Islington Labour councillors have announced a bold commitment to further cut carbon emissions in the borough to achieve a net zero carbon Islington by 2030.
The pledge comes in a motion declaring an environment and climate emergency that the Labour Group has submitted to Islington Council’s Full Council meeting that will be held on 27th June.
The declaration follows a United Nation’s report on climate change that found that the world has until 2030 to prevent an increase in global temperatures above 1.5˚C, at which point the impact of global warming will have devastating impacts on the planet and people’s lives.
Islington is already at forefront of efforts to reduce carbon emissions, with the borough on track to reduce emissions by 40% by 2020 (from 2005 levels).
But Islington Labour is determined to go further and faster in pushing Islington Council to reduce harmful carbon emissions where it has responsibility, and in urging others – such as private businesses and the government – to do their bit to help tackle climate change.
Cllr Claudia Webbe, Islington Labour’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said:
“The environment and climate emergency demands bold action and I am proud that Islington Labour is leading the charge to tackle climate change. Cutting carbon emissions and protecting our planet is fundamentally about fairness, and we are committed to making Islington a fairer place for all.
“Thanks to our leadership, Islington Council is already delivering massive reductions in carbon emissions in the borough, but we need everyone to pick up the pace. Committing to achieving a net carbon zero Islington by 2030 is an important step forward.
“However, ongoing Tory cuts to the Council make tackling the climate emergency more difficult, and there are many aspects of how this challenge will need to be met that are out of the control of the Council. We also need the Government to take the bold action that is needed at a national level, and for funding and legal powers to be provided to councils to deliver the changes that are needed to tackle the climate emergency.
“But we are determined to do all that we can to achieve this ambition and to work with others in the borough to cut carbon emissions.”
Under Islington Labour’s leadership, Islington Council has already:
- Insulated cavity walls, replaced boilers, carried out loft insulation work and installed solar panels in the Council’s buildings and homes saving over 9,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
- Replaced all streetlights in the borough with more efficient LED versions, reducing carbon emissions by the equivalent to removing almost 1,000 cars from the road each year.
- Connected 800 homes, two leisure centres and offices to the Bunhill District Heat Network, a ground-breaking scheme that uses waste heat to deliver more efficient, cheaper and greener energy to local people, and work is ongoing to deliver a new energy centre that will extract waste heat from the London Underground to supply a further 1,000 homes.
Following a commitment in the Islington Labour 2018 Local Elections Manifesto, Islington Council’s Pension Fund has also made bold moves to decarbonise its investments by reducing the fund’s exposure to carbon emissions by more than half, reducing the fund’s equities’ exposure to fossil fuel reserves by more than three quarters and decarbonising the fund’s holdings in other asset classes.
In total, carbon emissions in the borough have fallen from 1,186,100 tonnes in 2005 to 761,000 tonnes in 2016 (the latest government figures that are available) – a reduction of 36%.
Islington Labour’s motion to Full Council, which can be read in full here, commits the Council to making representations to government about the need for additional resources and legal powers to support the action needed to tackle the climate emergency. Achieving a net zero carbon Islington will require the Council to work with partners across the borough and for reducing carbon emissions to be embedded in all relevant Council decision-making.
Recognising the important role local people can play in helping Islington to achieve this ambitious target, the motion proposes that:
- The Council publishes, on an annual basis, details of carbon emissions reduction interventions the Council is delivering and commissioning, including the progress these actions are delivering in reducing the tonnage of carbon emissions in the borough.
- Local people are able to contribute to the formulation and scrutiny of the strategic actions needed to address the environment and climate emergency by consulting on proposals and by organising an annual ‘Tackling the Environment and Climate Emergency’ meeting, hosted by the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee, in addition to the wide-range of existing opportunities for local people to make representations to the Council.
- A report is brought to Full Council on 27th February 2020 setting out what strategic actions the Council is taking to address the environment and climate emergency, including plans and milestones to achieve emissions reductions within the Council’s control, and to share details of representations being made to other institutions to achieve reductions in emissions outside of the Council’s direct control.
A rally will be held on the steps of the Town Hall from 6.30pm on Thursday 27th June ahead of the Full Council meeting to support the calls for declaring a climate emergency and achieving a net zero carbon Islington by 2030 – local residents are invited to attend the rally.