Responding to a clim limate emergency: Engaging the community - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Responding to a clim limate emergency: Engaging the community

Cllr Clyde Loakes

Deputy Leader and Member for Environment __________________________

London Borough of Waltham Forest

We need to change, not the cli limate.

• Waltham Forest Council has declared

a climate emergency. And acted on it.

• But we have been tackling climate

change for years.

• Why? More than 9,000 Londoners

die every year due to health problems related to air quality issues, including around 270 of our

• wn residents in Waltham Forest

What have we done?

Since 2005 investment has been made in diverse areas to reduce risk of climate impacts resulting from historic and future carbon emissions. Including:  We’ve reduced carbon emissions in the borough by almost 35 per cent  Installed over 1,000 solar panels on council properties  Reduced gas consumption by 25 per cent and electricity usage by 10 per cent  Planted more than 13,000 new trees , now over 50,000 in total, the most in the borough’s history  Invested over £2.4m through the Salix’s Recycling Fund on energy efficiency measures in our corporate estate

We also Introduced Enjoy Waltham Forest, our ‘mini-Holland’ scheme-

• f significant walking, cycling and

micro- scooting priority, safety infrastructure changes to the highways and public realm. Public realm improvements to encourage active travel and prioritise walking and cycling and deprioritise car use. But it wasn’t an easy ride!

• 27km of cycle track
• Over 100 new safer junctions
• 15 new pocket parks
• 7,500 children and adults trained to cycle
• Over 500 secure cycle parking spaces at

transport hubs

• 350 bike hangars
• Extended life expectancy of children born

in the borough by 6 weeks

• 58,000 down to 6,300 households

exposed to toxic air levels

• Cycling increased by 103 per cent
• Car usage dropped by 7 per cent

What has Enjoy Waltham Forest delivered?

From this… To this! Whipps Cross Interchange

 a new public space  pedestrian crossings  segregated cycle lanes  dedicated bus lanes  1,800 square metres returned to Epping Forest

Oct 2019 Oct 2019

Working with local partners in the borough has seen the introduction of initiatives that make a difference at grassroot level and are ownable by the community. With Waltham Forest Friends of the Earth we trialled a Low Plastic Zone in one of our town centres to encourage small businesses to move away from ecologically damaging single-use plastics

Working with our partners

But what now?

 We have established a Climate Emergency Commission – the first in London  We’ve gathered the best minds together to challenge the council to make an even bigger, positive change in order to protect

• ur current residents and those of the

future  We want to work together to make a real impact on climate change, so we will be looking to work with our residents, businesses and community organisations

How are we addressing the climate emergency and engaging our communities while the Commission meet and deliberate on recommendations?

• We undertook the largest public engagement ever in the Council’s history.
• Online survey – over 3,000 people who live and work in the borough

responded.

• Youth engagement – over 1,200 young people (aged 7 – 16 years) engaged
• Top 20 businesses invited to interview and Green Business Roundtable –

how can we be more innovative?

Climate Emergency Survey Headlines

• 91% Very or Fairly Concerned about the Climate Emergency
• 85%- Climate Change is already having an impact on the UK
• 84%- Climate Emergency is a priority for everyone
• To what extent do you agree or disagree that the following should set

an example by adopting challenging targets and innovative approaches to help reduce the impact on the environment and address the climate emergency? 88%- Waltham Forest Council- 93% Government

What More Can the Council Do on the Climate Emergency?

73%

Reducing car journeys through good public transport and helping people to walk and cycle more easily

64%

More public charging points to help people switch to electric/hybrid cars

81%

Developing stronger planning policies, so new buildings are built to the most energy efficient standards

83%

Making existing homes more energy efficient and greener

80%

Supporting renewable energy generation, such as getting more solar energy panels on rooftops

61%

Supporting residents and businesses to use less energy, for example through information and encouraging smart metering

90%

Planting more trees and plants

84%

Helping nature and wildlife to thrive

84%

Supporting residents and businesses to reduce, reuse and recycle waste

81%

Supporting residents and businesses to reduce single use plastics

56%

Developing a "Grow Your Own" food initiative

67%

Seeking additional powers and resources from Government to help tackle climate change

71%

Providing information and support to help residents and businesses change their behaviour and reduce their carbon emissions

44%

Enforcing action through measures like making owning a vehicle more expensive, reducing the number of car parking spaces available, more segregated bike lanes etc

Reviewing our Waste Coll llection Offer and pil iloting new ways to se secure in increased le levels of f reduction, , reuse, repair, reim imagining and rec ecycling

Supporting the Children’s Portfolio Hold

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day tea eachings and and ac activ ivit itie ies Continuing the Enjoy Waltham Forest programme and the principles that support it. Making active travel more accessible and a more attractive option

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all tr transformation, reducin ing car ar par arking sp space si significantly an and encouraging staff to fin find alt alternate ways to

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travel

• Ensure the green agenda underpins Council decision making at every

level, through policies and programmes

• Balancing the different priorities, including regulations, finance, and

resident needs

• Lead boldly and be willing to be disruptive
• Acknowledge we can’t do it all

Tackling climate change can only be a common endeavour; it is not something that we as a council can do alone, we also need residents, businesses and other organisations to share this agenda

To make meaningful change we need to:

Questions?