Climate Emergency Action Plan update - our achievements so far
In 2020, we launched our Climate Emergency Action Plan which sets out our ambition for Lewisham to be a net-zero borough by 2030. Three years on, I want to update you on the progress we’ve made in delivering on this plan - which continues to be ranked as one of the best in London by Climate Emergency UK.
Retrofitting our buildings
We know many council buildings that were built in previous decades, such as our schools and housing estates, don’t meet the high standards we have for now for carbon emissions and energy efficiency, so retrofitting our buildings is a key part of our work on the Climate Emergency.
We’ve replaced gas boilers with air source heat pumps in three of our local schools, as well as delivering a range of other energy efficiency improvements, such as better insulation and ventilation. Looking ahead, we’ve secured funding to develop detailed decarbonisation plans in schools with heating systems that are no longer fit for purpose and work is continuing a strategy to decarbonise all our schools by 2030.
Retrofitting our housing stock is also key to reducing carbon emissions in the borough. We have worked closely with Lewisham Homes to ensure any scheduled improvement works on our housing estates maximise opportunities to reduce carbon emissions, and this approach will continue as we bring our housing management services in house. We have also bid for £2.9m of funding from the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, to support wider plans for £9m of decarbonisation works across our housing estates.
Supporting sustainable transport
Bringing down the borough’s carbon emissions also requires us to reduce the number of polluting vehicles on our streets and encourage people to use more sustainable modes of transport.
I’m proud to say that we now have one of the highest number of School Streets in London, with 48 roads closed at drop-off and pick-up times for 39 different schools in Lewisham. This makes it easier and safer for parents and children to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to school, as well as reducing congestion and improving air quality around our schools.
We are also continuing to accelerate the delivery of electric vehicle charging points in Lewisham, with over 150 electric vehicle charging points now in place across the borough, as well as installing more cycle hangars for local residents.
Earlier this year, we launched ambitious plans to reduce the amount of unrestricted car parking in the borough and install more active travel infrastructure through our Sustainable Streets programme, helping to reduce the number of car journeys taking place in the borough and encourage more sustainable travel.
We’ve also secured funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to expand our air quality monitoring network, helping us to monitor changes in air pollution and inform our approach to improving air quality in the borough.
Creating a greener borough and protecting biodiversity
The climate crisis is putting significant pressure on biodiversity and habitats and we have an important responsibility as a Council to protect and take care of our natural environment. We continue to maintain and improve our 47 parks and green spaces, as well as using our planning powers to protect biodiversity and green spaces in the borough that are not owned by the Council. We have also secured £1.2m from the Environment Agency to deliver important flood protection measures in Beckenham Place Park, helping reduce flood risk and protect nearby properties. Planting new trees remains a top priority as part of our Climate Emergency work. In 2021/2022, nearly 300 new street trees were planted in partnership with Street Trees for Living and almost 1,000 new trees were planted in our parks. An additional 500 street trees are being planted in the 2022/2023 planting season and we will continue to work with residents and community groups to support more tree planting.
As part of wider work to take care of green spaces big and small, this spring, we will be launching a programme to protect local wildlife by encouraging the growth of grassy verges and enclosures in the borough. Grass verges provide a safe habitat for pollinators and other wildlife that play a vital role in the local ecosystem.
Communicating and campaigning
As well as taking action as a Council, we want to engage as many people as possible in our mission to reach net-zero. Our year as London Borough of Culture Year 2022 has had a strong focus on climate action, with over 5,000 residents participating in our ‘Lewisham Speaks’ project in some shape or form, which saw artists popping up across the borough to engage residents on issues around the Climate Emergency.
We’re working to ensure that residents and businesses are provided with practical advice about how they can help reduce their carbon emissions throughout the year, using a variety of communications channels to share information about reducing food waste, improving energy efficiency and adopting more sustainable modes of travel.
We’ve also continued to lobby the Government on the climate crisis, with our calls for greater certainty around long-term funding for projects to support the path to net-zero featured in the recent independent review of the Government’s approach to net-zero.
Looking ahead
We are proud of the progress we have made so far, but we know there’s a lot more still to do to achieve our ambitious climate goals. We will carry on putting the Climate Emergency at the heart of our work as a Council, working with local partners, businesses and residents to deliver on our Action Plan and reporting back on the progress being made towards our goal of reaching net-zero by 2030.