Newham Council has signed up to UK100, a network of highly ambitious local government leaders who seek to implement clean energy in the fight against climate change.
At a meeting of Full Council, the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, OBE, said to her fellow councillors: “Finally colleagues, I am delighted to announce that Newham is now signed up to UK100’s new ambitious Climate Zero Pledge and membership.
“This is a really important and timely declaration in our commitment to combat climate change, and which accelerates our ambitions to reduce our damaging and toxic emissions as we approach COP26.
“The pledge commits us to a goal of carbon zero in terms of council operations by 2030 and carbon zero for the borough area by 2045. This strengthens our previous goal of 2050, which we set in 2019 when we first declared a Climate Emergency, and we join with other councils in doing so.
“This is important because we know that the upcoming COP gathering of world leaders will be the most significant since the Paris accords. There is a huge imperative for governments, including our own, to put in both the resources, coordination and the actions to rapidly and radically reduce emissions. Every year we fail to do this will have a catastrophic impact and we simply do not have a choice but to do this now, and rapidly.
“Of course, we are acutely aware that this more ambitious goal will bring challenges, especially in the context of government cuts and the issues we are grappling with as we emerge from Covid 19. Of course, there must be far greater funding and coordination from government, to support councils like ours in delivering carbon reductions.
“In joining UK100 we will be part of a common advocacy and framework. This announcement today begins a month of setting out and stepping up of our actions as we approach the COP conference. We will be taking this message out into the wider community -- that we stand ready to take forward our roadmap to carbon zero. But the government must deliver with the resources and power to get on with this, and so we will be raising our voices on behalf of our residents.
“So I am very pleased to sign up to the pledge, as we step up our climate action plans across the council.”
UK1oo is a network of local government leaders who are looking to implement plans for the transition to clean energy that are ambitions, cost effective and take the public and businesses with them. It is the only network in the UK solely focused on climate, clean air and energy policy.
It supports decision-makers in UK towns, cities and counties in their transition to Net Zero. It is the only network for UK local leaders focused solely on climate, clean energy and clean air policy. The most ambitious policy, Net Zero Local Leadership Club, aims to do everything it can to get communities to Net Zero carbon emission by 2045 at the latest. The policy states that this is not only good for the planer but also for the people organisations signed up to the UK100 represent who deserve warm homes, affordable energy, clean air, local and seasonal food, access to thriving nature and healthy landscapes.
To accelerate the transition to this Net Zero society, UK100 brings together local authorities across the country to share knowledge, collaborate, and petition the UK government with their collective power, working together to create flourishing communities - seizing the opportunities of technology to create jobs and establishing a nationwide project of renewal, focussed on local needs and ambitions.
The UK100 was formed after the Government passed legislation in 2019 to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050, keeping in line with the international commitment made in the Pros Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The UK100 goes further and wants to achieve this sooner, by 2030, but no later than 2045. Over 100 local authorities have signed the UK100 to work together to achieve this aim.
To find out more about UK100, visit: UK100 | Network of highly ambitious local government leaders for cleaner, more powerful communities