Making London Greener
Back in 2016, I promised to make London one of the world’s greenest cities. I’m proud that we’ve delivered on that promise.
London has become a true world-leader when it comes to tackling the climate crisis, cleaning up our air and growing our green economy.
We have won National Park City status, created the world’s largest clean air zone, planted more than half a million trees, started a rewilding revolution, invested millions in green jobs and led the way in turning our capital into a global centre for green finance.
I want to build on this incredible progress and continue to lead the way on climate action, expanding access to green spaces and helping nature to flourish in our city.
Key Pledges
- Deliver a 100 per cent zero-emission bus fleet by 2030 and air pollution filters in primary schools
- Work with partners to get to 40,000 electric vehicle charging points in London
- Help provide more than 40,000 new public bike parking spaces
- Help schools in London reach net zero
- Introduce a new Green Roots Fund for community green spaces
- Develop a bold plan for swimmable rivers within 10 years
Tackling the climate crisis
I’m determined to ensure that London continues to be a global leader in tackling the climate crisis – one of the biggest threats we face today. We have an ambitious target of making London a net zero-carbon city by 2030 – faster than any comparable city – and a key part of achieving this goal will be going further on generating clean energy and making London’s existing buildings more energy efficient.
I’m determined to ensure that London continues to be a global leader in tackling the climate crisis – one of the biggest threats we face today.
So I’ll work with councils and housing associations in London to forge a bold new approach to retrofitting buildings so that we can upgrade more homes and offices and reduce energy costs. A Labour government nationally, committed to the UK becoming a climate leader once again, would help accelerate this work. This would be in stark contrast to the Conservatives, who have become a party of climate change deniers and delayers.
I will also pilot working with schools in London to help them not only to cut their energy bills, but to become major sources of energy generation. As part of a new Net Zero Schools pledge, I will test an approach with partners to fund heat pumps, install solar panels and retrofit school buildings to make them more energy efficient. I’ll also work to make schools more resilient to the impact of climate change to prevent lost days of schooling.
This new programme could not only help to cut carbon emissions, but reduce energy bills so that schools can spend more money on young Londoners rather than increasing the profits of energy companies. Taken together, the rooftops of London’s schools could produce the output equivalent to a new power station. I’ll pilot this plan, but progress could be turbocharged with a Labour government which has made clean power central to one of the party’s five national missions.
Tackling the climate crisis is not just about protecting our environment, but also helping to create jobs and economic growth. That’s why I will continue to put secure, well-paid jobs in new and growing green industries, like renewable energy, at the top of our agenda. I’ll ensure London remains the green finance capital of the world, by building on our £500 million fund to finance carbon reduction projects, and unlocking new sources of green finance to help London hit our climate and nature targets and create new green jobs.
The hard reality is that we’re already experiencing extreme summer temperatures and more frequent and severe storms in London. So I’ll work to take forward the recommendations of the forthcoming independent climate resilience review. This includes working with partners to implement nature-based solutions to make our city more resilient to the impact of climate change.
Cleaning up London’s air
When I first became Mayor in 2016, I learned that City Hall had commissioned, then subsequently buried, a report into London’s air quality three years earlier. The research was damning – it revealed that hundreds of our primary schools were in areas where pollution breached legal limits, and that the poorest were paying the heaviest price. I was not willing to maintain that culture of neglect when the evidence was clear – air pollution in our city had become a public health emergency.
I’m proud that we have led the way in London, introducing the world’s largest clean air zone of any major city – the ULEZ. The air is now cleaner and healthier in every part of the capital, with pollution cut by nearly half in central London alone. We have gone from 455 schools located in areas with illegal levels of air pollution in 2016, to just under 20 now. It’s projected we will reach zero in 2025.
We have truly started to turn the tide when it comes to tackling air pollution in London, but there is still much more to do. This is not the time to roll back on the progress we have made, as some want to do, but to push on and finish the job. That’s why I pledge to continue taking bold action. This includes:
- delivering a 100 per cent zeroemission bus fleet by 2030
- expanding the successful School Streets initiative, which is reducing air pollution by restricting car access outside schools during drop off and pick up
- piloting air pollution filters in primary schools and exploring rolling them out city-wide
- making London the world’s first electric-vehicle ready global city by working with partners to double the amount of electric vehicle charging points installed since 2016 to more than 40,000 by 2030
- continuing to oppose any expansion of airports in London, while also continuing to stand up for workers in our airports who’ve been hit hard by the Tory botched Brexit and the Tory cost-of-living crisis
Making it easier and safer to cycle around our city is another important part of our work to reduce air pollution and congestion on the roads. Since becoming Mayor, I have quadrupled London’s cycle network to over 360km, enabling more than 1.25 million trips to be made by bike every day. We have seen a huge boom in the number of people cycling in London and I want this trend to continue. So I commit to increasing the current investment in walking and cycling infrastructure and working with TfL and London’s boroughs to further expand our cycling and walking network so that we can enable even more Londoners to get around on bike and foot.
London now has almost 5,000 cycle hangars – a 300 per cent increase from 2016. This is providing residential bike parking for over 29,000 Londoners. But I commit to going further by securing more than 40,000 new bike parking spaces on high streets and in schools, stations and residential areas by 2030.
I want Londoners to have certainty about the future, so I commit to keeping the London-wide ULEZ standards the same over the next four years. I also rule out a move to any form of pay-per-mile smart road user charging system.
London now has almost 5,000 cycle hangars – a 300 per cent increase from 2016. This is providing residential bike parking for over 29,000 Londoners. But I commit to going further by securing more than 40,000 new bike parking spaces on high streets and in schools, stations and residential areas by 2030.
I want Londoners to have certainty about the future, so I commit to keeping the London-wide ULEZ standards the same over the next four years. I also rule out a move to any form of pay-per-mile smart road user charging system.
The levels of sewage that water companies are pouring into our rivers is a scandal. I will not stand by and allow this to continue. As well as demanding clear action from Thames Water, I will launch an ambitious plan to make rivers in London swimmable within ten years.
Protecting and restoring nature
In too many cities nature is in retreat. We’ve worked hard over the last eight years to make London an exception. We were the first city in the world to win National Park City status and I will build on this progress with a new plan to drive forward London’s rewilding revolution.
We have already brought beavers back to West London for the first time in 400 years, and supported habitats that are vital for essential pollinators like bees, but there’s more to do. I will continue to open our city up to more species that once prospered here, turning London into a wildlife haven.
Trees are the lungs of London. They help to tackle climate change, clean up our air and improve communities. I’m proud that we’ve planted over half a million new trees in London since 2016. If re-elected, I will continue to plant trees and create new green spaces, focusing on the areas of London that need them most.
Green spaces and nature should be available to all Londoners, regardless of income. So I will give Londoners the power to make their neighbourhoods more naturerich, and healthier, by providing the money and tools to improve communities. People know best what their street or community would benefit from, so this will be done through a new London Green Roots Fund, with councils and communities able to bid for funding to pay for trees, wildflower meadows, parklets and other new green spaces.
The levels of sewage that water companies are pouring into our rivers is a scandal. I will not stand by and allow this to continue. As well as demanding clear action from Thames Water, I will launch an ambitious plan to make rivers in London swimmable within ten years. This will include working with partners to reverse the damage done to our rivers and waterways. We’ve made huge progress in cleaning up London’s air – exceeding expectations. Now it’s time to clean up our waterways too.
