The Fossil Free London meeting on 28th April was organised by a consortium of committed and energetic people willing to make a difference. At the end we all had to make a pledge of the next thing to do, so this was mine.
The organisers have been inspired by Naomi Klein and the LEAP manifesto. Warm Homes, Clean Energy solutions. Social justice.
I found out about SWITCHED ON LONDON. Motivated by concerns on Social and Climate Justice they have been lobbying for a clean energy supply for London. THey envisage access to a supply with a high proportion of renewables and a GLA owned company that could invest in clean energy elsewhere in the country, ensuring it was affordable. And they wanted a company that would be under democratic control because that is what we are currently lacking with the big energy companies..
What the GLA settled for was a so-called White Label company. By partnering with another company the GLA will not be able to set the tariffs themselves. Switched on London want the GLA to be more ambitious.
There were more fascinating insights and I was particularly interested that Carbon Offset Tax was mentioned, which I blogged about a few weeks ago. I was very fortunate to meet up with Mark and Charlie and develop ideas for a public meeting where we could introduce both divestment oand carbon offsets and really get the ball rolling here.
