Brent Council is going to set up a Climate Assembly following its declaration of a Climate Emergency. It has launched a website to collect residents' views on what can be done in the borough.
Comments on link below should be sent in by November 17th. There were only 66 comments at the time of writing.
How
can we work together to limit climate change and its impact while
protecting our environment, our health and our wellbeing? Consider the
council, businesses and organisations, individuals.
Have
a read of how councils, businesses and other organisations, and
individuals can help limit climate change and its impact and then let us know what you think at the bottom of this page.
Climate Action at Home:
There
are 121,250 homes in Brent, of which 41% are owner occupied, 37%
private rented and 22% social rented. These contribute 43% of Brent’s
carbon emissions.
72% of these emissions are from gas and 27% is from electricity use.
Carbon emissions from households in Brent fell by 35% between 2005 and 2017.
Save energy by switching off lights and appliances when not in use and reduce, reuse and recycle your waste.
If you are lucky enough to own your own home and want to reduce your carbon emissions, you could:
Check your loft and cavity walls are properly insulated
Look into installing solar panels
Consider replacing gas boilers and hobs with greener alternatives
Install a water butt. Use the rain you collect to water your plants, clean your car and wash your windows
Household
lifestyle decisions can also make a big difference to carbon emissions.
Walking, cycling or using public transport instead of using a car will
reduce transport related emissions and improve local air quality. What
you eat, buy, wear and the choices you make about flying all have a big
impact - more about these in the About the Climate Assembly section.
Climate action in my neighbourhood:
In
our neighbourhoods other sources of carbon emissions include buildings
such as businesses, institutions and schools. These non-domestic
buildings in Brent account for 34% of our emissions, 61% of this from
electricity use 30% gas, and 9% other fuels.
Carbon emissions from non-domestic buildings in Brent fell by 41% between 2005 and 2017.
The
council is currently exploring how it can increase its support for
businesses and other institutions to help them reduce their emissions
and to help grow the green economy in Brent.
Low energy lighting,
insulation for older buildings, renewable energy systems, community
energy projects and zero carbon new development can all help reduce
carbon emissions at a neighbourhood level.
Road transport accounts
for approximately 23% of the carbon emissions in the Borough.
Reductions to transport emissions also have a major positive impact on
local air quality via non-climate related emissions such as nitrogen
dioxide and particulate matter. Driving less by walking, cycling and
taking public transport more often is the best way to reduce your carbon
emissions.
Climate Action by the Council:
Our
council buildings, street lighting and vehicle fleet contribute just 1%
to Brent’s overall emissions. Our Civic Centre is one of the greenest
buildings of its type and we have the most energy efficient street
lighting in London. We are reviewing our fleet to see how we can lower
emissions from our vehicles.
CO2 emissions from the council’s
non-housing estate and operations have seen a reduction of 56% from
April 2010 to March 19. Our target is to reduce by 60% by 2021 and we
are assessing how we can achieve net zero carbon by 2030.
FoE are doing surveys of LAs and the key issues that they have identified for Brent are:
1.
Tree cover. As a built up area we have challenges with this. At the
moment we have 3% tree cover. The best result for a comparable area is
13%. In Greater Manchester they are doing a survey of all existing trees
and identifying every potential site for planting more. Worth looking
into what they are doing and seeing if we can do the same.
2.
Transport. Planning with TFL for integrated public transport beyond the
tubes. How do we reduce car use and the space taken up by cars? This is
often a precondition for increased cycle use. Can we try out "mini
Holland" schemes like those in Walthamstow - which have reduced car use
in residential areas and not had a displacement effect onto main roads.
Can we roll out School Streets more broadly? Currently 68% of commuter
journeys are by public transport. can we get that up to 80% by 2030?
3.
Housing. At the moment 41% of Brent homes are well insulated. The
private rented sector is likely to be the main problem here and this
will require national legislation for minimum standards - which will
require a change of government. Can the council work with the GLA to
retrofit existing social housing and build new council housing to
passivhaus standards on the model of the RIBA award winning Goldsmith St
development in Norwich? Fitting solar panels and heat pumps at the same
time would help generate more renewable energy - and - because they are
right there - cut out the waste involved in transmission through the
grid. If there is a change of government this will be financed through
the Green Industrial Revolution programme.
