Brent Climate Emergency Question Time Tonight Online 7-9pm

Brent Climate Emergency Question Time Event 7-9pm Online

 
To attend register HERE

This online event will follow the BBC Question Time format, but all questions will be about the climate and the environment. Ollie More from Sustrans and Ian Saville from Brent Friends of the Earth will join Cllr Krupa Sheth (Lead member for the Environment, Labour Party), Cllr Kansagra (Conservative Party), and Cllr Georgiou (Liberal Democrats) to form a panel to discuss environmental issues raised by you. Register via Eventbrite (linked
provided above) and submit a question by emailing localdemocracyweek@brent.gov.uk

 The session will be split into 4 key themes:

• Consumptions and waste
• Transport
• Homes and buildings
• How you can get involved
  

 

 

Queens Park residents urge UK and world governments to take urgent action at COP26

 

 

Brent Friends of the Earth took their stall to Queens Park today and set up outside the Farmers' Market at Salusbury Primary School.

Children and adults answered the call to send messages to the Government and the Conference on the need for urgent action to address the climate emergency.

The messages have been recorded and the pennants left hanging on the school railings for pupils, parent and staff to see tomorrow morning.

Cllr Krupa Sheth questioned on Brent Climate Strategy targets and measurement of progress

 

The public are able to ask Brent Cabinet members a written question at Full Council meetings and follow up the answer at the meeting itself. The questions and answers are published on the Agenda in advance of the meeting.

A key question on the Council's Climate Emergency  Strategy has been asked by local r
esident Pam Laurance:

About a year ago the Council launched the Brent Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy, with a considerable amount of publicity, setting out specific aims and targets. The First Year Delivery Plan 2021-2022 set out 23 targets for that period. The Strategy documents states that:

'Progress against the key objectives will be monitored and measured regularly, and progress on the delivery of the specific actions in our yearly delivery plans will be reported in detail, alongside a commentary of progress of the overall programme each year. Available datasets and baselines will be measured against the most up to date statistics at the time of the adoption of this plan. This strategy is currently a long-term strategy, but we will keep under review the need to refresh its aims and objectives in the years to come'.

Please will the Council say:

 

1) What criteria are being used to measure progress?

2) How does the Council plan to keep the public informed on progress?

3) Does the Council believe that any of the targets need to be more ambitious in the light of recent climate developments?

Response:

1) What criteria are being used to measure progress?

 

 The overarching means for measuring progress on direct carbon emissions in the borough is from the local authority dataset provided by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) each year. It is from this dataset, for example, that we have been able to ascertain that there has been a 35% reduction in total carbon emissions on a borough-wide basis since 2005 (when this method of accounting began) and it is also by utilising this dataset that we are able to analyse different pathways of getting to carbon neutrality by 2030.

Unfortunately, the complexity of carbon accounting means that these figures are only available with an 18-month timelag – and therefore the latest set of figures for Brent is from 2019. We also have a baseline estimate of the consumption emissions (wider greenhouse gases, not just carbon) which are attributed to Brent and one of our key objectives is to reduce these emissions by at least two thirds by 2030. Due to this timelag in receiving specific data, councils are reliant in the meantime on assessing progress through other ‘proxy’ measures which will indicate the direction of travel in reducing emissions. We are currently working on developing an internal dashboard with the council’s Corporate Performance Team which currently includes around 80 potential underpinning long-term indicators and datasets. These can include specific datasets such as EPC ratings, waste statistics, TfL travel data but also through more the practical delivery of initiatives we have set out in our yearly delivery plans. Progress will be reported to Cabinet each year. The current 2021-22 delivery plan for example, comprises of actions that we expect to have a direct impact on emissions, or lay the building blocks for emissions reduction in the future.

2) How does the Council plan to keep the public informed on progress?

