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One News has covered the Investing in Tomorrow report, which shows that big household savings from electrification add up to big national savings. As Dr Saul Griffith says about the $29 million day that New Zealand could save if we swapped out fossil fuel machines for electric equivalents and ran them off renewable electricity from the grid, rooftop solar and batteries: "It's nice to be able to make the carrot that large because I think it focuses the policy mind on how to get there."
He said a "wartime level of effort" is required to have a chance at mitigating the very worst effects of climate change, as set out in the Paris Agreement targets.
"This is an uncomfortable thing to say. I believe in capitalism, but you have to go faster than the free market can go. You need to replace all of the machines that burn fossil fuels faster than their actual lifetimes, with machines that don't."
On one side there's Meridian with its massive hydro scheme and array of renewable generation. And on the other there's Warren Begley with his 'power station' out the back of Formaggio's restaurant in Christchurch. Begley, a philanthropist, environmentalist and successful restaurateur, has fully embraced the Rewiring ethos and electrified as much of his own life as possible. And now he's electrifying a few more lives through a clever car ownership scheme for staff that is powered by solar, batteries and a fair bit of trust.
Read moreDownloadThe latest numbers, as at one week ago, there were 24 days of petrol and 18 days of diesel in the country. Things are looking to worsen for the foreseeable future, although an uptick in public transport use and EV purchases point to people taking things into their own hands.