We are at crisis point. My plan to take action.

The Climate Emergency

We are at a crisis point. The climate and ecological emergency demands urgent action and requires us to change the way we do things.

The climate emergency is a health emergency and the effects on people are being experienced unequally. It is also a housing emergency, with many people living in cold, bad and insecure housing. We need to address social injustice alongside the climate crisis and move to a sustainable way of living which is fair for everyone.

We need to cut carbon emissions from our homes, businesses and travel. Hackney Council’s current ambition is to be net-zero by 2040.

I will urgently bring the target forward to 2030 to avoid the risk of going over a 1.5C rise in global temperatures.

IMG WA

As Mayor, I also commit to:

  • Tell the truth about our impact and the overall carbon impact of decisions
  • Use all powers to reduce our impact, such as through the services we buy, to reduce the carbon footprint of all activities
  • Listen to residents and respect the expertise of community groups like Sustainable Hackney
  • Holding a more regular, more powerful, wider reaching Citizen’s Assembly supported by a network of community panels to be accountable to residents, to be transparent about the challenges and to work with you to find solutions
  • Identifying opportunities to invest in green jobs and transforming our economy to focus on wellbeing (not consumption, waste and short-term profit)
  • Work with partners such as local businesses to ensure that everyone in Hackney is signed up to our 2030 ambition
  • Calling for the government to do more – this is a global crisis demanding a global response.

It is deeply saddening to already see the impacts of climate breakdown through floods and heatwaves with impacts on our homes and health. Whilst prioritising action to reduce our impact, I will also prioritise activity to prepare for climate risks such as improving our buildings (for example schools and hospitals) and implementing improved drainage systems.

Addressing the climate and ecological emergency is one of my top priorities and will be considered in all decisions I make. You will see this reflected throughout the work I do and all other areas of policy.

My Plan for Hackney

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