Haringey Carbon Commission launched

Publication date: Monday 30 January 2012

Haringey Council has teamed up with leading independent think-tank nef (the new economics foundation) to launch the Haringey 40:20 Carbon Commission.

The Commission, which will meet for the first time on Monday 30 January, includes some of the UK’s leading thinkers, economists, environmental experts, academics and business leaders. It will be chaired by Andrew Simms, a fellow at nef, who also served on the High Pay Commission.

The Commission has been tasked with identifying a roadmap for Haringey that will not only help the authority fulfil its pledge to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2020, but show how to drive economic growth and achieve prosperity for all without an equivalent rise in emissions.

The Commission is joined by a wide range of experts that includes Friends of the Earth, the Institute for Sustainability, Igloo Regeneration, Consumer Focus, the Co-operative Bank, and previous members of Nicholas Stern’s team.

The Commission’s five work streams will explore:

• Green enterprise - how to grow the local green economy and create 15,000 jobs
• Regenerating Tottenham - how regeneration can help create a greener, lower carbon community
• Low Carbon Investment - looking at community ownership models, how to develop a sustainable business model to drive activity over the next eight years
• Community Involvement - how to drive behaviour change through local community networks
• Sustainable Transport - to identify how to move the borough onto greener, cleaner methods of transport

Cllr Joe Goldberg, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Carbon Reduction, said:

In Haringey, the ambition to tackle carbon emissions is a central plank of our programme because it is core to our economic strategy. We are already one of London’s lowest carbon boroughs, but mainly because we are one of its poorest.

So as the UK’s most unequal borough we need to solve the global conundrum of how to achieve simultaneous economic growth and reduced CO2 emissions.

By working together with experts on the Carbon Commission, I hope we can meet this difficult challenge, create an exportable solution for greener prosperity and in doing so stimulate economic growth in Haringey, creating 15,000 jobs or more in the area.

Andrew Simms, chair of the Carbon Commission said:

I’m really excited to be working with such a passionate team of people on this groundbreaking project.

What Haringey, are embarking upon is both ambitious and necessary. The challenge that faces the Borough - and all of us - is to transition to a low carbon economy whilst delivering prosperity and fairness and well-being. It is a challenge I believe we can meet.

• Residents are encouraged to have their say and pose questions to the Carbon Commission. To find out more, visit the Haringey 40:20 website (external link), email haringey4020@haringey.gov.uk or call 020 8489 5691.

Subscribe to Email Alerts |  RSS News Feed | What is RSS? | News Archive

• Return to Latest News or the News Archive