4.
Renewable energy. Brent currently has 3 megawatts of renewable energy
available. The best similar local council areas have 28 megawatts. What
are they doing and how could we do it? Can we make sure that all public
buildings are insulated and fitted with renewable energy? Schools could
be particularly important here as an exemplar.
5.
Waste. 37% of household waste in Brent is reused, recycled or
composted. Litter is one of the most visible expressions of a wasteful
society with no collective self respect. The key thing here is to reduce
the materials at source - so there's less of it to start with.
6. Education.
We need a review of the national curriculum to make it fit for purpose
in retooling society to combat climate change. That requires a change of
government and/or a massive campaign to that effect. The LA can help
by organising cross borough insets on different aspects of
sustainability education that can be built into the limited curriculum
we have now. A review of apprenticeships available in the borough, so
there are more on the skills we need to make the transition.
This week's Brent and Kilburn Times is a special green edition - both in design and content. The North West London group editor , Ramzy Alwakeel, explains why in a rare editorial:
Tackling climate change isn't about shaming your neighbours for not
separating their plastic recycling properly. Everyone has different
amounts of energy, money, time; none of us should judge anyone else. We
are all working within an economic and political system that promotes
and rewards selfishness, and that has left many people with very little
to survive on.
But we won't recycle our way out of the climate
crisis: we need system change. Government inaction, corporate
unaccountability and collective denial mean all of us have inherited
responsibility for something that really shouldn't be our problem. It is
wrong that a handful of big businesses are responsible for the majority
of the world's toxic emissions. It is wrong that a Swedish schoolgirl
has become the face of a campaign to treat our planet better.
But
the crisis is now so bad that we must all play a part in fixing a
problem that isn't our fault. I hope this week's Times makes that clear -
and gives you some ideas.
Following Friday's world-wide schoolchildren's strike Greta Thunberg has responded to her critics on Facebook. This is what she says:
On
Friday March 15th 2019 well over 1,5 million students school striked
for the climate in 2083 places in 125 countries on all continents.
The favorite argument here in Sweden (and everywhere else…) is that it
doesn’t matter what we do because we are all too small to make a
difference. Friday’s manifestation was the biggest day of global climate
action ever, according to 350.org.
It happened because a few schoolchildren from small countries like
Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland decided not to go to school because
nothing was being done about the climate crisis. We proved that it does
matter what you do and that no one is too small to make a difference.
People keep asking me ”what is the solution to the climate crisis.” And
how do we ”fix this problem”. They expect me to know the answer.
That is beyond absurd as there are no ”solutions” within our current
systems. No one ”knows” exactly what to do. That’s the whole point. We
can’t just lower or heighten some taxes or invest in some ”green” funds
and go on like before.
Yes there are many many things that are
very good and necessary, and improves the situation. Such as solar- and
wind power, circular economy, veganism, sustainable farming and so on.
But even those are just parts of a greater picture.
We can no
longer only focus on individual and separate issues like electrical
cars, nuclear power, meat, aviation, bio fuels etc etc. We urgently need
a holistic view to adress the full sustainability crisis and the
ongoing ecological disaster. And this is why I keep saying that we need
to start treating the crisis as the crisis it is. Because only then -
and only guided by the best available science (as is clearly stated
throughout the Paris Agreement) can we together start creating the
global way forward.
But that can never happen as long as we allow
the ”yeah-but-what-about-nuclear-power-then-debate” to go on and on and
on. This is wasting our time. This is climate delayer-ism. We need to
keep a great number of thoughts in our head at same time and yet move
forward with the changes at unprecedented speed.
Nuclear power,
according to the IPCC, can be a small part of a very big new carbon free
energy solution, especially in countries and areas that lack the
possibility of a full scale renewable energy supply - even though its
extremely dangerous, expensive and time consuming. But let’s leave that
debate until we start looking at the full picture.
Some people
seem so desperate to go on with the comforts and luxuries of their every
day life that they tell others to not have any children. As children,
speaking for our little sisters and brothers, we don’t find that very
encouraging. It is not us or future generations who have created this.
And yet - once again - you blame us.
