Following up on Hackney’s climate emergency declaration

After the community submitted a response to Hackney Council’s climate emergency declaration back in November, we are following up to understand what actions the Council is planning to take to put their resolution into practice. To join the discussion, come to Sustainable Hackney’s next public consultation on the Climate Emergency at our next meeting on Wednesday 26 February at 7pm.

The Climate Emergency Declaration

In June last year, Hackney Council approved a motion to declare a climate emergency. The declaration consists of eight resolutions; they include taking action to limit dangerous climate change to below 1.5 degrees Celsius and supporting the campaign for a just transition. The motion declared that it would involve, support and enable residents, businesses and community groups in this cause, working closely with them to establish and implement successful policies, approaches and technologies.

Alongside other Councils, the emergency declaration included the creation of a citizen’s assembly to explore solutions and allow for public scrutiny of the Council’s progress.

The community response

In November, the community coordinated a response to Hackney’s Climate Emergency declaration through a series of open meetings. Alongside a number of Hackney-based voluntary and community organisations and individuals, we discussed and debated at meetings and workshops the eight resolves declared by the Council.

Based on the groups’ local knowledge and expertise, together we proposed a number of actionable solutions to each of the Council’s declaration points. This included solutions for the borough regarding education, carbon targets, divestment, buildings, food and waste. We endeavoured to keep the response as practical and action focused as possible, appreciating the significant challenge that the Council has ahead.

After the Council’s first citizen’s assembly was postponed in November, the response was submitted directly to the Council with a request to present this to the assembly meeting in the new year. In the attached letter and submission, we ask the council to consider and respond to each point, especially where we seek engagement with our campaigns and action-focused activities.

Our response is submitted on behalf of these Hackney-based voluntary and community organisations and individuals who champion various aspects of climate and environmental action. A full list of signatories is below.

Current state of play

We followed up with the Council in January and are yet to receive a reply. We look forward to understanding what the declaration means in practice and what is proposed for the citizen’s assembly, plus the role of the community in making it happen.

We are convening a further public consultation for all and any interested organisations and individuals on Wednesday 26 February to discuss what’s next for the community in supporting the declaration.

Looking forward

The climate emergency warrants urgent action, but we are yet to see a plan for putting the declaration into practice. Sustainable Hackney and the other signatories of the response are committed to making the borough a greener, healthier and more resilient place for all our residents. We wish to support the Council wherever possible and contribute our local knowledge and expertise to making this happen. We look forward to hearing back from the Council on this to understand what is in store for 2020 and where we can help with the task ahead.

The community response can be read in full here: Community response Hackney Climate Emergency.pdf. The response was submitted on behalf of the following organisations: