple Capital Investment Specialists. His day job is to advise funds and corporates on investments and acquisitions, typically in industries undergoing or on the cusp of disruptive change.
For the past year he has been working on identifying the most pragmatic path for New Zealand to meet its obligations under a 1.5°C scenario as outlined in the Zero Carbon Act of 2019.