 

 The council has been keeping the public informed of progress through regular updates via Brent’s main communications and engagement channels. This includes the council’s social and digital channels, through news updates, webinars and social media feed on specific projects and themes from the delivery plan as well as in the physical copies of the Your Brent magazine or at any in person event where the climate emergency team has a presence. We have also developed and established the Brent Environmental Network which is now approaching 1000 members. The network is ultimately proposed to be the key overarching mechanism for sustained and ongoing engagement with communities on tackling the climate and ecological emergency and achieving the council’s sustainability aims for the borough. Signed up members receive, at the very least, a monthly e-newsletter which provides information on how individuals can live more sustainably and contribute to tackling the climate emergency, alongside updates about the council’s climate emergency programme and a ‘community corner’ which seeks to shine a light on all of the positive environmental initiatives that are happening in Brent led by brilliant individuals and local organisations. Members also receive specific alerts about local events, issues or new initiatives like grant funding as and when necessary. We have also established and meet regularly with the Brent Environmental Network Advisory Group not only as a means of providing updates, but also to gather regular community input on how we expand our engagement to all of Brent’s communities. As an example of an outcome of this work, we are also hoping to develop new dedicated social media platforms for the Brent Environmental Network as a means of providing even more regular and dedicated information about environmental initiatives in Brent. We have also committed to providing a comprehensive yearly report to cabinet which set out the progress made against all actions within the yearly delivery plans, plus any key contributing actions which have developed through the course of the year outside the formal delivery plan. This report will also be the opportunity for cabinet to approve future yearly delivery plans.

3) Does the Council believe that any of the targets need to be more ambitious in the light of recent climate developments?

Page 41 of the Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy sets out of that this is a long-term strategy but that we will keep under review the need to refresh its aims and objectives in the years to come. Whilst recent weather events around the world and in London, plus the findings of the IPCC report, have been very troubling, we are one of only twelve London councils to have adopted a carbon neutrality target both for our own operations and for borough wide emissions by 2030. We therefore sincerely feel that we are being as ambitious as we can be with resources at our disposal at the present time. We remain open to ideas and suggestions from residents or communities as to what else the council can do to upscale our plans. We are very clear throughout the strategy document that the council cannot achieve these targets alone and we need all individuals and communities in Brent to play their part and strive for carbon neutrality.

 

 

Climate Emergency a focus at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting

There are three items at Tuesday's 10am Cabinet meeting relating to the Climate Emergency. (The meeting can be viewed live HERE).

In an unusual move the campaign group Divest Brent is presenting a petition calling on the Brent Council Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels.

The Cabinet  will also be considering the approval of the Brent Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy 2021-2030 that has gone through some changes as the result of consultation and submissions.

Unfortunately the Strategy does not include specific targets and milestones. The Council explain:

Due to the long-term nature of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy the current financial situation facing all councils following the Covid-19 pandemic the detailed document does not contain a detailed action plan or route map for the next ten years.

The overall aim is to achieve carbon netrality by 2030. Readers unsure of the difference between carbon neutrality and zero carbon can read more HERE.

The Strategy is arranged around 5 themes:

1. Consumption, Resources and Waste

2. Transport

3. Homes, Buildings and the Built Environment

4. Nature and Green Spaces

5. Supporting Communities

I have embedded the document below (Click bottom right to enlarge)

 

The third item is a £3.234 grant to improve the energy efficiency of some Brent Council owned buildings. The grant is fro  the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme managed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. I was struck by how many of the buildings chosen are comparatively new or recently refurbished.

 

The officers' report provides examples of decarbonisation measures for 10 of the buildings:

 

Greens call for investment, strategic planning and transparency from Harrow Council - guest post by Emma Wallace (Green Party candidate for Brent and Harrow GLA)

 Guest post by Emma Wallace, Green Party candidate for the GLA Brent and Harrow Constituency

 

Harrow Council’s Cuts to Environmental Services and Lack of Action on the Climate Emergency Part 2

 

Greens call for investment, strategic planning and transparency from Harrow Council  

 

 

We have to get serious about the climate emergency

 

