UPDATE
Congratulations to Cllr Kuldev Sehra of the Liberal Democrats, Jess Lee of the Green Party and Bassam Marfouz of Labour, all candidates for the Ealing and Hillingdon seat on the London Assembly and who have signed the Friends of the Earth Climate Pledge. We are still waiting to hear from Cllr Henry Higgins of the Conservatives and Anthony Goodwin of Reform UK.
Election time is upon us once again and Ealing Friends of the Earth has been busy contacting candidates to ask them to sign the Friends of the Earth Climate Pledge. We have written to the London Mayoral candidates of the Labour and Conservative parties, as well as the five candidates standing for the London Assembly seat of Ealing and Hillingdon.
We hope all the candidates sign the pledge as the need to change our society to lower carbon emissions and prevent the world from over-heating becomes ever more urgent. We will publicise their responses on our website.
The Friends of the Earth Climate Pledge is:
“I recognise the vital role I have in working with communities to meet our legally binding 2030 climate commitments. I pledge, if elected, to use my powers, funding and influence to deliver the actions necessary to tackle the climate and nature emergencies and build a fairer society for all in my area”.
Friends of the Earth has also produced a Climate Action Plan that offers a low-carbon vision for London and sets out 10 key priorities for the next Mayor of London.action.
- Decision making: ensure all plans, programmes and investment decisions are in line with what’s needed to address the climate and ecological emergency and are aligned with international, national, regional and local carbon reduction targets. This includes through divesting all pension funds the Mayor and GLA are responsible for from fossil fuels.
- People: set up and actively promote forums to ensure that the voices of those most impacted by climate breakdown and nature loss – including disabled people, people of colour and people on low incomes – are heard and given centre-stage in decision making.
- Green jobs and skills: rapidly increase the number of skilled green jobs, and protect workers and communities through a just transition to a low-carbon, nature-rich, circular economy. This includes creating opportunities for young people to develop green skills and linking skills training to attractive, well-paid, low-carbon jobs.
- New housing: use the London Plan and other powers to ensure new housing is zero carbon and served by sustainable transport. Use brownfield regeneration and affordable housing funding to deliver zero-carbon homes in locations with good public transport links and opportunities for active travel, while protecting the green belt from development.
- Retrofitting homes: take a leading role in bringing existing homes in the area up to high energy efficiency standards (at least EPC C) to reduce emissions and put an end to fuel poverty. Ensure that existing homes are protected from extreme weather events.
- Transport: reduce road traffic by 25% by 2030 to achieve net zero targets. This can be achieved by significantly increasing cycling and walking, moving to 20 mph speed limits on all residential side roads and in town centres, and working with operators to ensure that public transport services are reliable, affordable and better connected.
- Energy: commit to a low-demand, decentralised supply of energy in the London Energy Plan. Increase the supply of clean, renewable energy, including supporting the goal of 1,000 community energy projects by 2030 and the roll-out of heat pumps.
- Nature: declare a biodiversity emergency. Ensure that the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for the area increases tree cover, protects and enhances nature so that 75% of protected wildlife sites are thriving by 2042, eliminates green space deprivation, and helps the area become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
- Waste: commit to making London a zero-waste city, with no compostable or recyclable waste sent to landfill or incineration. Lead the development of a circular economy strategy with local businesses and local authorities to both drastically cut waste and resource consumption and boost the green economy.
- Air quality and water: work with businesses and communities to ensure that World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines are met by 2030 and that water consumption is cut by 30% by 2050.
You can find further information about the Climate Action Plan here: https://groups.friendsoftheearth.uk/elections/climate-action-plan-next-mayor-london