New Zealand and Antarctica in a changing climate - where are we at, where are we going, and what do we do about it?

The changing climate is threatening everything we hold dear, increasing dangers to food production, to the availability of water, to land and to livelihoods across the globe. In the past century, humanity has become the dominant force shaping the climate system, ramping up greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. To halt climate change, emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced to zero as soon as possible. However, the necessary action has not been forthcoming and the overall response has been painfully slow, for a number of reasons. This special issue of the Journal of the Royal Society Te Aparangi addresses many of these issues, with a focus on Aotearoa New Zealand, looking at how we think about climate change and the nature and pace of our response.