Lewisham Council has put forward a draft Flood Risk Management Strategy, and has invited consultations from the public. It is currently light on detail but we think the final strategy should be strong on recognising the role that green and blue infrastructure as well as our existing mature trees play in flood mitigation. You can read our detailed response here. [...]
Why Cycle?For several years I would regularly drive to work because it was the quickest option. That was before I became aware of air pollution and all the health and inequality problems it wreaks on our communities. Around then I also got switched on to climate change and I started getting the train and walking to work instead. And then [...]
If you were on Twitter or the BBC news website around the end of June you might have seen slightly alarming footage of cars mounting pavements in Lee Green, a council ward in the northeast of Lewisham. This was an early teething problem, quickly rectified, associated with the introduction of London’s largest low traffic neighbourhood. It is one of a [...]
A report from the International Energy Agency says that although carbon dioxide levels fell by 17% on average globally during the lockdown, emissions are already back to within 5% of last year’s, and warns that a rebound may cause dangerously high emissions as we go back to “normal”. If emissions rebound, says the executive director, Fatih Birol, “it is [...]
As a respiratory doctor, I’m really interested in air pollution, so the recent high media profile of the various relationships between Covid-19 and air pollution has caught my attention. The bulk of my work as a doctor is seeing people who come into hospital with flare ups of their chronic lung condition - mostly asthma and COPD. In fact, [...]
Congratulations to CAL member Carole Destre, who has voluntarily given up her car for primary reasons of air quality, CO2e emissions, and community benefit (and it was needing expensive servicing which she felt wasn't worth the use of the car). Carole lives in Brockley, has a partner and a young daughter, currently works in Greenwich and has the normal life [...]
Since declaring a Climate Emergency in February 2019, Lewisham Council has been developing a Climate Emergency Action Plan which will outline the measures required to successfully meet the objective of becoming a carbon-neutral borough by 2030. A key part of this work was commissioning an analysis of the various sources of CO2 emissions in the borough. Since completion of this research, Lewisham’s [...]
On February 26 2019, in recognition of the climate and biodiversity crisis we are in, Lewisham Council unanimously passed a motion to declare a climate emergency. The motion called upon the Mayor and cabinet to commit to making Lewisham carbon neutral by 2030. Residents in Lewisham, and members of our group Climate Action Lewisham, were proud to be one of [...]