Labour-run Lambeth Council and Chuka Umunna, parliamentary candidate for Streatham, have both signed up to the 10:10 carbon reduction campaign, committing to reducing their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.

The 10:10 project aims to encourage individuals and organisations to take action on climate change by reducing their carbon footprint. It has already been taken up by 16,000 individuals in the UK and over 600 businesses since its launch earlier this month. This includes every member of the British cabinet.

Lambeth council has pioneered sustainable building projects, such as the new Michael Tippett School which is one of the most sustainable school buildings in the country.

Chuka Umunna is a supporter of Sustainable Streatham, which works to minimise our area’s impact on the environment. Earlier this year he visited Hyde Farm Climate Action Network on Radbourne Road, which operates a successful local food-growing programme involving over 150 households.

Commenting on the campaign, Chuka Umunna said:

“Climate change presents a huge challenge to all of us, and that’s why I am making the 10:10 pledge.

“Although the government has made great strides in tackling climate change, for example with carbon budgets, individual choices are also crucial.

“10:10 allows our individual actions to have a clear, measured impact on carbon emissions. I urge others to find out more about the campaign and to sign up.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham, has signed up to become a beneficial owner of a plot of land on the proposed site of Heathrow Airport’s third runway as part of a Greenpeace campaign against its expansion.

Greenpeace’s ‘airplot’ is designed to act as an obstacle to the proposed third runway and is collectively owned by over 55,000 people who have signed up to the campaign.

The legal owners of the plot include impressionist Alistair McGowan and actress Emma Thompson, who described the Heathrow expansion plans as a “slap in the face for every citizen doing their best to cut back on their emissions.” Greenpeace has turned part of the plot into an allotment for the benefit of the local community which will be dispersed and cease to exist if the plans go ahead.

The Heathrow third runway would mean an additional 350 flights a day at the airport, increasing annual passenger numbers from 66 million to 82 million. It would make Heathrow the biggest single emitter of CO2 in Britain, at nearly 27 million tonnes a year. This is equivalent to the emissions of the 57 least poluting countries in the world combined.
Commenting on the campaign against Heathrow expansion, Umunna said:

“A third runway at Heathrow would undermine the great strides the government has made in tackling climate change.

“As well as increasing our carbon emissions, expanding Heathrow would significantly increase the number of flights over Streatham, creating more noise and pollution.

“We need to fight BAA’s plans, and I urge residents to follow me in signing up to Greenpeace’s excellent campaign.”

Brixton has been announced as one of ten low-carbon areas across London. It will pioneer a number of groundbreaking green projects and become a showcase for how London can become a low-carbon city.

The resulting projects include low-carbon heating for King’s College Hospital and improvements to Brixton’s community buildings to make them more energy efficient.

Brixton will aim to reduce its carbon emissions by over 20% by 2012, with residents, community organisations, businesses and Lambeth working together. The area will receive £200,000 of funding from the London Development Agency.

Brixton was selected by an expert panel following an application by Lambeth’s Labour council.

In December, world leaders are meeting in Copenhagen for a major summit on climate change. In this video, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband discusses the impact of global warming and the government’s five point plan for climate action.

The 2008 Climate Change Act made Britain the first country in the world to set legally binding carbon budgets, aiming to cut UK emissions by least 80% by 2050.

Last month, the government unveiled its energy white paper, which outlined the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy through investment in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies such as renewables, nuclear and carbon capture and storage.

Show your support for a global climate change deal by signing the Copenhagen pledge.

Philippe Castaing, Brixton Green from NewStartMag on Vimeo.

The Brixton Green development is a community project to sustainably develop a large site on Somerleyton Road in Brixton. Its vision is to combine work spaces for local small businesses with mixed-tenure housing, creating a hub for social and environmental enterprises. Chuka is a strong supporter of the project, which hopes to start building within two years.

In this video local restauranteur and Brixton Hill resident Phillipe Castaing, who initiated the project, discusses its aims.

The development will foster social cohesion by combining owner-occupied premises with social housing and providing communal spaces for residents to come together.

A large communal garden will be the centrepiece of the development, providing space for urban agriculture, including vegetable growing, bee keeping and greenhouses – producing 120 tonnes of produce a year.

To find out more, check out the Brixton Green development’s website.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham, calls for urgent action to tackle global warming and welcomes the government’s low-carbon plan which will save Streatham residents hundreds of pounds a year.

The government has pledged that by 2020 40% of our electricity will come from low carbon sources. The government’s low-carbon plan outlines how Britain will lead the way in making the transition to a low-carbon future and how local people will reap the benefits in lower energy costs, new jobs and green technology.

Commenting on how the government’s plans will help local residents, Mr Umunna said:

“Tackling climate change is both the right thing to do and is in financial interests of local residents.

