Fuel Poverty task force for WMCA or Climate Emergency?

Dear John - and copied to 'core' people: Chris, Richard, Bob and Jules for their thoughts.

Thanks so much for engaging and reading my stuff, including the CANWM (or Climate Coalition) Nine Action Points that were part of the 19 November 2021 petition that hundreds signed.  Bob took the lead and wrote it, if I remember correctly.

You wrote, "In the taskforce I think we should concentrate on the emergency."  By that, I think you mean the WMCA fuel poverty emergency taskforce that CANWM is suggesting and lobbying for and now wants to be part of.  I see this as:

1. a diversion from our primary aim of climate action on the climate emergency that was reflected so well on what Bob led on on 19 November last year when we met in Wolverhampton outside the CA Board meeting and our delegation, led by Bob, presented the petition to Andy Street.
2. The current wider and more serious fuel poverty is one of the results of past economic and mainly national government but also regional government decisions - like the greedy, GHG emitting, wealth flaunting but well intentioned, High Scam 2, 150 miles and 8 lines of Metro and similar mileage for prestigious Sprint (the bus that thinks it's a tram).
3. Our focus should be solely on ways to emit fewer GHG and our original 2021 Nine Action Points does that so well and has been overlooked, I feel, in the recent discussions in our meetings on the fuel poverty/cost of living emergency.
4. Only one year has gone by and we must, I think, concentrate on one thing at a time, viz our brilliant petition and the Nine Action Points - for the time being.
5. Fuel poverty is already well taken care of by quite a few national organisations from my Google search and, in the region, there are many charities involved if you include all the faith groups.  In Halesowen our churches are setting up 'warm places' on every single day.  So this addresses local fuel poverty very well and is a first-rate, practical, hands-on response to the energy and cost of living crises.
6. I feel that CANWM is unique in, up to now, concentrating on ideas to cut GHG emissions with the very popular, colourful leaflet from its inception and, from last year, Bob's excellent Nine Action Points.  Every point is so relevant and vital.
7. I would prefer the CA to set up a climate emergency task force rather than a fuel poverty task force.  I was ribbing/teasing a few on Friday as I welcomed them to their Board meeting that nothing had changed in the three years since they declared a climate emergency.  In fact, only got worse!
8. Our recent emphasis on the fuel poverty emergency rather than the urgency of slashing GHG emissions with more sensible spending, has now led Ed Cox to change the forum on the 21 November from transport to fuel poverty and the cost of living crisis.  Fuel poverty could have waited to the forum after the one on transport this month, I think.
9. With COP 27 from Sunday, it seems not quite right for us to be emphasising fuel poverty rather than the worsening climate crisis with too much regional spending on all the wrong projects.

But what do you all think?  I'm happy, as always never to have my way!!

Tim

 Nine Action Points from W Mids Climate Coalitio...

On 02/11/2022 at 10:03 AM, "Tim Weller" <timweller1@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all

This is excellent and so good to read.  Thanks.  However, my concern is that the culture of WMCA and all its constituent councils is one of very high spending on far too many prestigious, totally unnecessary and, definitely, harmful transport projects that are diverting them from our first rate, Nine Action Points plan (with my own 10th added!), as here

 Nine Action Points from W Mids Climate Coalitio...

and my own ideas from 2019 that I gave to most members who attended last Friday's Board meeting, as here:

 My ten point West Midlands plan for the new Gov...

.

I would have preferred us to stay concentrated on the original 'Nine Action Points' that Bob, Chris and I presented to Cllr Ian Courts, Chair, Environment and Energy Board - was it two years ago, now?  They have now forgotten about it and certainly done nothing.  They need reminding and chased up!

I would like all of us and especially for those chosen to go to next week's meeting with Ed Cox, to read through our original Nine Action Points with him and to insist that even faster moves, already taking place towards FFPT, are fast tracked by abandoning their £15 BILLION to 2040 mainly immoral Metro expansion programme.  This would help fuel poverty and all the other multiple crises that affect those using public transport much more than the wealthier swanning around in their personal motors and worsening the climate emergency.

Does that make sense to anyone out there - please?!

Tim