Letter to London Fire Commissioner about climate resilience

Dear London Fire Commissioner,

Follow up from London Assembly Plenary (8 February 2024)

I am writing to follow up on our conversation during the plenary meeting of the London Assembly on 8 February 2024, in which I said I'd share a copy of my report, A Gender and Intersectionality Responsive Climate Adaptation Plan for London.

Please find a copy of this report as an appendix to this email, or an online link here: Zack Polanski AM - A Gender and Intersectionality Responsive Climate Adaptation Plan for London.pdf

As you know, London is not a climate resilient city. The knock-on impacts from the extreme weather incidents in 2021 and 2022 illustrate how vulnerable we are to the changing climate.

I was very reassured during the plenary to hear you recognise these threats, and the steps you are taking to adapt the LFB to meet this challenge.

We also need to build resilience into the city itself, like developing sustainable drainage systems and increasing the numbers of well insulated homes, to prevent extreme weather events becoming emergency situations. All steps taken to improve the physical resilience of the city will minimise risks to Londoners, and protect the LFB and its firefighters.

The Mayor commissioned a London Climate Resilience Review, which I was pleased to hear you have contributed to.

My report highlights the need to ensure steps to improve the resilience of London – like the Climate Review – respond to the different impacts climate change has on different sections of the population. It focuses particularly on women and people of marginalised genders, who are historically underrepresented in conversations about emergency preparation and management, while being more exposed to many climate risks. The report also takes an intersectional lens, looking at how gender intersects with other characteristics.

Adapting to climate change equitably means we must properly engage and involve people, and pay them for their time. I was pleased to hear your support for this principle of remuneration for community-based expertise during recent plenary and Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee meetings. If we are going to bring about wholesale transformation, we need to draw on lived experiences and bring people with us.

With this in mind, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the report and to advocating alongside you going forwards to ensure London adapts as quickly and equitably as possible to the changing climate.

Kind regards,

Zack Polanski AM