My record of action
Caring for the environment has always been an important part of my life.
As an aid worker on Namibia I worked on a world-leading community conservation programme, that contributed to 12,000 more Namibian elephants. This programme was based on liberal principle that involving people in conservation is right. It was also effective because it created local jobs, meaning that everyone had an interest in the programme succeeding.
I’ve also worked closely with the UN Climate Change Convention, Christiana Figueres, and her leadership team. There I helped them create consensus that tackling climate change wasn’t just a good thing, but could solve many other social problems like air pollution and job creation. Recently I’ve helped them improve their digital campaigning.
Closer to home, inspired by my own kid’s experience, I’m helping develop a new app, launching this autumn. If it works well, it will hugely increase re-use of children’s toys, clothes and equipment.
A promise of more…
I will fully integrate the environment into my broader policies.
I will:
-
Fight Brexit. It is crucial to tackling climate change.
-
Tackle air pollution, pushing the Mayor to accelerate taking dirty buses and taxis off the road and pedestrianise Oxford street.
-
Expand the environmental accounting approach used by the Lib Dems in Sutton, which gets developers to reduce and offset the full emissions of the housing, as well as increase biodiversity.
-
Help private renters get better insulated housing, by pushing for more work to encourage landlords to improve insulation in rented housing. Private renters are the fastest growing group in London, but have the worst insulated housing, costing them a lot of money, with very little they can do about it.