Our council tax in Harrow is going up by 5.8% from the 1^st April, moving our borough from the third highest council tax rate in London to second, just behind Kingston which takes the top spot  LINK .  Whilst you would hope this would mean, if not an increase to our public services, at least protection of the ones we already have, this is unfortunately not to be the case.  The Council has been put under huge constraints by the decimation of local authority funding from central government and having to ringfence a large percentage of the budget to meet statutory duties such as adult social care LINK .  This has resulted in ever dwindling amounts of money to cover the multitude of other essential services the Council should be providing.  One council department that is bearing the brunt of our shrinking local authority budgets is the Environmental Services department, seeing its staffing budget cut by £250 000 from April 2021 LINK .  At a time when we are facing an unprecedented climate emergency, coupled with an increase in population and demand on many of our services, including our local parks and reserves due to the pandemic, this cut seems to be incredibly short-sighted.  The resultant negative consequences for our borough’s environment, its residents and the Council’s ability to meet its own climate and ecological emergency targets cannot be underestimated.

 

A Climate Emergency

 

The council declared a climate emergency in July 2019, resolving to “make the London Borough of Harrow carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption of emissions”. LINK     The council created a related strategy to meet its carbon neutral goals, committing to working towards 100% renewable energy in the borough, making homes, schools and commercial buildings more energy efficient, to decarbonise vehicles and move to sustainable travel, to minimise waste and support recycling, to protect and restore the biodiversity we have and to engage communities to become eco literate  LINK.  More recently, the Council reiterated in its 2021/22 budget that one of its key priorities is “Improving the environment and addressing climate change”  LINK .  Indeed, the council has made a number of public announcements, formed a ‘Climate & Sustainability Partnership’ with other organisations including local environmental groups and produced a ‘London Borough of Harrow Climate Change Strategy’ 2019-2024  LINK.   This most recent climate change strategy has not made it to the Council’s ‘Climate Change - Environment and Parks’ out-of-date webpages though LINK . 

 

Harrow Council’s public commitment to fighting climate change is commendable and urgent if we are to stay within the projected 1.5 degrees of warming in the next ten years and avoid the worst predictions of environmental breakdown.  The reality is though, that these goals are completely untenable unless the Council fully invests in meeting these goals, allocates ongoing budgets, devises an actionable, joined-up strategy and recruits a strong in-house team to works towards achieving its targets.  Unfortunately, as we can see from the most recent Environmental Services staffing cuts this does not appear to be happening.   In May 2020, ‘The Student View’ charity made a Freedom of Information request asking if the council had discussed the costs of climate change adaption to enable it to meet its climate and ecological emergency targets.  It emerged it had not: “the issue of budget and additional resources for delivering the council’s pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030 hasn’t yet been discussed in detail through the Council’s Climate Change steering group meetings with the Cabinet members.” LINK     Last year, the council stated it was spending “£150,000 on tackling the climate emergency, covering staff costs as well as external support and advice on how to reduce carbon emissions”  LINK .  It is not clear exactly what this money was spent on or if a similar amount has been allocated to address the climate emergency this financial year.  

 

The Environmental Services Team and Transparency

 

Harrow Council’s Environmental Services department is responsible for a multitude of areas, including our parks, open spaces and nature reserves, street trees, allotments, verge maintenance, street cleaning, fly tipping and general waste management amongst other things, and it has already suffered from years of cut backs.  These areas all have a significant role to play in the Council meeting its 2019-2023 climate change strategy.  Trying to establish the roles that make up the Environmental Services team though and what ones have been cut is incredibly difficult.  Whilst there is an ‘Environmental and Parks’ area on Harrow Council’s website, it is hard to find who is exactly responsible for the many different areas.  At a Harrow VCS Forum ‘Environment & Sustainability Subgroup’ meeting in November 2017, a request was made to Graham Henson, now Leader of the Council, asking for a list of key environmental services council officers to liaise with and how best to contact them for a speedy response.  Mr Henson’s answer was that, basically, there isn’t a list available and it’s best to make contact with the Head of Service, Dave Corby LINK.  This raises the issue that as council tax paying residents, should we not expect to easily find out what roles people hold, what they do and how we can make contact with them in the council?  Should we not also expect timely replies from the council officers and councillors that represent us?  This frequently does not appear to be the case.  It is imperative that our Council is transparent and accountable to members of the public so they can effectively support the community it serves. 

