London Borough of Camden

"RESOLVED –Camden Council notes that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on global heating, published in October 2018, describes the enormous harm that a 2°C rise is likely to cause compared with 1.5°C. The report confirms that limiting global warming to 1.5°C is needed and may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities and others to cut carbon emissions dramatically in the years before 2030.This Council recognises that the climate and ecological emergency will impact on the whole world, but its worst effects will be felt in countries that are among the poorest and least able to adapt. This includes, but is by no means limited to, Bangladesh and Somalia, countries with which Camden has strong links. Fighting climate change is therefore a matter of international social justice as well as of environmental concern.Given this, Camden Council welcomes the work of the Camden’s Citizens’ Assembly on the climate and ecological crisis held this summer. It extends its thanks to the citizens for their time and energy participating in the assembly.This Council will commit new resources in order to develop the assembly’s proposals into a Climate Action Plan for Camden that will define our response to what is now a climate and ecological emergency.This Council recalls the importance attached to cutting carbon dioxide emissions in Camden since at least 2010, when it appointed Camden’s first ever cabinet member for sustainability and adopted Camden’s 10-year Green Action for Change programme.The Council further recalls the extent and range of its overall work, including:- the creation of the Camden Climate Change Alliance business network in 2008 which is still thriving and is now open to schools;- the establishment of Somers Town Energy, which supplies low-carbon heating to over 500 council homes and a local school and also generates low-carbon electricity;- the adoption of the highest sustainability standards for new buildings in Camden, including in the council’s own projects;- the creation of the Camden Climate Fund, which allows local people and organisations to apply for funds to cut carbon in their homes and offices;- the recent schools ‘Sustainers’ group, who are challenging the Council, Camden schools, and other organisations to go further and faster.This Council notes that during the Green Action for Change period Camden’s borough-wide Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (from heating and powering buildings, and road transport in Camden) have reduced by 38% since 2010 and are on track to reach our 40% reduction target by 2020. Given the status of the emergency, this Council agrees with the need for a stronger target to support national carbon reduction and help to avoid climate breakdown. We also acknowledge the need to work with our citizens to reduce Camden’s Scope 3 (indirect) emissions which can be reduced significantly by informed consumer choice and business supply chain improvements.This Council therefore acknowledges that the scale of the current emergency, and the urgent need to make sure we stay below 1.5 degrees of warming globally, means we need to go further and faster in the next 12 years.This Council formally:a) declares a climate and ecological emergency;b) commits the Council to take the action it can to make Camden net zero carbon by 2030, taking forward the recommendations[1] of the Camden Climate Emergency Citizens’ Assembly to achieve this, ensuring that Camden’s citizens, businesses, and local organisations are fully involved in the mission to reduce carbon, and pursuing climate action measures with energy and dedication;c) commits the Council to tell the truth to Camden citizens about the scale and seriousness of the emergency;d) commits the Council to press the Government to take as much action as it can and for it to be similarly upfront about the extent of the emergency;e) commits to produce a new ecological plan for Camden to sustain and improve biodiversity in Camden;f) encourages all citizens, businesses, and organisations or groups in the borough of Camden to join with the Council to cut carbon, and to protect and improve biodiversity, in order to avert impending catastrophe."[1] *Recommendations of the Camden Citizens’ Assembly on the Climate and Ecological EmergencyHome• Encouraging low-carbon dietary choices.• Making all new homes ‘zero carbon’.• Creating more green space on residential streets.• Fitting solar panels on as many homes as possible.• Campaigning to make CO2 reduction fun.Neighbourhood• Planting more trees and creating more allotments.• Piloting a community energy heating scheme.• Installing more ‘segregated’ cycle lanes.• Promoting and trialling car free zones and days.• Enabling electric transport with infrastructure and incentives.• Developers to fund energy efficiency retrofits of old buildings.Council• Establishing a Climate Emergency scrutiny panel made up of experts and residents.• All council properties to be fossil-fuel free.• Planting trees and retaining public spaces.• Improving council communications and engagement on the climate crisis.• Mobilising existing community groups to work on tackling the climate crisis.• Greening the Council’s operations.

— Full Council (Source)