At our recent council meeting we declared a ‘climate emergency’ in Tower Hamlets and committed to work towards being a ‘carbon neutral borough’ by 2025.
We were addressed by parents, but also by local schoolchildren, worried about the future.
In case you wonder why, and whether this is just some campaign that doesn’t really affect us, let me be clear it’s not just about icebergs and rising sea levels that may affect the whole world but won’t hit us in Tower Hamlets just yet.
It’s more urgent because locally our air quality, every day, exceeds safe standards, and it’s affecting people’s health.
Action means working across borough boundaries, and indeed national boundaries.
But it also needs local action. Our initiatives such as the Breathe Clean campaign compliment London-wide policies to reduce our environmental impact.
We need to step up our efforts and consider the legacy we will leave our children.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here