If not even the scientists,
politicians, media and the UN currently can speak up on what exactly
needs to be done to ”solve” the climate crisis (in other words,
dramatically lowering our emissions starting today) , then how could we,
some schoolchildren, know? How can you leave that burden to us?
Once you have done your homework, you realize that we need new politics.
We need a new economics, where everything is based on our rapidly
declining and extremely limited carbon budget.
But that is not
enough. We need a whole new way of thinking. The political system that
you have created is all about competition. You cheat when you can
because all that matters is to win. To get power. That must come to an
end. We must stop competing with each other. We need to start
cooperating and sharing the remaining resources of this planet in a fair
way. We need to start living within the planetary boundaries, focus on
equity and take a few steps back for the sake of all living species.
We are just passing on the words of the science. Our only demand is that you start listening to it. And then start acting.
So please stop asking your children for the answers to your own mess.
Teacher's used their half-term break yesterday to support the action of school students in the #youthstrike4climate movement and made their own demands on the Department for Education to make the ecological and climate crisis an educational priority in a protest organised hy Extinction Rebellion and others. (See previous posting).
There were speeches from NEU and UCU members, school students who have been taken part in the Friday strikes and individual teachers.
Damian Hinds, Seceretary of State, was not available to take delivery of their letter or respond to their demands, so instead teachers and students delivered a series of powerful speeches which can be heard in the video.
In a disquieting way the warm and sunny February day was itself a testimony to changes in the climate.
Starting with Greta Thunberg, a 15 year old student,
holding a vigil every Friday at the Swedish parliament, in the last six months
tens of thousands of school students from Australia to Nairobi to Belgium,
Holland and Germany have gone on strike calling for urgent action to avert
climate change. This growing global movement deserves the full support of
teaching unions. Here’s a video for the first UK strike this Friday - 15th
February. Just scroll down to the pinned post below the event info and
pass it on as widely as you can. https://www.facebook.com/Strike4Youth/videos/353417158581705/
A representative of the NAHT (heads union) said:
“Society
takes leaps forward when people are prepared to take action. Schools encourage
students to develop a wider understanding of the world about them. A day of
action like this could be an important and valuable life experience.”
There will be a further global day of
action and school students strike on March 15th. So, while this will
start with the most concerned and dedicated young people, it is not going away
and all of us have an interest in helping it grow.
They have also called for a day of action at the DfE
between 11am and 3pm on Feb 22nd - during half termsee below for details and letter to DfE
calling on them to urgently overhaul our education system so that it can play
its part in creating a sustainable society. Also see below draft resolution for
National Education Union districts aiming to amplify student demands.
XR London Action: Climate Truth for Schools February 22nd
(Half-term)
When was
the last time you heard school students discussing their lesson on climate
change? Exactly, it doesn’t happen. So, on the 22nd February, we’re
taking this issue right to the heart of the UK school system: the Department of
Education. We will demand that those in a position of responsibility face the
truth and allow educators to teach it. Please join us. Everyone is very
welcome, especially families. We have sent them this letter outlining
our demands: https://goo.gl/hJY2un.
(Also below)
You can
help by printing it and sending a copy yourself. If you have children in your
family, please add their handprints to the letter (in paint) before you send
it. The postal address is: Department for Education, 20 Great Smith St,
Westminster, London, SW1P 3BT. Thank you.
Why are we doing this? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) just told the world what our future looks like. Yet the science and
economics to explain this catastrophe are completely ignored by UK
curricula. While a few independent and specialist schools do address the
reality of climate change, most state schools don’t. It might be covered
briefly in Geography and touched upon in RE lessons, but most worryingly, the
Science curriculum could mention the topic as little as four times across the
entire course of secondary education. The message is that climate change and
climate science are peripheral and undecided issues. What students are
principally taught, by the time they have finished their GCSE courses, is that
education is a process of acquiring qualifications for the purpose of some
future utility - a future that now looks increasingly damned. We believe
young people have the right to know how their planet has been poisoned; we
believe they should be empowered to face reality. Whether you are a
student, parent, grandparent, teacher or just someone who cares about
education, come and join us on what promises to be a fun day in which we take
our concerns to those in power. Families are very, very welcome. - Schedule for the day to follow. - If you can make banners/art
work/music/sing/wish to speak etc then please make yourself known (post in the
discussion). We’ll be organising some artwork sessions nearer to the date.
