Ken's £25M pledge to boost clean air

28 February 2007

The mayor of London has promised an extra £25M to investigate and promote clean transport methods, as part of a bid to cut carbon emissions in the capital by 2025.
As part of his Action today to protect tomorrow plan, released on Tuesday, Ken Livingstone announced that he wanted to stabilise London’s transport emissions at 60% below the 1990 level by 2025, through the green transport programme.
‘Without action, London’s annual carbon emissions would instead grow from 44 million tonnes to 52 million tonnes by 2025. This means that by 2025, London must produce 33 million tonnes less of CO2 than its current levels – an annual emissions reduction of 4% a year,’ he said.
With the help of implementation of the congestion charge policy and previous investment in the public transport network, transport emissions have stayed flat since 1990, the action plan said.
However, the ‘top priority’ was to reduce emissions from car and freight traffic, as these represented almost three-quarters of emissions in ground-based transport.
Money coming from existing Greater London Authority finances would be invested in changing the way Londoners travel, promoting the sensible operation of vehicles, promoting low-carbon vehicles and fuels, and introducing more widespread carbon pricing for transport – such as charging up to £25 a day for heavily-polluting vehicles.
Livingstone would also pursue a programme of energy-saving measures for public transport, including converting London’s entire 8,000-bus fleet to diesel-electric hybrid buses.
The cost of low-carbon vehicles which were typically more expensive would eventually be reduced because ‘we are creating the market by these regulations’, Livingstone said. The action plan would eventually bring ‘considerable returns’ from the upfront investment.
Three other programmes, which also form the basis of the action plan, include a green homes programme, a green organisations programme and a green energy programme.
Under the green energy programme, some local authorities would be expected to be responsible for one-quarter of London’s energy supply when it is moved off the National Grid and on to more efficient, local energy systems by 2025.
The mayor’s plan would also require further action and investment from central government, particularly to introduce a comprehensive system of carbon pricing, he said.
A London Councils spokesman said: ‘It’s not something he’s seeking consultation on, and while we’re in favour of anything that helps improve the environment, we need to look to see what this means for the boroughs before we make a comment.’

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