City Hall’s spending on environmental initiatives in the latest Mayoral Budget came under the spotlight during Monday’s Mayor’s Question Time (MQT) meeting. Before the Budget was formally passed, local London Assembly Member, Len Duvall AM, questioned the Mayor of London’s recent pledge to commit £50 million to pushing through a Green New Deal for London, after declaring a climate emergency last year.
The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, explained that the £50 million investment was targeted at boosting City Hall’s efforts to ensure London becomes carbon-neutral by 2030. However, the Mayor underlined that more funding and devolved powers were needed from Central Government to achieve this target that would put London on par with Scandinavian cities.
In response to Mr Duvall at Mayor’s Question Time, Sadiq Khan also outlined how moving towards to a zero-carbon economy could lead to the generation of thousands of new high-skilled job opportunities for Londoners. He also underlined the need for the private sector to become more involved in supporting and investing in the Green New Deal to accelerate the transition process.
Set to cover parts of Greenwich and Lewisham from Autumn next year, Mr Duvall also raised the importance of the extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in tackling London’s toxic air. The Mayor said the current Central London ULEZ, which has been in place since April 201,9 has slashed levels of air pollution within its boundaries by a third.
New figures showing the impact of the other environmental measures that have been implemented by City Hall in recent years were also discussed during Mayor’s Question Time. Since 2016, there has been an almost 100 percent decrease in the number of illegal air pollution peaks at some of London’s worst hotspots.
One of the factors behind the improvement in air quality levels across the capital has been identified as the roll out of Low Emission Bus Zones. In April last year, a Low Emission Bus Zone was introduced between Lewisham and Catford.
Local London Assembly Member, Len Duvall AM, said:
“This year’s Budget from the Mayor has rightly prioritised fighting the scourge of violent crime in our capital, but it also pays the climate emergency the urgent attention that it needs.
“City Hall’s significant investment in a Green New Deal will help to shape the future of London’s zero-carbon economy, creating a new generation of highly-skilled jobs and securing vital new investment for the capital.
“This comes alongside the extension of the ULEZ, which from next year, will hugely benefit the lives of Greenwich and Lewisham residents, helping us to make even more progress on cleaning up London’s toxic air”.
Notes to editors
- Monday’s Mayor’s Question Time (MQT) meeting, where the Mayor of London’s Budget for 2020/2021 was passed by the London Assembly, can be watched back here;
- Last week, the Mayor announced that he will be investing £50 million in a Green New Deal for London, to make the capital carbon-neutral by 2030;
- In December 2018, the Mayor declared a climate emergency;
- More information about the Ultra Low Emission Zone can be found here;
- Figures showing that there has been an almost 100 per cent decrease in the number of illegal air pollution peaks at some of London’s worst hotspots since 2016, can be found here;
- More information about Low Emission Bus Zones can be found here;
- Len Duvall AM is the London Assembly Member for Greenwich and Lewisham.