Haringey “will become London’s first zero-carbon borough” as it bids to lead the way in tackling climate change. The ambitious pledge was made as the fifth annual Haringey Carbon Report was presented to Full Council. Haringey remains the only borough to track and publish its record on reducing local carbon emissions.

Since launching its dedicated carbon reduction drive – Haringey 40:20 – five years ago, the council has led a number of programmes to slash its own carbon emissions as well as those across the borough.

The council’s own carbon emissions have tumbled by 45 percent since 2006, including a staggering 19 percent reduction in 2014/15, while borough-wide emissions have fallen nearly 14 percent, above the national average.

Despite a rising population, Haringey emissions per person are 41 percent lower than the greater London average, and 73 percent lower than the UK average.

Council-led schemes that have helped reduce Haringey’s wider carbon footprint include:

  • Smart Homes – grants for home energy efficiency improvements, such as better insulation and boilers
  • Smart Business – financial support for more than 40 local businesses to install energy efficiency measures
  • Decent Homes – council house improvements including new boilers, insulation and double glazing
  • Durham University partnership – joint research on effective measures to reduce carbon
  • Fuel Poverty – supporting those in fuel poverty, including help managing energy bills and reducing energy use
  • Transport – encouraging sustainable transport, such as walking and cycling, including through improved facilities
  • Haringey 40:20 community fund – grants for local organisations to run carbon reduction schemes
  • Decentralised energy – earmarking regeneration areas where decentralised energy networks could cut carbon and reduce costs for the local community
  • Innovation Hub – supporting businesses to access new technology to reduce emissions
  • Planning policy – setting out minimum energy efficiency standards for new developments

Cllr Joe Goldberg, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Social Inclusion and Sustainability, told last night’s meeting that while local carbon reductions have been delivered, reducing carbon emissions is a greater challenge than ever before.

And he called on fellow boroughs, the government and industry to play their part after the government scrapped funding for Green Deal energy assessments, despite Haringey leading the second-most successful pilot scheme in the country.

Cllr Goldberg said:

“I am proud of the progress we have made this year, the success of our projects underlines our commitment to taking carbon reduction seriously. I am determined that Haringey be London’s first zero-carbon borough.
 
“As a council we have led by example, exceeding our carbon reduction targets and challenging ourselves to go further, but we can’t meet these ambitions alone.

“Local and national government – and our local communities – must work together to address the very real threats of continued global warming.
 
“Government policy is increasingly unclear and funding for carbon reduction schemes has been slashed. As we approach the critical COP21 summit in Paris, we must do all we can to drive forward carbon emission reductions and encourage others to learn from Haringey’s example.”