To the
Ministers and Employees of the Department for Education
The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) told us last October that we
have 12 years to radically change every aspect of society if we are to avoid
disaster. Highly regarded scientists, like Peter Wadhams, have highlighted the
political restrictedness of the IPCC and the glaring omissions and
over-simplifications of its report. We must accept the likelihood that 12 years
is a vastly over-generous window of opportunity. We have killed 60% of mammals,
birds, reptiles and fish since 1970. Insect populations are collapsing, coral
reefs are bleached and dead, natural disasters are worsening, crops are
failing, forests are being felled or burning and forced migration is beginning.
If we keep
this information out of the public domain – out of schools, for example –
perhaps we might avoid some awkward conversations in the years to come. We
could say we never knew. After all, who wants to tell a child that, unless we
make unprecedented changes to how we live, we are heading for societal
collapse, famine, war and the increasing likelihood of human extinction?
Telling the truth exposes us to the responsibility of facing it ourselves. Which is exactly why we must tell our
children: not
simply to inform them (many are far better informed than older generations) but
also so that we can be held to account for our own actions. We must follow the
example of the brave young people who will, on coming Fridays, be striking from
school to demand truth and action.
When we
have had the evidence for decades, why does it amount to little more than a
footnote in our national curriculum – a vague and marginal concern? Geography
lessons cover the basic theory but in the national curriculum for Science the
evidence for anthropogenic climate change is described as ‘uncertain’. The
issue could be mentioned in as few as four Science lessons in the entire course
of secondary education. In academies there may be no mention at all. If not in
schools, where should the public learn about where our way of life is taking
us? Power knows the value of ignorance. Our Government is increasing subsidies
for fossil fuels while presiding over an educational system that effectively
denies the consequences of such a policy.
Imagine if
we had the courage to make our schools places where students learned how to
repair the damage we have caused. If we have the courage to act now they could
be the ones to revive our dying soil, regenerate biodiversity and rebuild the
ecosystems that sustain us.But we must act now. We must teach
students more than just how to pass tests. We must give them the opportunity to
discover what is wonderful and life-giving. And we must urgently equip them
with the skills, insight and courage to face what is coming. To do otherwise is
an act of criminal negligence.
The
evidence tells us that any imagined future for which we are currently preparing
our young people is a dream that will never be realised. The lives of every one
of our children will be defined by the effects of climate and ecological
breakdown. We therefore make the following demands:
1.The ecological and climate crisis is
immediately announced as an educational priority.
2.Well-founded and evidence-based
training is provided for teachers to convey this message, including the
scientific and economic causes of the crisis, what governments and society need
to do about it and also on how to support young people when taking on this
information. This should be implemented by no later than September 2019.
3.An immediate overhaul of the current
curriculum, in the light of scientific evidence and without political
interference, aimed at preparing children for the realities of their future on
this planet.
Please –
because we love our children so much – let’s teach them the truth. We await
your response with due impatience and loving rage: schoolsforclimatetruth@gmail.com
NEU Resolutions
(Insert
name of District here) NEU notes:
1.The IPCC report of 2018 which identified the
urgent need to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial
levels and the urgency of taking accelerated action within the next 12 years.
2.The IPCC have identified that currently global
emissions put us on track for potentially catastrophic increases of up to 4-5
degrees warming by the ended of the century.
3.The action taken by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish
school student who initiated school student strikes and protest outside the
Swedish Parliament to demand urgent action on climate change -
#FridaysforFuture.
4.Other students strikes including in Australian
on Friday 30th Nov which saw 10,000s of school students strike to
demand urgent action on climate change; which are now spreading globally.
5.That young people in schools and colleges will
be in their old age by the end of this century so have a huge stake in what
happens to our climate and the actions or otherwise that are taken to urgently
reduce emissions to limit warming to 1.5 degrees
6.The call for a UK school students climate
strike on Friday Feb 15th to coincide with the next
#FridaysforFuture school strike called by Greta Thunberg. and the further call
for a day of global action on March 15th.
(insert
name of District) NEU resolves to;
1.Recognise the significance of the school
student strikes and support the student demands for the UK government to take
urgent action on climate change.
