XR Wandsworth: 'Wandsworth's greenwashing Climate Summit is an exercise in passing the buck'

Extinction Rebellion Wandsworth are calling out Wandsworth Council's Climate Summit for trying to deflect attention from their own failings on to the behaviour of individuals.

This article was produced by XR Wandsworth. You can publish your own articles on Nub News by using our Nub It button.

November has seen Wandsworth Council organise their first Climate Summit online, following their declaration of a climate emergency over a year ago. Having participated in the summit over the course of 18 and 19 November, we in Extinction Rebellion Wandsworth have come to the reluctant conclusion that its purpose is to push the line that the climate emergency is a consequence of individual behaviour rather than being a failure of government.

While individual consumer choices are of course a factor, the scale of the crisis facing us is so severe and urgent that only emergency action by local and national government has a chance of keeping Wandsworth and the wider world habitable.

To take examples specific to Wandsworth, individual action will remain a drop in the ocean unless it's accompanied by the council taking action.

Collecting food waste

The council must collect and compost food waste from all residents. Individual composting by those with the space to do it will never be sufficient. Composting food waste is one of the few actions Wandsworth Council could take to actually remove carbon from the air. This is an emergency – it cannot wait until 2024 as the council have mooted.

On 23 September, in a deputation to Wandsworth Council, Extinction Rebellion's Lee Fennell made a strong economic and climate case for the council to collect food waste separately from residents so it can be composted rather than incinerated along with general waste. Watch a video of the deputation here.

Despite its stated aim to be London's greenest borough, at present Wandsworth ranks 341st out of 345 among local councils for recycling, see here.

A related issue is that Wandsworth Council's services are largely carried out by contractors. In a climate emergency, this cannot be used as an excuse for inaction.

Banning use of glyphosate

Glyphosate, AKA Roundup, is a herbicide that has been shown to have a "compelling link" with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. There is also mounting evidence of its impact on pollinators and insect life, and the EU has banned some pesticides and herbicides as a result.

Despite their commitment to encouraging biodiversity, and despite one of their councillors describing it as a "dangerous substance" at a council meeting on Wednesday 18 November, the ruling Tories voted against banning its use.

The council also continues to allow the chopping down of mature trees as part of building developments, as on the Winstanley Estate, despite the essential role trees play in sequestering carbon, as well as increasing biodiversity and improving the environment for everyone.

Encouraging active travel and discouraging car use