A new Eco Champion for Camden

Great news - I've been appointed Eco Champion for Camden. I've been asked to set up a Sustainability Taskforce (SusForce?) with a remit to identify and implement ways to make life in Camden more sustainable. That's the main reason I joined the Lib Dems - to do something concrete about the climate change agenda so I'm happy as Larry.

But how do you define sustainability? Well, most people start with the 1987 Brundtland report written for the the United Nations, which defined sustainability as: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

In addition we believe we have:
- A moral duty to make Camden a more sustainable community for future generations;
- A political obligation to work together as a community to counteract global warming, protect natural resources and prevent destruction of our environment by individuals, organisations, businesses and governments; and
- An economic interest in reducing our dependence on and use of fossil fuels, cutting down on packaging and reducing waste.

I now have the splendid task of setting up the Sustainability Taskforce. I plan to include Councillors of all parties. Various Lib Dems and Greens have already signed up. I gather there is some interest in the Labour group. Thus far I have had not a flicker of interest from Cameron's shiny new turquoise environmentally conscious Conservatives but it's early days. I also want to invite outside groups and experts to take part.
The aim is to come up with new ideas or borrow ideas from elsewhere, then propose them to the Council Executive and monitor their implementation. For example, I want to see step changes in the amount of renewable energy Camden Council purchases and generates, in the amount and the way we recycle (see photo above of me with my beloved compost bin!), and in the implementation of energy efficiency measures.

Lots to do. Much to be excited about. Watch this space for more details.

A cycling lesson in Paris

Say what you like about the French, but when they decide to go for something as a community they really do go for it. Take cycling for example. When I left Paris in 2004, after six years of living and working there, cycle lanes were unheard of. Even last year there were none to speak of. Yet almost overnight they have sprouted up everywhere in the French capital. Every road seems to have a properly separated two-way cycle lane.

Contrast that with London where cycle lanes are usually part of the main traffic flow and often disappear altogether, or are blocked by parked cars, or made dangerous by speed bumps. Or where people are fined hundreds of pounds for cycling in a park. We want to encourage people to cycle more because of the environmental and health benefits, but we make it so difficult and dangerous for them to do so.

In my ward – Belsize – lots of parents tell me they would let their children cycle to school if only it wasn’t so dangerous. That’s why the Lib Dems will be pushing for a big increase in proper cycle lanes throughout Camden over the next four years.