London,
23
July
2019
|
11:36
Europe/London

Citizens’ Assembly makes recommendations for action on the climate crisis

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    Camden Citizens' Assembly on climate change, Greenwood Resource Centre, Kentish Town.
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    Camden Citizens' Assembly on climate change, Greenwood Resource Centre, Kentish Town.
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    Camden council leader Georgia Gould. Camden Citizens' Assembly on climate change, Greenwood Resource Centre, Kentish Town.
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    Camden Citizens' Assembly on climate change, Greenwood Resource Centre, Kentish Town.
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    Camden Citizens' Assembly on climate change, Greenwood Resource Centre, Kentish Town.

Camden’s Citizens’ Assembly presented its findings and a draft of ideas to be taken forward to tackle the climate crisis at its final session held at the Greenwood Centre, Kentish Town on Saturday, 20 July 2019.

49 assembly members came to the final Assembly session to develop actions for Camden Council to consider, examining how carbon emissions can be reduced in residents’ homes, in their neighbourhood and by the council at borough-wide level.

During the session 17 ideas were developed in detail and are summarised below:

Home

  • 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.

Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet Member for a Sustainable Camden, said: “The next step is to translate these areas of focus into the community-led action and borough wide policies that are urgently needed to fight the climate crisis.

“Carbon emissions in Camden have fallen by 37% since 2010 but we can go a lot further. Camden can be a leader for the country to follow towards a zero carbon future.”

The ideas were presented to the whole Assembly and a panel of observers including Councillor Georgia Gould (Leader of Camden Council), Farhana Yamin (international climate change lawyer, Extinction Rebellion and Camden resident), Shana Tufail, (Alan Turing institute - representing Camden businesses and organisations) and Gabrielle Kennedy and Hareta Tesfay (from La Sainte Union school representing ’The Sustainers’ – Camden’s school sustainability steering group).

The ideas were developed and prioritised from over 600 individual ideas made by residents, school children, businesses and organisations including the Roundhouse, British Museum and University College Hospital. Camden residents made over 250 submissions to the online Commonplace platform, some of which contained multiple ideas.

Councillor Gould thanked the Assembly members for their participation, explaining that these ideas will now be considered at the full council meeting in October.

You can read more about the process on our website.

Photo credits: Philip Wolmuth