• AT the hustings held for the Fortune Green and West Hampstead ward on April 7, Labour candidates said that the council has a costed plan in place for tackling the climate crisis but could not afford to implement it.

This presumably refers to the proposed programme of work to retrofit council homes which will reduce carbon emissions created in the borough by 8 per cent.

Unfortunately the council has no plan in place for reducing the other 92 per cent of carbon emissions that the borough is responsible for, let alone the “consumption” emissions which are at least four times as much.

Camden Council could make a dramatic difference to carbon emissions at an achievable cost by cutting waste, building with low-carbon materials, holding developers to zero-carbon requirements, reforming its procurement of goods and services, and rolling out a public information campaign to explain to residents and businesses what they can do. This would reduce more carbon emissions than a “costed plan” it cannot afford.

The council could treat the climate crisis as a crisis and use emergency funds to kick-start an immediate retrofit programme.

Instead Camden prefers to do nothing now because its plan is “unaffordable”.

Labour’s election pledges will have a negligible impact on Camden’s carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

The trees Camden intends to plant will eventually be good for local biodiversity but they do not account for trees lost. Their own tree stats show the council felled more than it planted from 2009/10 to 2020/2021.

Camden could make a much larger reduction in incinerated biomass and greenhouse gas emissions by reducing pollarding and protecting our mature trees.

The expansion of cycling is good for a number of reasons, but the reduction in carbon emissions resulting from current schemes is small; 400 electric car chargers will not make a significant impact.

Camden needs to focus more on improving public transport to enable more people to reduce car use.

The May 5 local elections are an opportunity to elect councillors who will do more than continue the council’s current approach of business-as-usual.

Please ask candidates for their detailed plans to tackle climate and ecological emergency and vote for those who give you answers that show they understand the need for urgent actions that will make a difference.

CLIMATE EMERGENCY CAMDEN
www.climateemergencycamden.org