The overwhelming majority of Hackney residents interviewed by Greenpeace volunteers on Broadway Market, and Columbia Road Market said they want urgent action from government directed at tackling the climate emergency.
The Shoreditch Greenpeace group held conversations with Hackney residents to find out whether they noticed any impacts of climate change locally, what they believe to be the biggest cause of climate change, and what they think needs to be done to tackle it.
The recent IPCC report warned we have just over a decade left to cut our carbon emissions in order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. In late July, Britain experienced its hottest day on record, with the mercury hitting 37.9 degrees here in London, while a MET Office study revealed that the top 10 warmest years on record in the UK have all occurred since 2002.
Fearghal Corbett, a volunteer with Greenpeace Shoreditch group who lives on Loddiges Road said:
‘We need to take urgent action on the climate emergency. The overwhelming majority of residents we spoke to (72%) here in Hackney are noticing local impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather and rising temperatures. Hackney council joined other council’s around the UK in declaring a climate emergency back in February, but more needs to be done to tackle this imminent crisis.
When local people were presented with a list of the biggest producers of greenhouse emissions that cause climate change, the majority of respondents identified agriculture (47%) followed by energy production (25%) as the main offenders.
The majority (72%) agreed that they would support Government taking action to tackle climate change, even if this had a negative impact on their own lifestyle. These changes included driving less, eating less meat, and reducing dependency on central heating, but they call on the Government to lead the way.
Fearghal continued, ‘Following the hottest recorded day in our history, I’m really worried that if we don’t take urgent action on climate now, my children will inherit an uninhabitable planet. It’s the fossil fuel companies that are profiting from this crisis and they need to take responsibility and stop fuelling the climate fire.’
‘The new Government’s first priority must be to tackle the climate emergency. Our conversations show that we’re already doing our bit here in Hackney, but we need our Government to lead the way in reducing emissions and introduce policies that make it easier for people to live greener lives. We need to bring forward the deadline for reaching net zero to earlier than 2045 or our children will inherit an uninhabitable planet.’’
