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Event Meeting Notice

Barnet’s Citizens’ Assembly Action Group Kickoff

Update 14 March 2024. The six Action Teams have now been set up. The name was changed from Action Group to Action Team. If you would be interested in joining one of the teams, please contact the webmaster, details at the foot of the page. The teams correspond to the five areas in the Citizens Assembly report, plus an inter-faith team. For details of the five areas, see the council’s response to the recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly (PDF download from https://engage.barnet.gov.uk/response-to-recommendations-from-the-citizens-assembly).

Update 18 January 2024. After attending the Barnet’s Citizens’ Assembly Action Group Kickoff meeting last night (17 January 2024, details below), I (Charles) think that there are major problems with the way that the community action is being organised. We need to have a much clearer view of what the council is planning to do, with cost/benefit numbers attached, and plan together how it is going to be implemented. Please get in touch via the email address at the bottom of the page if you would like to help improve the process.

As a followup to the Barnet Citizens’ Assembly, Barnet council have organised Barnet’s Citizens’ Assembly Action Group Kickoff meeting on Wednesday, 17 January 2024 in the evening.

Flyer here: BarNET ZERO Digital Invitation.pdf (PDF, 1 page, 140kB)

Dave McCormick writes:

The next event on the road to working to address the climate and biodiversity challenges is Wednesday 17th Jan 6.30- 9pm at Middlesex University Hendon.

My understanding is that the session will have 3 main elements:

  1. Sharing information about community activities that are already happening
  2. How to make community activities more impactful – building networks and partnerships, working with the council etc
  3. Action planning for action groups on areas to focus on. Action groups will include residents and council representatives and will have the challenge of making tangible progress by this summer on the path to sustainable Barnet

Example areas that I think may feature are housing and buildings (renewable energy/retrofit), food, waste, air quality, active travel, healthy nature… – but it will be shaped by who is in the room.

If you have a passion for something, want to find out what is going on, see how you can help make a difference, say what the council could do to help please come along.

To register please go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/barnets-citizens-assembly-action-group-kickoff-tickets-779351099117

Please share this invite.

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News

Letter published in Barnet Borough Times

Charles had the following letter published in the Barnet Borough Times on 29 June 2023.

Dear editor,

Without much fanfare, Barnet council have published the recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly and Young People’s Assembly on Climate Change and Biodiversity 2023, which were convened to help work out suitable policies following the declaration of a climate emergency by the council. There is a link to the sixteen recommendations on the Barnet Climate Action Group web site (www.barnetclimate.org.uk).

I hope that, when the recommendations are translated into policies, some figures are added for both the cost and the number of tons of carbon dioxide saved. These can obviously not be calculated accurately, but an estimate could be made. For some of the measures, for example insulation, the cost is the difference between the materials plus labour of doing the work, and the savings on fuel bills into the future: the answer you get depends on predictions of inflation and interest rates, so the estimate will be rough. And for some, like better information, the costs and benefits could be anything depending on what is done. And who is to say what is the cost of saving 20kg of carbon dioxide emissions by staying at home instead of driving to the seaside for a day trip? But my estimates are that the costs and benefits of the sixteen measures will vary widely and some numbers would help us to decide what to concentrate on.

There is a danger that, without the numbers, the measures with minimal savings will be implemented, and people will think that it is all taken care of, and no more needs to be done.

Charles Wicksteed
Abbotts Road, New Barnet

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News

Citizens’ Assembly and Young People’s Assembly on Climate Change and Biodiversity 2023 Recommendations

Update 4 June 2023: The council has published more information about the citizens assemblies’ recommendations, and announced a prize draw: https://engage.barnet.gov.uk/barnets-recommendations.

Without much fanfare, Barnet council have published the recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly and Young People’s Assembly on Climate Change and Biodiversity 2023. The recommendations are published as part of a PDF document linked from the agenda for the Cabinet meeting on 26 June 2023. See item 9 of that agenda “Sustainability Strategy – Recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly and Young People’s Assembly”. More publicity will be given to these recommendations in due course.