 

Department Re-shuffle

 

Dave Corby who has been ‘Head of Community Engagement’ for many years has now retired, taking with him a breadth of knowledge on our parks and local environment that will be a real loss to Harrow.  It is unclear if he is being directly replaced, but the Environmental Services department has recently undergone a reshuffle, with Rebecca Johnson now the new Head of Environment and Waste Strategy and Desiree Mahoney acting as the Community Engagement Officer.  Mark Richardson is the Green Team Manager and Ray Fox the Parks Manager; Rebecca Farrar is the Tree Protection Officer and Steve Whitbread is Biodiversity Officer.  There has been a recent advert for ‘Head of Transport and Environmental Operations’ at the Council,  LINK , stating that the role is within the newly formed Environmental Services Directorate and that the “post holder will be responsible for fleet management of over 300 vehicles, Special Needs Transport Service, Waste and Recycling collections, Trade Waste Collections, Street Cleansing and Ancillary Services, Parks and Open spaces and other associated support services.  The post holder will be responsible the management of a revenue budget of £25 million and a capital budget of £8 million.”   LINK

 

 This is a huge range of responsibilities for one person, especially in light of the fact that the Environmental Services team has recently been reduced (which roles, is still unclear).  This advert does reveal the department’s budget figure though, something that is almost impossible to establish otherwise or the individual spending and allocations within the department.  The remaining roles (and other unestablished ones) within the Environmental Services team are integral to ensuring our local environment is healthy, sustainable, green and biodiverse.  With the latest round of staffing cuts, it can only be seen that this will be detrimental to our local environment and make it even harder for the council to meet its climate targets.

 

 

Greens call for Action, Investment and Transparency

 

Whilst we are dealing with an onslaught of problems brought on by ten years of austerity, coupled with the economic, social and health difficulties as a result of the pandemic, the climate emergency is not going away and must be addressed.  As the UN Environment Programme Head warned in August 2020 “There is no vaccine for climate change. We must embed sustainability into COVID-19 recovery” .  Unfortunately, at the moment, Harrow Council appears to lack the vision, financial investment and staffing to fully realise its aims of reducing the borough’s carbon emissions and become carbon neutral.  Harrow residents deserve a council who leads on action to mitigate the worse effects of climate change, being accountable and transparent every step of the way.  It is imperative that the council takes urgent action on the climate emergency to avoid the impending ecosystem collapse we potentially face.      

 

A council in London who are also tackling the climate and ecological emergency head on is the West London Borough of Hounslow, who are currently advertising a wide range two year fixed posts to deliver a Green recovery.  The team will include a Programme Director (Climate Change and Green Recovery), and Project Manager (Climate Emergency and Environmental Strategy) to deliver Hounslow's Climate Emergency Action Plan and Green Recovery Strategy.  There will also be three Project Manager's (Green Recovery) to develop and implement "strategies to improve the quality of the environment in Hounslow, with a focus on low carbon neighbourhoods, low carbon economy or green growth and 21st century mobility".   There will be two Sustainability Officer's to "deliver a variety of projects and initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions, and environmental and socio-environmental impacts across Hounslow" and two Green Recovery Officer's to improve the environent in Hounslow.  The total budget for this environmental team is up to £482 275, showing Hounslow Council is putting its money where its mouth is and really investing in dealing with the climate emergency

 

In my next blog…I’ll be taking a look at how Harrow’s parks and green spaces have been impacted by ten years of council cuts and how these rich, biodiverse spaces are an excellent way for the council to move towards meeting their climate change targets.  I will also be shining a light on the many amazing volunteer environmental organisations we have in Harrow and how they are leading the way in maintaining and improving our green spaces.  

