Your Climate Wake-Up Call: The Moment to Act Is Now
There’s no time left for quiet concern. The climate crisis isn’t coming, it’s here. Fires, floods, shifting seasons and economic strain are already testing our resilience. But there’s another truth too: this moment holds immense opportunity for unity, innovation, and courage.
That’s the message behind Your Climate Wake-Up Call, one of the most powerful sessions of this year’s Wao Summit, taking place across Wānaka and Queenstown later this month.
The session brings together four of Aotearoa’s most inspiring climate leaders:
Dr Sean Weaver, CEO of Ekos Kāmahi Ltd, a pioneer in carbon management and climate innovation.
Dr Cathrine Dyer, an award-winning scientist and communicator focused on connecting ecosystems, climate systems, and community systems. Listen to this interview with Cathrine.
Dr Carly Green, Principal Consultant and founding director of Environmental Accounting Services (EAS), an IPCC Lead Author and one of the region’s foremost experts in greenhouse-gas estimation and land-use systems.
Monique Kelly, co-founder of Wao Aotearoa, guiding the kōrero as moderator, ensuring it’s not just a conversation, but a call to collective action.
The Immune System of the Planet
When you meet Dr Sean Weaver, CEO of Ekos Kāmahi Ltd, you quickly realise he’s not your typical climate scientist. He’s calm, grounded, and speaks less about panic and more about purpose. With decades of experience in carbon markets, regenerative economics, and environmental innovation, Sean’s focus is on designing the systems that make change inevitable, not optional.
For him, the work is deeply personal.
“I have a framed electron micrograph of a white blood cell on my wall,” he says. “It reminds me that every day a white blood cell gets up and gets on with its purpose, to protect the body. That’s how I see my work: I’m part of the immune system of the planet.”
It’s a metaphor that captures both his worldview and the spirit of the upcoming Your Climate Wake-Up Call session. This conversation isn’t about despair it’s about resilience, regeneration, and recognising that every one of us has a role to play.
Weaver believes the first and most urgent step is unity.
“Divided we will fail. United we can succeed,” he says. “We need to build bridges across divides and remind ourselves we are in this together.”
From Science to Systems
For Dr Cathrine Dyer, who blends a background in climate science and communication, the key lies in connection.
“Climate change can feel overwhelming, but every community has the power to act,” she says. “The key is turning information into action — and hope into momentum.”
As a Lecturer in Climate Change at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, Dyer focuses on making climate information practical and empowering — helping people move from awareness to action. Her talk will explore how small, everyday shifts in behaviour and local policy can add up to major progress when it comes to reducing emissions and building resilience.
“Our ecosystems don’t have borders,” Dyer explains. “The solutions must be as interconnected as the systems we’re trying to protect.”
It’s this human-centred lens that grounds the session — translating global science into local action, and helping communities like Wānaka and Queenstown see that leadership can start anywhere.
From Carbon to Courage
Dr Carly Green brings the systems perspective — combining data, policy, and pragmatic action. As Principal Consultant and founding director of Environmental Accounting Services (EAS) and an IPCC Lead Author, Carly helps governments, businesses, and communities translate climate science into measurable change. Her expertise in greenhouse-gas estimation and land-use systems has shaped how Aotearoa tracks and reduces emissions.
“Hope,” she says, “is an action word.”
Together, Dyer and Green bridge the gap between knowledge and courage, between the science of the planet and the stories of the people who live on it.
Progress, Not Perfection
Weaver’s message lands hard:
“In a climate crisis, the perfect is the enemy of the good. We need to do a whole lot of good.”
That philosophy sits at the heart of the Wao Summit, a week-long gathering built to spark real, practical progress. From regenerative farming and low-carbon building design to better business practices and local food systems, the summit connects disciplines to ignite collective change.
Ekos: Turning Carbon and Biodiversity into Action
Weaver and his team at Ekos Kāmahi Ltd are leading that charge, hosting two additional sessions that turn talk into tangible action:
Understanding Biodiversity Credits (Wānaka) — a hands-on exploration of how biodiversity credits can restore ecosystems while creating new economic opportunities for landowners and businesses.
Business Carbon Footprint Certification Workshop (Queenstown) — a deep-dive into measuring and managing emissions, designed for businesses ready to future-proof their operations.
Both sessions reinforce the same truth: climate action is not a cost, it’s an investment in resilience, community, and credibility.
From Concern to Collective Courage
So why is it still so hard to act, even when we care deeply? Weaver offers a systems-level answer:
“Responding appropriately to climate change requires systems change. Individuals can’t change entire systems, but they can support systems change. When the system changes, the average person can thrive within it.”
That’s the power of gatherings like the Wao Summit. It’s where new ideas meet shared purpose — where the local becomes global, and courage becomes contagious.
“Don’t be afraid of leadership,” Weaver urges. “Set an example for others to follow.”
This Is the Moment
The Wao Summit runs over five days, each exploring a key theme for systems change: Better Business, Better Building, Food Resilience, and Better Communities.
Sessions are selling out, proving there’s a surge of people ready to act, learn, and lead.
Whether you come for one day or the whole week, you’ll leave with something that lasts, a network, a plan, a sense of purpose.
If you’ve ever asked yourself what can I do?, this is your answer.
Join Your Climate Wake-Up Call with Sean Weaver, Cathrine Dyer, Carly Green, and Monique Kelly. Because the only wrong move now is inaction.
Join the movement. Find your wake-up call. Be part of the system that changes everything.
👉 Explore the full programme and grab your pass at wao.co.nz.