Councillor Mete Coban has pledged to continue a “long-term conversation on the climate crisis” after last week’s citizens’ assembly on Hackney’s response to the issue.
Cllr Coban, Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm, hosted the event alongside Mayor Philip Glanville on Thursday, March 3. Participants were drawn from a diverse selection of residents who were signed up to the council’s Hackney Matters panel, an online community for Hackney residents.
Key to the council’s ongoing work to reverse the effect of climate change is engaging with young people. Cllr Coban and Mayor Glanville met with students of Cardinal Pole Catholic School in Homerton and hosted an online discussion.
Residents were encouraged to give their opinions on how the area can transition to a greener future. They discussed how to convince people to make more environmental choices, not participating in fast-fashion, and discouraging advertising of high-carbon goods.
Supporting green, local businesses is another priority for the council. It has allocated £24 million over the next three years to numerous projects committed to achieving its net-zero green target.
The council itself has committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2040. It also points out that residents in the borough already have some of the lowest per capita emissions of anywhere in the country.
Cllr Coban said of the event: “We started the process with our green recovery event last year, and we want to build on this in the coming years – hearing about residents’ hopes and aspirations for tackling the climate crisis is a major step to building a greener borough together.
“So many diverse voices were at our event, including private renters, people living in social housing, and so many young people all discussing ways on how we can work together to tackle the climate crisis and rebuild a greener Hackney.”
As Hackney has a large proportion of social housing and renters, Mayor Glanville added that the council would “work with communities to change those situations for people who do not have as much control over where their energy comes from”.
Hackney resident Geoff who attended the assembly said: “I’ve been living in Hackney now for about 80 years. To talk to some people about climate change, they just do not want to know but it’s a shame really because it affects everybody.
“Climate change is important because of the youngsters. When they grow up, they will pass that way of thinking onto their children.”