Scrutinising Brent Council's Climate Emergency Strategy

 

 

The above recording is from the December 1st Scrutiny Committee. The recommendation to invest targeted  'new money' into the Strategy is clearly important and it was good to see a firmer commitment to investing the Council's pension fund into sustainable energy production rather than fossil fuels.  The concern with energy efficiency in the many new builds currently taking place in Brent made me wonder if it would be useful to have Scrutiny Committee investigate this area along with the environmental cost of  new build itself.

The issue of the whole Brent Council estate - council housing and council owned buildings, including most of our primary schools - and how they could contribute to emissions reduction and alternative energy production, was not discussed.

The consultation on the Climate Emergency Strategy ends on January 15th 2021 so do consider contributing as an individual or through organisations such as Brent Friends of the Earth.

Direct link to the Council consultation

Council overview of the consultation

Brent Friends of the Earth are working on their response. You can contact them at info@brentfoe.com

 

Brent Momentum meeting on radical council responses to the Climate Emergency: Decarbonising Brent

 

Brent Momentum, as part of the series of events under the Brent Transformed umbrella, have a well-timed event coming up as Brent Council consults on its Climate Emergency Strategy 

DECARBONISING BRENT

 

Municipal strategies for a radical response to the climate emergency

November 23rd 8-9pm 

How can we make a socialist Green New Deal work locally? What reforms and changes lie within the powers of Councils to combine social and environmental justice? And how can local people organise to realise these ambitions?

Speakers:

Sylvia Gauthereau (Brent Cycling Campaign)

Paul Atkin (Greener Jobs Alliance/Brent Momentum)

Sarah McKinley (Democracy Collaborative)

BOOK ON EVENTBRITE HERE

Brent Cabinet set to launch wide consultation on Draft Climate Emergency Strategy aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030

 

Tomorrow's Cabinet Meeting (10am Monday November 9th) will decide to go ahead with consultation on a Draft Climate Emergency Strategy (Timetable above).

The Strategy aims to involve all stakeholders in the achievement of Carbon Neutrality by 2o30,

Apart from consultation with ward councillors,  who will be seen as ambassadors for the strategy, there will be virtual events and webinars with schools, businesses, environmental groups and residents, especially those who will be most affected by climate change - young people, older people, people with disabilities and BAME communities.

The strategy has 5 themes:

Theme 1: Consumption, Resources and Waste

4. The long-term objective of this theme is: ‘By 2030, our communities will be living more sustainably: consuming less of the products and materials that accelerate climate change, whilst also wasting less of the world’s natural resources. This behaviour shift will have helped to cut Brent’s consumption emissions by two- thirds, and drive a substantive reduction in the amount of household waste produced within the borough’.
5. The key areas of focus in achieving this goal are: creating the optimum conditions for community-led behaviour change; ensuring that the supporting waste related infrastructure continues to be improved; and enhancing the green and circular economy in Brent, shifting to a local economic model where resources and products are kept in use for a long as possible.

Theme 2: Transport

6. The long-term objective of this theme is: ‘By 2030, petrol and diesel road journeys will have at least halved in the borough, being driven as close as possible to zero, with an accompanying increase in journeys made by residents through cycling, walking or public transport’.
7. The key areas of focus in achieving this goal are: supporting and encouraging active travel; moving away from petrol and diesel vehicles; and encouraging public transport where possible and safe to do so.

Theme 3: Homes and Buildings

8. The long-term objective of this theme is: ‘By 2030, as many homes and buildings in the borough as possible will be more energy efficient, be powered by renewable sources, and be resilient to future adverse weather events caused by climate change - and we will do all in our gift to achieve an average Energy Performance Certificate rating of ‘B’ in directly owned council stock.
9. The key areas of focus in achieving this goal are: improving energy efficiency in all homes and buildings, whether existing or new-build, facilitating a shift to powering homes and buildings through renewable energy sources; and adapting our homes and buildings to ensure that they are more climate resilient to cope with the potentially dangerous effects of climate change in years to come.