2.To ask Head Teachers to take a sympathetic
attitude to school student strikes to allow those who want to
participate in the protests to attend and to organise assemblies, tutor time,
themed learning weeks and other extra-curricular initiatives to discuss the
issue of climate change and solutions to it in the weeks leading up to such
strikes.
3.To call for government to make changes to the
school curriculum to ensure that climate change is taught to ensure a deeper
understanding of the problem and the solutions to it;thereby
meeting their obligations under Article 12 of the Paris Agreement and for the
national union to take this matter up in our discussions with the Shadow
Education team.
4) To
send this resolution to our national executive members with the request that it
is discussed at the JEC.
Do you want to do something about climate change? Come to this meeting, hosted by
Divest Brent and Brent Friends of the Earth, and find out what you can do. We
will hear from an experienced campaigner (supplemented by video clips) about
the role that divestment (disposing of fossil fuel investments) has to play
generally and in particular, locally, look at ways to encourage Brent Council’s
wish to divest their Pension Fund which has nearly £40 million invested in
fossil fuel companies. We will look at divestment success stories and why it is
so effective. We will also look at other ways to transition to clean, renewable
energy – and most importantly what you can do to contribute to this transition.
Doors
open at 7 pm - come then for an opportunity, before the formal evening starts
at 7.30 pm, to talk to people in Brent who are already working to combat
climate change - and there will be another chance for informal discussion when
the formal evening finishes at 9 pm.
Please
note that in order to attend, although the event is free, you must first
register for a ticket online at https://tinyurl.com/KeepInGround or by writing to Simon Erskine, 61 Mortimer Road, London, NW10 5QR. The
location is very close to Kilburn underground station but not that easy to find
from the map – when you register online you will find a link to directions – or
ask Simon Erskine as above.
Tickets are still available for this important conference in central London. Go to LINK.
Tackling the climate crisis needs workers to build a world
fit for the future. Yet the narrative of 'jobs versus environment' is
still heard across the political spectrum, derailing the action we
urgently need.
This conference, organised by the Campaign against
Climate Change Trade Union Group, aims to challenge the false choice of
good jobs versus the environment. Instead of settling for this, there
is both an urgent need for action on climate change and a real
opportunity for trade unionists to be at the forefront of campaigning
for a transition. One which puts the needs of the planet, decent jobs
and social justice at the top of the political agenda.
The
conference, for trade unionists and others interested in the issues,
will be an opportunity to hear from trade unionists, scientists,
environmental activists and others about the issues; and to learn from
grassroots action today as well as debating a vision for the future.
Speakers include:
Barry Gardiner - Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade
and Shadow Minister for International Climate Change, Chris Baugh - Dep
Gen Sec PCS , Sarah Woolley - BFAWU, Caroline Russell - Green Party
London Assembly Member, Liz Hutchins - FOE, Professor Joanna Haigh -
Grantham Institute, Suzanne Jeffery - Chair CACC, Asad Rehman -
Executive Director War on Want, Mika Minio-Paluello - Platform, Wilf
Sullivan - Race Equality Officer TUC, Tahir Latif - (Aviation group
PCS), Duncan Law - Biofuelwatch, Kim Hunter - Frack Free Scarborough,
Tina Louise Rothery - Lancashire Anti-Fracking Nanas, Graham Petersen -
Greener Jobs Alliance, Sam Mason - PCS, Allison Roche - UNISON, ACTS Unite, Jonathan
Neale - Global Climate Jobs, Dave King - New Lucas Plan Group, Lauren
Jones - Sheffield Climate Alliance, Paul Allen - Centre for Alternative
Technology, Sarah Pearce, UNISON
Two Plenary Sessions:
1. Jobs versus the Environment, challenging a
false choice.
2. Planning for a just transition - a future which doesn't
cost the earth
Workshops include:
Climate Change: What's happening to our climate and why this is an issue
One Million Climate Jobs: Planning for a national Climate Service
Climate Refugees: Campaigning within the trade unions
Just Transition: Challenging the Government's Clean Growth Strategy
A New Lucas Plan: Popular Planning for Social Need
Jobs and Climate: Debates in the movement
Food and agriculture: Planning for a healthy sustainable future
Women and Climate: In the frontline
Workplace Environmental Reps: Organising in the workplace
Energy Democracy: How can trade unions 'resist, reclaim, restructure' the energy system?
