Wellington, Sept 3 NZPA - An environmental think-tank says New Zealand needs stronger leadership to cope with the impacts of climate change and peak oil.

Sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand (Sanz) says most of the present political and business leaders will not be up to managing the change.

It predicts that as economic and political institutions fail, political and corporate leaders will be unlikely to have the necessary skills and motivation.

Some will try to hang on to the past and oppose the needed shifts in society.

"That will create considerable tensions," said Professor Wayne Cartwright, editor of the think-tank's 50-page book, Strong Sustainability for New Zealand, which calls for a switch from the present course of "weak" sustainability -- mitigation and adaption to climate change.

Early decisions would need to be made in sectors of the economy dependent on fossil fuels, and patterns of international trade would also be at risk, he said.

"The current way of living cannot and will not continue -- our challenge as a people is how we respond to that."

The book argues the root of looming problems lies in an economy based on continual growth, and solutions lie in a more ethical approach that recognises the limits imposed by natural ecosystems.

"It stresses fully sustainable living and not just the mitigation of environmental damage," Prof Cartwright said.

"Our values and ethics must change -- without that change, economics won't.

Prof Cartwright, a company director and business consultant who is an adjunct professor of strategic management at Auckland University, said the shift would require strong leaders adept at managing change and with skills spanning politics and governance, local communities, science, and a new concept of economics.

"Few of our current leaders will be suitable"

But Prof Cartwright said people should not blame the present political leadership, because in a democracy the nation got the leaders it asked for, and in the corporate world it had the leaders interest groups put in place.

"The public will recognise the inadequacy of that leadership -- and require change".

Prof Cartwright said Sanz was talking with political parties, but denied that he had just produced a manifesto for a new Values Party, similar to the original incarnation in the late 1970s, which campaigned for a more ethical and "greener" nation.

"We don't have political inclinations."

The think-tank saw its report as the first step on a long road, Prof Cartwright said.

Many people were still resistant to making a big shift in lifestyles and attitudes -- "the need for it has to be much more apparent than it is today".

The report was an early warning, he said.

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