Entries tagged with “Climate Change” from Working For Walthamstow

 I want to share with readers the issues which local residents have been asking me about in the general election campaign. People's local concerns include the future of trees in Lloyd Park, the future of the EMD Cinema and school places. National issues that people have raised with me include the renewal of Trident, the nature of parliamentary reform, the digital economy bill and the role of lobbyists in parliament, the war in Iraq, and climate change. If you want to know more about the responses I've given please get in touch. I'd be happy to send them to you as well.

I promised to pass on the responses I received from the local council to the points residents raised at our recent community meeting with Ed Miliband MP. I've now received this first response, from Cllr Marie Pye:

Thank you to everyone who came to our community meeting with Ed Miliband last Thursday. Over 250 local residents participated in the discussion, representing many different aspects of Walthamstow. It was inspiring to hear them come together to talk with such knowledge and passion about how we can tackle climate change. A big thank you to Willowfield School, staff, parents and pupils for their help and participation as well. 

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As well as questioning Ed on all sorts of issues we also we gathered feedback from the tables on how we want ourselves to see things change in order to be able to live a lower carbon lifestyle. I've now sent these ideas to the Government and the local Council for their feedback on the points people made. When I get their responses, I'll circulate them via my e-newsletter so do get in touch if you would like to receive this information.
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 If you'd like to respond to the ideas in this document - or correct any misreadings of handwriting - you can find it all on Facebook here As we mentioned at the event, I'll be attending The Wave this Saturday 5^th December, along with Ed Miliband. The Wave has been organised by the StopClimate Change Chaos coalition. It's a rally for action on climate change and part of a global series of public actions.
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The Wave will call on world leaders to take urgent action to secure a fair international deal to stop global
warming exceeding the danger threshold of 2 degrees C.  We will be leaving Walthamstow at 11.30am on
Saturday to join the rally in Grosvenor Square in central London before the march starts at 1pm. The nearest tube is Bond Street. If you would like to join me and other local residents on this event to show your support for action on climate change, please getin touch.  

In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. On 7th December 2009 the UN Climate Conference will open in Copenhagen and the world community will try to agree a solution to the gravest threat it has ever faced; global warming.Up to 15,000 officials, advisers, diplomats, campaigners and media personnel from nearly 200 countries, joined by limousine-loads of heads of state and government from America's President Barack Obama down, are expected to meet in the Danish capital in one of the most significant gatherings in history.

This summit isn't just a matter for those who are concerned about the environment. The world's poorest communities suffer the most from climate change, and unless we act as a world community our capacity not only to tackle climate change but also world poverty is at risk.

As citizens we need action in Copenhagen to agree tough new targets on cutting CO2 emissions. And as consumers we also need to act ourselves. Over the course of the next year in the run up to Copenhagen 2009 let us work together not only to lobby Government for change but also ask how we can support each other to make choices in our everyday lives about how we use resources. Government cannot act alone to address these challenges. We must act together to all contribute to securing a safer, more sustainable and more socially just society for every human being. 

This process of making choices doesn't have to happen overseas. We can start it here too in Walthamstow for the sake of our families, our friends, our community, our fellow citizens across the world and our climate. If you would like to be part of activities to support this work over the course of the year ahead please get in touch.

You may have seen some of the press coverage this week about a piece of legislation that will drive fundamental change in the way in which we as a nation use energy and our resources. The Climate Change Bill, which had its third reading in the House of Commons this week, will be of interest to many local residents who share my concern about the devastating consequences of global warming. The Bill makes the UK the first country to sign up to legally binding national targets for reducing the emissions that lead to climate change. Setting up an independent committee to monitor progress, it commits the UK to ambitious targets of at least 26 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020, and at least 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050 - I'm particularly pleased to see a recognition of the need to include aviation and shipping emissions. Coupled with the new Government Department for Energy and Climate Change to oversee these issues, I believe these measures reflect a renewed commitment by Labour to make Britain take responsibility for our part in global warming and also offer leadership on the need to act internationally as well. I also recognise addressing climate change will require more work being done at a national level so I look forward to the outcomes of our transition town discussions at a local level and to hearing your views on how we can support action to address climate change here in Walthamstow.