Lib Dems secure cross-party backing for Hounslow Council to make 10:10 climate change pledge

12.00.00am GMT Tue 27th Oct 2009

Lib Dems have secured Hounslow Council's support for the 10:10 campaign

Lib Dems tonight secured cross-party backing for a motion to full borough Council calling on Hounslow to pledge its support to the 10:10 climate change campaign. A minor amendment was put forward by the Tories and accepted by the Lib Dem movers of the motion, Cllrs Dakers and Howliston. The 10:10 pledge means that LB Hounslow must work to reduce its CO2 emissions by 10% in 2010.

Moving the motion Cllr Dakers, Leader of Hounslow Liberal Democrats, said:

"A report earlier this year by the Global Humanitarian Forum, led by Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General concluded climate change is already killing 300,000 people a year in a "silent crisis" that is seriously affecting hundreds of millions more. This is an issue of social justice as well as a call to take environmental action.

"We welcome Cllr Reid and Fishers' amendment and believe we can all take pride in London Borough of Hounslow's Carbon Management Plan that aims for a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2017 with an interim target of 20% by 2012.

"The challenge of course in Hounslow is speed of delivery and hitting the targets. We first suggested in Q2 2007 that the Council needed to appoint an energy manager. This took until the Autumn of 2008. The climate change fund we proposed in a detailed paper in early 2008 was approved under the title of a Carbon Management Fund a year later, but the Council still has to finalise plans for the first four projects and put a funding application into Salix.

"Whilst we welcome the cross party consensus around the problem & solution, we believe the Executive should not ask the impossible of our officers and clearly need more human resource behind delivery, if LB Hounslow's targets are to be taken seriously."

Related Links:

10:10 campaign website

Cllr Dakers full speech moving the motion

Full borough council agenda - motion text