We’ve Lost a Gentleman Warrior for the Environment

Rod Oram had a heart attack while cycling. He came off his bike, was taken to hospital, but died three days later. He was 73. His family said that he “passed peacefully” surrounded by family.

Rod Oram studied politics and journalism before earning a master’s degree in journalism. His early career with the Financial Times spanned 18 years (1979-1997) as an editor and writer based in London and New York. In total, he was a journalist for over 40 years.

In 1997, he moved to New Zealand with his family. In 2007, his book on the New Zealand Economy, Reinventing Paradise, was published. Rod belonged to St. Andrews Church, Epsom, where he was a diocesan and general synod representative. He also gave a keynote speech at the 2015 SOFiA Conference on The Theology of Economics, and quoted Gus Speth, “I used to think that the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy… and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation…and we scientists don’t know how to do that.”

In 2014, Rod was central to the Anglican General Synod’s decision to divest all its investments in the fossil fuel industry.

Rod has been the recipient of numerous awards. He has attended many global climate conferences and had already booked his ticket for the next one in Azerbaijan. His reporting has reflected an increasing urgency, summed up in his final column on March 1, “Doing what we're doing, just a bit better or a tad faster, dooms us to failure."

He described his recent work as explaining complex issues "the best I can in order to encourage people not to give up," especially on the task of "boldly and deeply" cutting emissions. He will be sadly missed.