Very many congratulations from XR Wandsworth on an historic win for Labour in Thursday’s election. I am sure that the Conservative administration’s woefully inadequate response to the climate emergency caused many voters to vote for parties proposing actions which address the dire situation which confronts us all, ending the years of complacency and greenwashing which have become synonymous with the Conservatives’ leadership. We hope that the significant margin gained by Labour and the increase in environmental concerns which were raised during the pre-election period give you the confidence to pursue a radical agenda while in office. We look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead.
Extinction Rebellion Wandsworth sees tackling the climate emergency as by far and away the most pressing issue facing people in Wandsworth, nationally and globally. In the words of António Guterres “We are on a fast track to climate disaster … We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5°C limit agreed in Paris.”
The urgency of addressing climate change has never been stated more clearly. The UN Secretary General includes governments and politicians in his plea for immediate action while acknowledging the role that climate activists have played in driving forward the environmental agenda. With that endorsement in mind, we would like to offer some thoughts – and some queries – on Labour’s manifesto pledges for Wandsworth.
Homes for All
While 1,000 new Council homes and increases in affordable housing are welcomed, we did not see any reference to insulation within the manifesto, nor to building to carbon-neutral standards. Building new homes to carbon-neutral standards and insulating the Council’s existing housing stock will help to address the cost of living crisis as well as the climate emergency. In terms of the often scandalous housing conditions in the rental sector, we notice that you refer only to reaching ‘minimum energy efficiency standards’. Is this an ambitious, sector-leading target?
Sustainability for All
We wholeheartedly welcome the intention to hold a Citizens’ Assembly to determine how Wandsworth can become a carbon neutral borough. Given the fact that we are in a climate emergency we assume that the timescale for this will be announced shortly as one of the new Council’s priorities. After all, it is the action emerging from the outcomes which will be impactful, not the assembly itself.
More disappointing in this section is the aim for the Council to be carbon neutral by 2030, which is given prominence and reiterated a number of times. The concerns here are twofold: first, the Council’s emissions are only 3% of total borough emissions so this is not exactly a stretch target; second, the Conservative leadership also had net zero by 2030 as its aim, and a Labour administration would surely want to adopt more challenging targets.
Finally, taking action ‘to decarbonise the council’s pension fund by 2030’ is certainly not ‘ambitious’ as you claim. The fiduciary and ethical arguments for immediate divestment are well-rehearsed and we would urge you to take this significant and symbolic step immediately. In doing so you would be matching the steps already taken by numerous councils across the UK and sending a clear signal that ending fossil fuel investment is a moral imperative. Once the pension fund is completely rid of fossil fuel investments, the next step should be annually increasing investment in zero-carbon projects.
Prosperity for All
We note your reference to the £700 million reserves which have been built up as part of Wandsworth’s assets and your concern that they are projected to deliver less than 1% return this year. As well as ensuring that there are no fossil fuel investments as part of that portfolio, we would also urge you to seek out the opportunities for ethical investment with a focus on renewable energy and decarbonisation strategies.
Once again, congratulations on your election victory and we look forward to continued dialogue and the urgent action you will undertake to address the Climate Emergency declared by the council in 2019.
Best wishes
XR Wandsworth