Last week, a report at Hounslow Council’s Cabinet Meeting (Tuesday 15 November) highlighted some key successes in the delivery of the ambition to achieve net zero.
Published: Monday, 21st November 2022
The report also delivered new actions and plans that will help Hounslow create a more sustainable borough for residents.
On the pathway to net zero, key successes so far have seen the Council reduce its carbon emissions by 2.5%, generate nearly 4000kW renewable energy (by installing Solar PV at 48 sites) and retrofit 32 schools and 29 corporate buildings with decarbonisation measures. Approximately £8million has also been invested to improve energy efficiency of its council housing.
The report also details some of the Council’s targets that are a marker for its success:
- Planting 20,000 more trees and grow more wildflowers in our parks.
- Reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2026 from council operations.
- Investing £5 million to ensure our parks and open spaces remain among the best in London.
- Generating 25% of the energy the Council uses.
- Improving our resilience to flooding.
- Ensuring all council housing meets Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band B or is as energy efficient as possible
- Classifying 45% of the borough as Green Infrastructure.
- Encouraging more people to recycle more of their waste and achieve a recycling rate of 50%.
- Developing low carbon neighbourhoods.
- Improving the borough’s air quality by providing safe walking and cycling routes and good public transport options.
- Installing more than 2000 additional electrical vehicle charging points.
Councillor Katherine Dunne, Deputy Leader at Hounslow Council and Lead Member for Climate Environment and Transport Strategy, said:
“Hounslow Council declared a climate emergency back in 2019 and is at the forefront of bold climate action. Since then, we have taken huge steps forward, with significant investment into decarbonising our buildings, retrofit, changing our fleet and in working with and supporting our communities. We are leading one of the seven climate programmes being delivered by London Councils; our Green Economy Action Plan sets out how local authorities across the capital can double the size of the green economy by 2030 and ensure a sustainable future for our residents and communities.
“Although we face big challenges ahead, we are also presented with fantastic opportunities which will allow our communities and businesses to thrive – the creation of more jobs, skills and training, the growth of a greener economy, a cleaner greener environment, health, and social benefits, amongst others.
“We realise we cannot tackle the climate crisis alone. To make a real impact, it must involve action at a national level underpinned by ambitious delivery of projects and funding. We must move projects at pace if we are to reduce carbon emissions at the scale required and we need the funding to back these plans.
“However, if we are to play our part in the global effort to tackle the impact of climate emergency, we need the Government to take urgent action now to provide the necessary funding enabling towns and cities to implement the measures to accelerate to net zero.”
In October, Councillor Katherine Dunne, lead member for Climate Environment and Transport Strategy, joined national decision-makers and influencers from over 30 organisations at the 3Ci Net Zero Investment Summit to focus on the critical need for collaboration and funding to accelerate clean energy transitions. Hosted by Cities Commission for Climate Investment, the 3Ci summit aimed to help identify pathways to bring projects forward for investment and unlock wider opportunities.
The Council also recently joined an international network of cities and local authorities committed to improving local climate resilience - the first London borough to join Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030). The partnership informs comprehensive resilience strategy that integrates disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation & sustainability, and engages all communities.
You can find out how the Council is progressing on delivering it’s pledges in the full cabinet report: A Greener Hounslow - Tackling the Climate Emergency.