“Expanding wind power, home insulation and introducing ’smart’ electricity meters will complement the grassroots efforts already being made by local groups like Transition Town Brixton, Sustainable Streatham and the Hyde Farm Climate Action Network to reduce our carbon footprint, whilst saving local people money.”

Smart electricity meters will be installed in every home, allowing consumers and energy suppliers to accurately monitor how much electricity is being used. This means that energy companies won’t need to manually check meters and it will bring an end to estimated bills, both which will cut costs and home energy bills. Smart meters also reduce energy consumption, as consumers can be more conscious of how much they are using.

Streatham residents can look forward to their bills being reduced by up to 10% a year as a result of smart meters, which could save more than £100 per household per year.

The government has also made grants available for insulation to cut homes’ energy use and spending. A quarter of homes are set to receive full eco-makeovers by 2020. Streatham households will benefit by reducing their energy waste and cutting heating bills. The average annual saving made by installing cavity wall insulation is £115.

Mr Umunna says savings from smart meters and insulation will help local residents worst hit by last year’s gas and electricity price hikes by suppliers and reduce fuel poverty:

“These proposals are not just good for the environment but will be of significant benefit to energy customers in Streatham, particularly after the massive and unacceptable price hikes made by the energy companies last year.”

Last month, Mr Umunna visited the Hyde Farm Climate Action Network, a grassroots organisation which puts into practice reducing the community’s carbon footprint. He is also a supporter of Sustainable Streatham, a local group launched recently to encourage sustainable projects and to campaign on green issues, and Transition Town Brixton, a community-led initiative that seeks to raise awareness locally of Climate Change.

1. Climate Change Act – We have made sure Britain leads the world in ambition on targets to reduce carbon emissions by introducing this Act.  It make us the first country in the world to put carbon reduction targets into law, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to 80% less than 1990 levels.

2. Renewable energy – This has doubled in five years and the Labour’s aim is to generate 15% of our energy from renewables by 2020.

3. The Great British Refurb – Labour has insulated 5 million homes since 2002 and, by regulating the energy companies, we are insulating a further 6 million homes between now and 2012, with every suitable loft and cavity being insulated by 2015.

4. Smart Meter - Our aim is that every home will have a smart meter by 2020. Smart meters mean the end of estimated billing and waiting for the meter man. Smart meters give people the power to cut their energy use, save money on their bills and cut their carbon emissions.

5. Transport – Labour has led in the EU by setting the toughest mandatory car emissions standards in the world, and accelerated the commercialisation of electric vehicles, many of which we now see around London’s streets. We have imposed the toughest emission standards for aviation in the world and we are introducing Crossrail which will increase rail capacity and give more local control of bus services.

As this weekend’s summer heat wave descended over London today, Chuka took some time out with Cllr Florence Nosegbe (far right), Labour’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Youth in Lambeth, to catch up with residents of Blenheim Gardens Estate at their fantastic Fun Day in Brixton Hill ward!  Here they are in the estate garden, overseen by Simon Ghartey (crouching).  Chuka finished up the day at the Abbeville Fete in Clapham, once again successfully organised by The Church of the Holy Spirit.

Lambeth Council is undertaking a programme of street improvement and tree planting as part of the borough’s £3.5m Better Neighbourhoods initiative. Pavements and roads will be resurfaced while outdated and uneccessary street furniture and signs will be removed to enhance streetscapes.

The programme includes major improvements for Streatham High Road, taking place this summer. Dozens of new trees will be planted along the road intersection while crossings and busy sections of the pavement will be widened.

Other neighbourhoods will benefit from more trees and better pavements, having been earmarked as being in most urgent need of environmental improvements. These include Streatham Vale, Brixton Hill and the Poynders Estate in Clapham.

Some of the initiative’s funds are targetted specifically for estates, bringing improved play areas and recycling facilities alongside tree planting. Across Lambeth, around 250 of the new trees will be planted on residential streets, helping to make our area greener and more attractive.

Recently, Chuka visited the community garden set up by Hyde Farm Climate Action Network on Radbourne Road, and was shown around the site by co-founder Adrian Audsley.

Hyde Farm CAN was established in 2007 and includes over 150 households on the Hyde Farm estate in Balham. It is a grassroots organisation which puts into practice reducing the community’s carbon footprint. The Radbourne Road gardening project has recently been established to create capacity for local food growing, allowing local residents to grow their own vegetables. Alongside this, Hyde Farm CAN has helped residents insulate their homes for the winter to reduce fuel usage and energy bills.

The organisation is inspired by the transition towns movement, which involves urban areas finding ways to adapt to the challenges of climate change and rising oil prices. Hyde Farm CAN’s ‘think global, act local’ approach is to be applauded, and provides an excellent example of how, by working together, urban living can be made more sustainable.

For more information, check out Hyde Farm CAN’s website.