The Hackney Green Party welcomes this opportunity for residents and organisations to contribute to the formation of Hackney’s Climate Action Plan. It is great news that the council is taking this issue seriously: it is the biggest and most important challenge of our age.
We agree with much of the draft Climate Action Plan. But in our in-depth response to the consultation, Hackney Green Party members have highlighted some key points that we think are missing, and that are really important to making this plan a success. We call for the plans to include:
- Goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) and a comprehensive framework to monitor progress.
- More targeted support for those identified to be most at risk from the impacts of the climate emergency.
- A new role of biodiversity officer at the council, and details about their responsibilities and powers.
- Acknowledgement of embedded carbon in existing buildings, an important factor in development and regeneration plans.
- A commitment to fully divest the council’s pension fund from fossil fuel companies.
- A commitment to reduce overall road traffic, not just a shift towards electric cars – which also cause dangerous air pollution and traffic, and are often powered by electricity generated by fossil fuels. Hackney Greens have proposed a target of 40% fewer traffic miles driven on the borough’s roads by 2026.
- A commitment from the council to do everything possible to meet the new World Health Organisation targets for clean air on every street in the borough.
- Measures to genuinely listen to residents and respect the expertise of community groups. This includes holding regular and localised Citizens’ Assemblies to tackle the climate emergency, as promised in Hackney Labour’s most recent manifesto.
- Adverts for fast fashion and other polluting and carbon-intensive industries to be banned on council-owned advertising sites.
So many Hackney residents are already taking steps in their own homes, businesses and communities to make sure Hackney plays its part in averting the worst climate emergency impacts. But individual action can only take us so far. Hackney Council has a huge part to play in reducing the borough’s overall emissions, and it is vitally important that as many residents as possible respond to this consultation – taking the opportunity to reimagine our borough, our communities and our lives for the better.
I’d like to take a moment to thank Hackney Green Party members for participating in the process to scrutinise these plans and help in formulating this response, as well as all of the hard work put in by council officers, councillors and others in preparing the draft Climate Action Plan.
Together we can make this plan a success and deliver the Fairer, Greener Hackney we all want to see.
Councillor Alastair Binnie-Lubbock
Notes
Hackney Green Party members have scrutinised the report and have come up with the this list of suggested responses to the questions in the consultation.
Download our comments and suggestions here
You can respond to the consultation yourself here
https://consultation.hackney.gov.uk/public-realm/climate-action-plan-consultation/
Deadline is 10th January 2023