Current incinerator in Edmonton

• I CONGRATULATE the Camden New Journal for your important Eco 2023 issue of January 5, which shone a light on the many initiatives we should all be taking to help tackle climate change and protect our planet for future generations.

In Camden none of these initiatives is more important than the action the council can – and must – take to meet its target of becoming a carbon-neutral borough by 2030.

This is no easy challenge, but I welcome the progress the council has already made to cut traffic, which has markedly reduced carbon emissions across Camden.

However, emissions across the borough are still much higher than they should be and urgent action is needed from the council now to address this.

First, as you pointed out in your special issue, the installation of new gas boilers will be banned in the United Kingdom from 2025, so it makes no sense at all that Camden intends to fit new gas boilers in several of its estates before then, including the Holly Lodge estate and the Alexandra and Ainsworth estate.

It is essential that gas boilers are phased out across all Camden Council estates and replaced with low-carbon alternatives as soon as possible, not only to meet our climate commitments but to save residents money on energy bills over the longer term.

While I was a councillor I had worked with Cllr Siân Berry to call on the council to undertake a feasibility study to explore the costs and benefits of installing low-carbon alternatives to gas boilers across all Camden Council estates, including heat pumps and solar panels. This is something that needs to be taken forward as a matter of urgency.

Secondly, the council’s CIP, community investment programme, takes a demolition-first approach. Camden’s own figures show that over the last 10 years, CIP projects have generated almost 1.3million tonnes of waste in relation to excavation, and nearly an additional 400,000 tonnes of waste in relation to construction and demolition.

But there are viable alternatives to demolition, including renovation, refurbishment, and retrofit, which avoids waste to landfill and many of the environmental impacts of new construction. Camden must look to these as models for the future.

Lastly, and regrettably, last year the council signed the contract for the North London Waste Authority’s new incinerator in Edmonton, which is expected to generate 700,000 tonnes of CO2 each year, directly contradicting its climate commitments and net-zero targets.

In a climate emergency we should not be burning our rubbish. The incinerator is due to start operating from 2025, so I would urge the council to pause the project until an adequate impact assessment has been carried out to properly look at its environmental and social impact.

If Camden is serious about becoming a carbon-neutral borough by 2030, it must take action to phase out its gas boilers, to refurb rather than demolish its estates, and to find alternatives to waste incineration.

LORNA JANE RUSSELL
Former Camden Councillor, Green Party