Last night Haringey Councillors declared a ‘Climate Emergency.’

In a motion proposed by Cabinet Member for the Environment, Kirsten Hearn, Haringey Council have committed to work towards making the borough carbon neutral by 2030.

Global temperatures have already increased by 1 degree celsius from pre-industrial levels increasing the possibility of catastrophic climate breakdown.

In Haringey, the consequences of inaction will include increased flood risk, greater health problems amongst the most vulnerable and increases in energy and food costs.

With climate change the biggest challenge facing humanity, bold and radical action must be taken to avert a climate disaster. Already, between 2005 and 2016, Haringey has delivered a 32.4% reduction in its carbon emissions – well above the national average.

However, given the scale of the problem, the Council have agreed to continue working with partners across London, the UK and internationally to limit global temperature increases to less than 1.5 degrees celsius.

Councillor Kirsten Hearn, Cabinet Member for the environment said:

“We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe yet this Tory Government has been completely inadequate in rising to scale of the challenge.

“Just this week, I was heartened to see young people from Haringey joining the Youth Climate Strike demanding the political elite take ownership over this climate emergency. To those students, I want you to know that the Council is listening to your concerns.

“That’s just one reason why we are declaring a climate emergency and we will be reporting back to Full Council at the end of the year with the soonest possible date for Haringey to go zero carbon.

“The Labour Party is uniquely placed to deliver a sustainable, zero carbon economy through investment in green industries to create a prosperous society which does not threaten the livelihoods of future generations.”