Press Release

‘HOW CAN WE CUT CAMDEN’S CARBON FOOTPRINT?’ ASKS COUNCIL

15 May 2007

Inventive ideas for cutting Camden’s carbon footprint will be the hot topic of debate for the council next week.   

The suggestions for reducing the borough’s carbon emissions by looking at energy generation and efficiency have been put forward by the council’s Sustainability Taskforce – in its first major report1. 

They include:

• Installing combined cooling, heat and power systems on housing estates and large sites to provide locally generated and efficiently supplied energy.
• Establishing a revolving energy fund for Camden Council buildings, to finance energy efficiency measures and return savings on future energy bills to the fund.
• Introducing a carbon accounting and reporting system to monitor and feed back on the council’s carbon emissions each year.
• Offering ‘green audits’ and better advice and incentives for homes, institutions and small businesses to help cut their carbon emissions. 
• Creating model ‘green’ houses that would inspire residents and building companies to incorporate similar measures into their own homes, and offering incentives to private homeowners to fit energy generation and efficiency measures.

Cllr Keith Moffitt, Leader of Camden Council, said:  “Climate change affects us all and we need to take urgent action to work towards a sustainable Camden. One of the main reasons why we set up the Sustainability Taskforce was to challenge the council to reduce Camden’s carbon footprint, and we’ll look carefully at its ideas to see how we can do exactly that.”

Cllr Alexis Rowell, Camden Council’s Eco Champion and chair of the Sustainability Taskforce, said: “The biggest carbon reductions we can make are by decentralising energy production and ensuring we use it more efficiently.   If these innovative proposals are adopted, Camden will become one of the most environmentally friendly boroughs in Britain.”

The council’s Executive group will decide which recommendations to take forward at a meeting next Wednesday (23 May).