Barnet Council Leader, Councillor Dan Thomas
In the lead up to COP26, and following the government’s announcement of its Net Zero Strategy, the Leader of Barnet Council has released a statement on sustainability in Barnet.
Cllr Dan Thomas, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “Across London, we have seen how climate change is playing a role in extreme weather events, such as storms and flooding.
These events in the context of the recent report published by the IPCC make it clear that important decisions need to be made at COP26, and we must all play our part in supporting the government’s commitment of being net zero by 2050 and cutting emissions by 78% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels.
We are developing a Sustainability Strategy which aims to make Barnet the leading borough in London in sustainability and ensure we match the government’s ambition that we have a sustainable and prosperous country for future generations.
Our Sustainability Strategy will highlight the work that is already ongoing across Barnet, as well as set out the additional actions Barnet Council will take to contribute to the government meeting, and even exceeding, their targets. It will also state how we will support residents, businesses and council partners to make meaningful changes to facilitate their contribution to these targets.
Above all, our strategy will be our commitment to building a borough fit for the future where our residents and businesses can benefit from sustainable services, amenities and infrastructure.
We will bring a high-level overview of the strategy to Policy & Resources Committee in December, which will include an update and an initial action plan.
The strategy will build on the existing sustainability measures we have already put in place, such as:
- starting the retrofit of our own housing stock and corporate estate with grants already secured
- by 2030 Brent Cross Town is committed to achieving net zero carbon
- the installation of over 150 electric vehicle charge points, in line with our Long Term Transport Strategy 2020-2041 which contributes to our position as one of the boroughs with the most electric vehicles
- invested £15m in ensuring our waste vehicles are all ULEZ compliant, more fuel efficient and with lower emissions
- converted our street lighting to LED power, which has allowed us to cut our street light energy usage by up to 66%
- experimental road resurfacing materials using 240 recycled tyres
- committed to planting 4,500 trees by 2022.”
Visit www.barnet.gov.uk/sustainability to find out more about Barnet Council’s commitment to a sustainable future, what the council has already done to make the borough more sustainable, and tips and suggestions to help residents live a more sustainable life.
Notes from the statement
We secured funding for our own housing stock and corporate estate through the Green Homes Grant and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Brent Cross in addition to being net zero will be a 15 minute town, meaning that all amenities and services are within 15 minutes travel for residents.