• IT was great to see the special climate change edition the CNJ, produced as its first paper of 2024, packed with stories of what has already been achieved and excellent ideas that we can all implement, from the four-minute shower to ditching bottled water.

As someone who has cycled in London since the 1970s I have seen real improvements in how cyclists are treated. And, as Jon Snow pointed out recently, Camden is among the best boroughs in London to get around on your bike because of the growing range of cycle lanes.

Camden publishes annual reports on what is being done to try to tackle these issues. This came about following the first citizens’ assembly on the climate crisis and the council’s climate programme continues to be monitored by the Camden Climate Citizen Panel.

The results are there… since 2005 Camden’s carbon dioxide emissions have fallen 45 per cent. On the council’s estates and in its buildings the results are even better. Since 2010 emissions have more than halved, down by 59 per cent.

The aim? To be down by 100 per cent by 2030. It is a hugely ambitious target. Everyone living in Camden will have to play their part if it is to be achieved.

But if it had not been for the council declaring a climate emergency in 2019 this would not be happening. It is only the council that can do the really heavy lifting.

This has included doing a comprehensive energy refit to Swiss Cottage library. Air source heat pumps have been introduced at Acland Burghley secondary and Eleanor Palmer primary schools to replace their boilers. And in March 2023 Camden won £3.1million from the government to retrofit 280 of its least efficient homes.

All these initiatives came about because Labour in Camden has fought for them. Others talk about climate change, but we have acted and the results are there for the people to see.

There is much still to do, but we are on the right path.

MARTIN PLAUT, NW5