Southwark is one of the leading councils in London for tackling climate change

27 January 2022

Climate Emergency UK, an independent action group set up to ensure that councils are committed to tackling climate change, has today announced that Southwark Council is the second best council in London for its plans to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Experts at the action group assess council plans across the UK for their commitment to tackling climate change and their strategy to deliver those promises. They found that Southwark was one of the best councils in London for allocating funding to meet its zero carbon targets and had best practice plans in place for transport, business, heating and buildings to become more environmentally friendly.

The group praised the council for making climate change something that everyone in Southwark could be a part of. This included the development of a Citizen’s Jury, where 25 residents, representative of the borough’s population, independently put forward recommendations for how best Southwark can tackle the climate emergency fairly and effectively.

In the ‘scorecard,’ which details how well the council performed under the action group’s assessment criteria, the council received full marks for its plans to reduce toxic emissions and was praised for its approach in helping residents, staff and elected members understand the importance of tackling climate change together.

Councillor Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency and Sustainable Development said: "I am delighted that our work in tackling climate change has been recognised by Climate Emergency UK.

“We are proud of the work that the council and our local communities are doing to meet our ambitions to be carbon-neutral by 2030, but we know that we can always do more, and have already committed to updating our action plan this year. In particular, we will want to reflect the forthcoming report from our Climate Change Citizen’s Jury.

“Tackling the Climate Emergency is top of the council’s agenda and we’re excited by all the positive benefits that this will generate for Southwark residents – cleaner air, new green jobs, more trees and quality green spaces across the borough, and warmer homes.”

• The council’s progress in tackling climate change
• Climate Emergency’s review of Southwark Council’s plans

Page last updated: 27 January 2022