New Zealand, A Diverse Island Nation Abstract Ben Croft, Department of Chemistry, UNC Asheville bcroft@unca.edu New Zealand is a developed country with a GDP per capita of 41,555.83 USD in 2013. This country is a forerunner on the world stage in the field of renewable energy. They generated 40 % of their energy from renewable resources in 2015. They have a Cfb type climate primarily, with a diverse geography. Mountains, coasts, rolling hills, and cliff sides make up only a part of the geography of New Zealand. New Zealand is making a large effort in helping to fight against and adapt to the impacts of climate change through law and policy, developing decision-support tool and adaptation methods, and through land and water protection and management. Economy History New Zealand was first inhabited by the Polynesians, in particular the Maori tribe as well as the Moriori tribe. The first man to inhabit New Zealand, from the Maori legends, was a man name Kupe, who used the stars and ocean currents to travel to NZ from an island called Hawaiki. The Moriori tribe had a peaceful philosophy while the Maori were a more warlike group of people. This led to inevitable conflict resulting in the decline of the Moriori tribe until there were none left in NZ. The first European to discover NZ was a Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. The introduction of European weapons (guns) led to a steep decline of the Maori population due to their own intertribal warfare, as well as the introduction to European diseases. The major legislation that is identified as their founding document was the Treaty of Waitangi which had three main articles: 1. The queen or king of Great Britain has the right to rule over New Zealand; 2. The Maori chiefs would keep their land and their chieftainships and would agree to sell the land only to the British monarch; 3. All Maori would have the same rights as British subjects. Conflict ensued after the signing of this treaty because the Maori people did not understand the treaty that they were signing, they thought that they were allowing the British to use their land versus giving over sovereignty to the British. The Waitangi Tribunal was set up in 1975 to rectify the fact that many of the rights of the Maori, which were given to them in the treaty of Waitangi, were being ignored. New Zealand has a free-market based economy and is one of the easiest nations in the world to start a business in. Their GDP per capita is very similar to the United States showing that they are a well off developed nation. Through these graphs, it can be seen that NZ is currently going through a recession right now as their GDP is decreasing as well as their GDP per Capita. In 2013 their GDP was 185.8 billion with a GDP per capita of 41,555 USD. New Zealand relies heavily on trade in their economy with exports making up about 30% of their GDP. Manufacturing and services sectors complement a highly efficient export-oriented agricultural sector. Historically, NZ’s economy was one of the most regulated in the OECD (organization for economic cooperation and development) but recent legislature (in the past 50 years) has made it one of the least regulated. NZ’s primary industries are agricultural, horticultural, forestry, mining, and fishing. Renewable Energy Use Climate New Zealand’s renewable resources contribute to a major portion, about 80%, of their electricity production and in 2013 had sources 40% of its total energy from renewable resources. The primary renewable resources that NZ uses are hydroelectricity, geothermal, wind, bioenergy, solar, and marine. NZ also has a large renewable primary energy supply and in 2014 reported having 56% geothermal, 24% hydro, 17% bioenergy, and 2% wind. Climate Impacts Adaptation New Zealand signed the Paris Agreement in 2016, planning to reduce emissions by 30% which would bring their CO2 emission below 2005 levels by 2030. They plan to accomplish this by creating a financial incentive for businesses to reduce their contribution to the total amount of greenhouse gases produced, requiring them to pay for the amount of emissions they produce. By providing a financial benefit for foresters to grow trees, they create a positive financial benefit for businesses to use a natural, green method to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the air. NZ also wants to invest more in research and education about climate change to get like-minded people together to work on the issue of climate change and how we can reduce it and its impacts. NZ also wants to make their agricultural section more efficient as agriculture contributes to the majority of their greenhouse gas emissions. New Zealand has a very diverse climate with four Koppen climate classifications, ET, Dfc, Cfc, and Cfb. They have an average yearly rainfall (blue) of about 50 inches per year and an average temperature (red) of around 12 degrees C. CO2 Emissions Indigenous Peoples New Zealand has a group of indigenous peoples known as the Maori. The Maori peoples have many individual tribes among them, giving them a diverse culture. The Maori peoples migrated to New Zealand from their ancestral home of Hawaiki in the Polynesian islands around 1000 years ago, making them the first inhabitants of New Zealand. Conclusion This is a graph comparing the amount of CO2 emitted in metric tons per capita by New Zealand (blue) and the United States (red). In comparing the two, it can be clearly seen that NZ emits much less CO2 into the atmosphere per capita than the US This is a graph comparing the amount of CO2 emitted by New Zealand (blue) and the United States (red) in kilotons. This graph clearly displays that NZ is a nation that produces much less CO2 compared to the US. New Zealand contributes only 0.16% of CO2 to the global CO2 emissions New Zealand is a developed country that has a very diverse climate/geography. This nation has indigenous peoples called the Maori with many individual tribes. New Zealand is a nation that cares about our planet as they sourced 80% of their electricity from renewable resources, with 40% of their total energy coming from renewable resources. New Zealand has a temperate climate with an average temperature of around 12 degrees Celsius, and a diverse geography with mountains, cliff sides, coasts, as well as rolling hills and plains. This country is rich in natural resources, primarily geothermal energy, which provides a large portion of their renewable energy production.