Theme 4: Nature and Green Space

10. The long-term objective of this theme is: ‘By 2030, Brent will be one of the greenest, most biodiverse and climate-resilient boroughs in London with our residents better connected to nature’.
11. The key areas of focus identified in achieving this goal are: enhancing green (and blue) spaces and biodiversity wherever possible; improving our wider green infrastructure such as green corridors; and adapting our green spaces to assist in mitigating against adverse weather impacts in years to come.

Theme 5: Supporting Communities

12. Underpinning all four themes above is the overarching theme of ensuring that our communities are supported in delivering the proposed climate objectives for the borough.
13. The long-term objective of this theme is: ‘Everyone who lives, works or studies in Brent will have improved access to clear and understandable information on the need to tackle the climate emergency, and as many people as possible will be actively engaged in taking action to help the borough become carbon neutral by 2030’.
14. The key areas of focus in achieving this goal are: developing an environmental network in Brent for organisations, communities and individuals to be the catalysts of driving this agenda forward; supporting the key sectors which will need to be at the forefront of making sustainable change happen (households, schools, businesses, the voluntary and community sector); and through launching and utilising the Brent Carbon Offset Fund to drive carbon reduction at a local level.
15. Once adopted, the strategy will be treated as a ‘live’ document, with the annual delivery plans reviewed each year to ensure that the Borough is progressing against its overall aim for carbon neutrality by 2030. The setting of intermediary/midway targets for the Strategy for the period leading up to 2030 will be considered as part of this ongoing review process.

 The full draft is embedded below: (Click on 'X' bottom right corner for full screen version)

Healthy Neighbourhoods: 'Let's face it, we weren't up to scratch,' Cllr Kennelly tells Cabinet

 Cllr Kennelly made a presentation to the Cabinet yesterday regarding the Healthy Neighbourhoods scheme.

He said that the Council needed to make sure that the local community was fully engaged but it sas clear from residents and fellow councillors that they felt totally cut out of the process.  Had they been consulted they would have been able to identify the issues and would have sought to address then with Cabinet and project leads.

Kennelly asked a series of questions: (verbatim as far as possible)

1) Can you provide written consultaion responses from the emergency servies, particularly the ambulance service?

2) When will a clear outline be published to demonstrate the success that will be needed for the schemes to be made permanent?

3) How did you accurately measure the width of the road turning points and closures? What risk assessment was done and will these be made public?

4) What consideration was given to suggestions made in the inter-active consultation on active travel and by communities which I do not recall having road closures on these and other schemes? 

5) Why has the signage and implementaton of the scheme, let's be fair, not been up to scratch? It hasn't been done the way we would have wanted and why has it taken as long as it has to get the community engagement involved?

6) Will you publish the documentation surrounding both previous and current funding bids as these plans are submitted ahead of time?

Cllr Butt in response said that they had to ensure funding bids were submitted in a timely manner under Emergency Powers Act. He said that it was a UK issue, not just a Brent one and everyone had the right to walk uo and down the  streets without hindrance. 

Cllr Tatler said that she was willing to look at any recommendations in her portfolio area on active travel and the econony, the latter also involved Cllr Stephens. Any decisions relating to the budget must be done within the wider context.

Turning to Cllr Kennelly's presentation she said that she wanted to push back on the claim that councillors had been cut out of the process. She and Cllr Krupa Sheth had engaged with councillors throughout the summer including pre-implementation of any of the schemes; 'Councillors have been involved in shaping some of the, all of the, schemes.'

She said that the Council was committed to making sure residents are involved throughout the trials. These are not a fait accompli in any way, shape or form.  These are trials and by their nature, as traffic orders the Council has to consult during the process.  She said that she could confirm that during the process the Council will be making sure that residents are asked for feedback at the 2, 4 and 6 month intervals of the scheme: 'If anything needs to change we can come out and meet residents and so on'

She went on to claim that to say that councillors had been cut out of the process was probably an inaccurate picture. Councillors had been involved in shaping of schemes in their particular wards.