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Meeting

October 2022 Meeting – Sustainability Strategy, Energy Advice, Food

Our next BCAG meeting will be held on Thursday 13 October 7 – 8.30pm on Zoom. If you are on our mailing list you will have received the Zoom link. If you would like to join the list, please email us using the address at the foot of the page.

We hope to cover three issues and hence we will be extending the meeting to run for 1.5 hours.

  • An update on Barnet Council’s Sustainability Strategy – further information on which can be found on the webpage of the Council’s Environment and Climate Change Commitee’s latest meeting – see here
  • The provision of energy advice as bills rise – in Barnet and more widely
  • Food and emissions. A campaign to ask the council to promote plant-based food. The slides are here: Plant-Based-Barnet.pdf (PDF 3Mb 11 pages)
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Meeting Report

July 2022 Meeting – Barnet Climate Assembly

Our July meeting was on Tuesday 26 July 7-8pm via Zoom. The subject was: What should be covered in a Barnet Climate Assembly?.

Dave McCormick led the discussion about Citizens Assemblies. He has written a briefing paper about Citizens Assemblies (PDF, 200Kb, 5 pages) describing the experience of other councils, and giving guidance on how we should proceed in Barnet and suggestions for further reading.

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Blog

Biodiversity and climate change in North London

By Dennis Ayling, June 2022

This is about a missed opportunity in North London that has repercussions for Inner London boroughs, too.

Everyone now knows we are facing two interlinked emergencies: a devastating decline in biodiversity and catastrophic climate change.

Both threaten our survival, yet both were predicted over 40 years ago. Both are now crises over which we are imminently losing control.
Continue reading “Biodiversity and climate change in North London”
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Uncategorized

May 2022 Meeting – Barnet Council priorities

Barnet council has declared a climate emrgency following the election in which the Labour Party won a majority of the seats.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 31 May 2022 at 7pm online, when we will discuss what Barnet should be prioritising in terms of energy and climate. The zoom link will be sent to those on our mailing list. If you would like to join us, please email us using the address at the foot of the page (sorry it’s an image to prevent spam).

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Meeting Report

Barnet Environment Hustings – video and links

BCAG took part in an excellent environment policy hustings event on Wednesday 20 April 2022 organised by Barnet Friends of the Earth, Better Streets for Barnet, Barnet Green Spaces Network and BCAG focusing on energy, climate, green spaces and transport issues. A recording of the session can be seen here.

The manifestoes of the four parties contributing to the evening’s discussion can be seen here:

A list of candidates in all wards can be viewed here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Barnet_London_Borough_Council_election

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Uncategorized

April 2022 Meeting – walking, cycling and cleaner transport

Update 11th April: Jess Gold from Better Streets for Barnet gave a presentation and led the discussion.

Our April meeting is on Wednesday 6 April 6.30-7.30pm on Zoom. We will be discussing Barnet plans for walking, cycling and cleaner transport. The Zoom link has been sent to the email list. If you would like to join the list, please email the address at the foot of the page (sorry it’s an image to prevent spam).

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Meeting

March 2022 Meeting — Sustainability Strategy Workshops

Update 17 March: Mentioned during the meeting: a useful list of fifty actions that councils can take to make their area more climate and nature friendly, produced by Friends of the Earth: https://takeclimateaction.uk/download/climate-action-plan-councils.

There may be more notes to come.

Our March meeting is on Thursday 17 March 2022 from 6.30pm – 7.30pm online.

[Zoom Meeting link now removed]

We will be discussing Barnet’s Sustainability Strategy workshops – the first of which took place on 14 March in High Barnet.
The second will take place on Tuesday 15th in Burnt Oak, Edgware.
A third is taking place in Finchley on Wednesday 16th.
An online event for various groups is planned for the morning of Monday 21st March.

We hope that attendees to those workshops will be able to attend and provide feedback to BCAG.