Mayor unveils London Climate Change Action Plan: Greens in London credited with showing the way
28 February 2007
Action Today to Protect Tomorrow' is a detailed plan to slash London's carbon emissions by 60% within 20 years and place the city at the forefront of the battle against climate change. It shows that Londoners don't have to reduce their quality of life to tackle climate change, but we do need to change the way we live.
The Green Party has two members of the London Assembly - Jenny Jones and Darren Johnson, both of whom the Mayor personally credited for ensuring that tackling climate change has remained at the forefront of the Assembly's agenda.
Ken Livingstone today launched 4 programmes which will form the basis of the Plan
· A Green Homes Programme· A Green Organisations Programme· A Green Energy Programme· A Green Transport Programme
Green Party Principal Speaker Sian Berry, who has written the foreword to the plan, also spoke at today's launch. She said: "This action plan cannot be implemented too soon. Greens in London will be working hard to make sure that the ideas in the plan are actually brought in, not left on the shelf marked 'fine words'.
"We are one of the most vulnerable cities to the effects of climate change. In the past six years, the Thames Barrier, built to defend London from flooding, has been raised a staggering 56 times, compared with just three times in first six years after in was built in the 1980s."
Sian also cited the need for action from central government to tackle climate change:
"We can lead the way with our actions in London, but curbing aviation growth and bringing in radical policies like personal carbon allowances are down to central government. We need to see a real change at the top."
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
1) Synopsis of proposals:
· Green Homes Programme - Homes are responsible for 38 per cent of emissions. The plan sets out how annual domestic carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 7.7 million tonnes by 2025. By making homes more energy efficient, the average London household could save £300 per year off their fuel bills, as well as cutting emissions. The Mayor announced an offer of cut-price loft and cavity wall insulation, available across the whole of London to every home that can benefit from it. The offer will be totally free for people on benefits and we will particularly look to ensure that older Londoners can take advantage.
· Green Organisations Programme - London's employers, both commercial and public sector, are responsible for 33 per cent of the capital's emissions. If all of London's employers introduced simple changes like turning off lights and IT equipment at night, emissions would be cut by over three million tonnes a year. Modest improvements to the energy efficiency of London's commercial and public buildings would cut emissions by a further two million tonnes. If all of the actions in this Plan were implemented they would save employers up to 40 per cent on their energy bills.
· Green Energy Programme - decentralised energy. It will not be possible for London to achieve its carbon reduction targets without a fundamental change in how energy is generated and supplied. The Action Plan sets a target to move a quarter of London's energy supply off the National Grid and on to more efficient, local energy systems by 2025.
· Green Transport Programme - Transport is responsible for 22 per cent of London's emissions. The plan sets out how annual transport emissions can be cut by 4.3 million tonnes. CO2 emissions from road transport would fall by as much as 30 per cent if people simply bought the most fuel-efficient version of the car they want.
Full copies of the Climate Change Action Plan can be found at www.london.gov.uk
2) Please see Sian's full foreword below:
Over 80% of the world's people live in coastal areas or - like Londoners - on the tidal range of major rivers. Rising sea level is just one of the obvious reasons why we have to take climate change seriously.
In the past six years the Thames Barrier has been raised to prevent flooding a staggering 56 times, compared with just three times in the first six years after its construction in the 1980s. Over 150 square kilometers of London lies below high tide level, putting the homes of 750,000 Londoners at risk of flooding.
London could become the greenest major city in the world but that will mean reversing many of the mistakes of the past. We need to design our city so that local shops and services are within an easy walk for all and create streets that are as friendly to cyclists as those in Amsterdam. We need a first-rate public transport system that means people leave their cars behind and get onto zero-emission buses and efficient tube trains that run on renewable energy.
Above all, we have to change the way we use energy at home. We can change planning rules so that we only build zero-carbon homes that are green as well as cheap to run. We can do much more to help homeowners, landlords and businesses to make existing buildings more efficient. Instead of building new nuclear power stations, whose waste has to travel past Londoners' backyards, we can generate electricity and heat locally and move from being energy users to becoming energy producers.
This action plan outlines important steps towards a greener city. Greens in London will be working hard to make sure the ideas in this document are implemented, not left on the shelf next to the fine words and empty promises of the past.
These steps are absolutely necessary, but we know that we need to go much further in the long term. A truly sustainable future demands more radical action than this plan can deliver and, in addition to what we can do for ourselves now, Londoners will need the commitment and support of central government if we are to achieve this.
Stopping the planned expansion of aviation, the burden of which will fall heavily on our city, and bringing in radical policies such as personal carbon quotas and financial measures to make renewable energy viable for ordinary households, are the preserve of central government.
But we can lead the way with our actions in London.
Individuals, businesses and elected representatives can all do their bit to tackle the crisis of climate change. If we all act together, we really can change our world for the better.