She concluded:

We are completely committed to the air quality agenda and the climate emergency agenda. It is vital that we work towards trial schemes that could help better quality of air, quality of life and ensure that our children, going forward, can breath cleaner air in our borough.

Cllr Krupa Sheth (Environment Lead) made a very short contribution referencing the climate emergency and the need to spend Covid19 monies wisely.

Cllr Butt said that there was a need to appreciate that these were difficult decision and not everyone would be on board.

 

Is Brent getting any closer to fulfilling its fossil fuel divestment pledge?

Cllr Shafique Choudhary, in a highly unusual contribution to the Allowances section of the Full Council agenda last Wednesday, made the case that the complexity, workload and responsibility - with the added issue of climate change, meant that the Chair of the Pensions Sub-Committee deserved a substantial additional allowance. 

Cllr Choudhary spoke about the role in the third person without mentioning that he is the Chair of that sub-committee. LINK

Certainly last night's meeting of the committee had a very heavy, complex and technical agenda and would have required a considerable amount of homework.  The committee had pre-meeting training on a range of subjects including the welcome addition of climate change, which made a very long evening for members and officers.

I was there as a member of Divest Brent, a cross-party and non-party group that want Brent to divest its pension fund from fossil fuels. This is a manifesto commitment of Brent Labour Party supported by more than 1,000 petition signatories and Brent NEU which represents support workers in schools who are members of the Pension Fund, among a range of other civil society groups. Divestment is made all the more relevant and urgent following the Council's declaration of a Climate Emergency.

Despite this, although there were warm words at the meeting about the need to take account of climate change it did not seem to move much closer to outright divestment. Although not included in any specfic recommendation adopted by the committee, there was support for 'engagement' with fossil fuels companies and car manufacturers as exemplified by a presention by LAPFF. LAPFF prioritise climate change and are part of Climate Action 100+

They think that engagement is preferable to divestment and although they would not try and stop clients from divesting would not recommend it.  - a view considered  by Simon Erskine in his presentation (see below). Instead the focus was on investing in low-carbon funds as part of the Fund's portfolio.

The committee agreed the following recommendations:

The Committee should discuss and agree the investment strategy review undertaken by the Fund’s investment advisors, Hymans Robertson, available in Appendix 1.

The following proposals should be taken into consideration:

·That the committee’s current investment beliefs are fit for purpose but expands on its Responsible Investment beliefs in light of the increased focus on, and importance of, this area.

·The current long term strategy is fit for purpose from a returns perspective as it is expected to return in excess of the required return.

·To introduce a global low carbon mandate as part of the Fund’s equity allocation and to delegate authority to the Director of Finance to agree the size and fund in question and to put into effect this investment following discussions at the committee meeting.

·The Fund’s actual investment arrangements will deviate from their target over time and therefore a degree of rebalancing should take place on a regular basis to try and prevent too much deviation from the desired strategic allocation.

Simon Erskine's presentation on behalf of Divest Brent:

Click bottom right for full page:

 

Simon had certainly done his homework but his recommendations were not addressed by the committee. Perhaps they could be on the agenda of the next meeting.

Brent's Interim Climate Emergency Plan - is it enough?

Monday's Full Council Meeting will be presented with Brent Council's Interim Climate and Ecological Emergency Action Plan. This needs to be seen in the context of the Council declaring a Climate Emergency and the setting up on a Climate Assembly  and the recent  consultation on climate change actions concluded last week. The wider context is of course the global climate crisis and at street level issues such as the Mapesbury asphalting of walkways controversy and the community battle to save mature trees in Furness Road.

The Report going to the Council Meeting sets out the following framework which is elaborated in the Action Plan. There has already been criticism that the detailed actions, whilst welcome, are not sufficiently radical and joined up across the Council and such criticisms are likely to be raised at Wednesday's Round Table meeting at Brent Civic Centre which is discussing a Brent bid to the National Lottery Climate Action Fund. 

Community leadership: As the democratically accountable body, we will provide the necessary leadership on this issue to bring the community together to address this issue with a positive and collaborative agenda, ensuring that the carbon neutral transition is fair for all.