Welcome progress on climate change was made at this year's TUC Congress. The latest Greener Jobs Alliance Newsletter for October 2017 LINK contains the following reports.
Unions
want power sector back!
This
year’s TUC Congress in Brighton unanimously agreed new, far reaching policies
demanding the democratic control of energy and a modern low carbon industrial
strategy. An ambitious motion from the Bakers’ Union brings the trade union
movement much closer to the vision set out in Labour’s election manifesto. It
also brought a dozen delegates to the rostrum, urging the TUC to campaign for
the UK’s rigged energy system to return to democratic control, and to work with
unions on a cross-sector industrial strategy to tackle ‘the irrefutable
evidence that dangerous climate change is driving unprecedented changes to our
environment’
Addressing TUC Congress: Sarah Woolley, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers
Union
The TUC
motion LINKproposed in a speech by Sarah Woolley from the Bakers,
Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU – see picture), has five key demands for
the TUC to:
•Campaign to bring the UK’s rigged
energy system under democratic control.
•Back a mass programme of homes
insulation
•Demand rights for workplace
environmental reps
•Demand that Just Transition in
integral to industrial strategy
•Consult with unions on a
cross-sector industrial strategy focused on our internationally agreed carbon
emission reduction targets. Sarah Woolley argued that the breakdown of the
planet’s climate is a core issue for her union, with its global impacts on food
production and distribution. Agriculture and food manufacture, processing and
transport accounted for a tenth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, hurricanes were devastating the Caribbean, while floods in India had
caused massive damage to its infrastructure. And the UK’s rigged energy market
would not deliver secure, low carbon and affordable energy for all. ‘We need an
industrial strategy to confront the realities of climate change. All sectors
need their just transition strategies,’ Sarah argued. See
the full text of the TUC motion on page 7
Best
ever green fringe at TUC?
At one
of the best attended green fringe meetings at this year’s TUC, Suzanne Jeffrey,
chair of the Campaign Against Climate Change, announced that her organisation
was planning a national conference on Climate and Jobs - another world is
possible on 10 March 2018 (note date in your diary!). She said the new TUC
commitments provided an opportunity for progressive new policies for the labour
movement.
CACC speakers: Chris Baugh, Sarah Woolley, Suzanne Jeffrey, Diana
Holland
The
Campaign Against Climate Change meeting was backed by the Greener Jobs
Alliance. Here’s how union leaders spoke of the need to tackle climate change:
•Sarah Woolley, BFAWU regional
secretary: ‘We need to know much more about the impacts of climate change and
explain it to our members. We need to be at the forefront, getting our members
trained as environmental reps in the workplace.’ Tackling fuel poverty and
bringing energy back into our ownership were two key priorities.
•Diana Holland, Unite’s Assistant
General Secretary: ‘Jobs and a safe climate...We have to deal with both...we
have to make those words Just Transition really mean something for union
members.’ We cannot protect transport workers’ jobs without acknowledging the
impacts of transport on the environment. For example, Unite is tackling diesel
emissions as a workplace health and safety issue through its Diesel Emissions
Exposure register LINK ‘Because we work in so-called environmentally damaging industries,
doesn’t mean we aren’t in the game,’ she
said. The union is taking various steps to raise awareness among union members
and engaging them in consultations with employers.
•Chris Baugh, Assistant General
Secretary PCS: ‘We have come a long way in the past year, by focussing on the
core issues of just transition and energy democracy.’ In PCS, in Lancashire,
PCS members are challenging claims that fracking will create a jobs bonanza,
when there are abundant opportunities in other sectors. And at Heathrow, a PCS
study on jobs in aviation LINKhas helped inform the debate on the real economic benefits of expanding
aviation capacity.
•Graham Petersen said the online
environmental education courses provided by the Greener Jobs Alliance,
including a new unit on air quality, was filling a gap in mainstream trade union
education programmes.
•Sean Sweeney from Trade Unions for
Energy Democracy said that there’s a growing community of unions pushing for
public ownership and control of energy as a means of controlling climate
breakdown LINK