Leading by example as a council: Reducing emissions from our own estate and   operations (corporate properties, vehicle fleet, street lighting/signage), from council housing and from our construction programmes; improving the environmental sustainability of the Council’s procurement of goods and services, reducing our dependence on damaging materials such as single use plastics.

Strategic planning and infrastructure:  Ensuring that environmental sustainability goals are fully integrated in strategic plans such as the Borough Plan, Local Plan, Inclusive Growth Strategy, Housing Strategy, Transport Strategy, Parking Strategy, Waste Strategy, Digital Strategy, Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. Creating better recycling, walking and cycling infrastructure; supporting green enterprise and reskilling the workforce; delivering borough-wide decentralised energy schemes including community owned renewable generation.

Partnership: Developing pan-London and cross-borough initiatives where these can improve our impact. Build on existing and create new partnerships with key sectors in Brent including public sector partners, business and industry, energy suppliers, schools, residents’ fora and community groups.

Attracting investment: Ensuring that Brent secures funding from existing and future national and regional programmes for carbon reduction, energy efficiency, waste reduction, air quality, sustainable urban drainage, biodiversity and tree planting.

Enabling: Making it easier for people in Brent to reduce their own impacts, for instance, allocating the Carbon Offset Fund for household, business, school and community carbon reduction initiatives.

Community engagement: Providing direct advice, for instance on recycling, and signposting residents to advice and support from other agencies such as the Energy Saving Trust.

ACTION PLAN (click bottom left for full size version) 

Green candidate calls on Brent Council to review Mapesbury asphalt & Furness trees decisions

William Relton, Green Party  parliamentary candidate for Brent Central is calling on Brent Council to review two actions that were due to be implemented on Monday morning in the night of its Climate Emergency Declaration. William said,

Quite why this is happening so soon after The Climate Emergency Declaration was made is quite staggering.The Climate Emergency Declaration must be more than a public relations stunt. It will only have credibility if residents can see that it affects Brent Council’s every environmental action. I support Mapesbury residents concerned about the detrimental environmental impact of asphalt replacing paving in Dartmouth Road and the people of Furness Road who have managed to delay the cutting down of trees in their road, five of which are outside Furness Primary School. Both cases indicate that the Council is prevented by a bureaucratic interpretation of its own guidelines in making sensible decisions that contribute to   the fight against climate change. 

I call on Brent Council to review both decisions and ensure that all such actions are seen through the lense of the Climate Emergency Declaration. Coincidentally I responded in the comments section of the CED specifically about Brent needing to implement a large scale tree planting programme, and this removal of healthy trees seems to be completely at odds with its own policy.

Consternation over Brent Council's removal of 8 mature trees in Furness Road

Brent Council's consultation on climate change actions closes today (make a last minute submission HERE) and unfortunately it coincides with what appears to be an act of environmental vandalism by the Council.

Residents report that the Council is to remove 8 mature trees on Furness Road, Harlesden, 5 of which are outside Furness Primary School.

Apparently the removal is due to a 'pavement renewal project'  which suggests confusion over priorities when the Council recently declared a Climate Emergency.

Elsewhere local authorities are recognising the importance of trees in combatting air pollution and climate change and some are encouraging schools to plant trees in their grounds and on the playground perimeter.

This is the response one resident got from Cllr Krupa Sheth, lead member for the environment:

 I nor the council want to remove trees unless they absolutely need to be removed. Yes if there are issues where we would be liable for insurance claims then we do have to remove the trees as the insurance pay outs worth thousand of pounds from the council’s already diminishing budget would not be the wisest choice for the residents nor the council.

We do our best to look after and preserve our trees and are constantly looking for funding including Brent’s CIL funding to plant more trees as well.

Cllr Sheth said that she would get back to the resident but nothing further has been heard. Meanwhile the removal signs have gone up.

The removal of the trees is due to start tomorrow - is there time for a last minute attempt at saving them?