News from Leonie Cooper: Green jobs must fuel London’s economic recovery, says new report

Green jobs must fuel London’s economic recovery, says new report

Green investment goes “hand-in-hand” with the creation of the next generation of high-skilled jobs that will drive London’s economic recovery, says Labour’s London Assembly Economy and Environment Spokesperson, Leonie Cooper AM. A new report from Ms Cooper – A Green New Future: London’s recovery from COVID-19 – makes the case that more Central Government investment to back City Hall’s existing green initiatives could boost jobs not just in London, but across the country. Ms Cooper also warns that air pollution and carbon emissions, which have fallen during consecutive lockdowns, could rise again without bold action on a national level.

With the Mayor’s 2030 net-zero target, policies that have cut roadside air pollution levels in Central London by nearly half, a retrofitting programme that has benefitted 1,600 households and a Green New Deal set to create 1,000 new jobs in its initial phase, Ms Cooper’s report argues that London is leading the country in its response to the climate emergency.

It comes on the back of the Mayor’s announcement of a raft of further environmental initiatives tied to London’s economic recovery, including a scheme which will support businesses to unlock almost £350m in green recovery proposals from regulators, with the potential to create 250 jobs.

But Ms Cooper claims that the Government’s current approach to environmental initiatives, including its ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’, risks side-lining the capital and falling short of the action needed on a national scale.

A Green New Future calls for the Government to bolster City Hall schemes, such as the rollout of electric and hydrogen buses, which could create hundreds of manufacturing jobs in other parts of the country.

The report also urges action on making homes more energy efficient to hit the national target of bringing all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

The IPPR thinktank say that this work would create 200,000 jobs across the UK. But with 71% of homes across the UK failing to meet the minimum level C standard, Leonie Cooper’s report says the Government must go further than their £3bn investment in retrofitting. In the capital, the Mayor has recently announced a new Business Climate Challenge, which aims to boost green job opportunities by helping London’s businesses to reduce the level of emissions generated by their buildings, through retrofitting and energy efficiency improvement schemes.

New homes in the capital should be made to be zero-carbon, minimise water use, and be flood resistant, says the report. The Mayor’s recently published London Plan includes requirements for developers to build homes to the highest standards, but Ms Cooper says the Government need to introduce stronger measures at a national level.

Action is also needed to make the capital more resilient to extreme weather, according to Ms Cooper. London is at an increased risk of flooding, 4,200 Londoners died in heatwaves last summer and the capital sees approximately 2,000 excess winter deaths each year. Ms Cooper says investment in green space and biodiversity would increase water drainage, reduce flood risks, and keep London cool.



This week, City Hall has also pledged £3m to back its Future Neighbourhoods 2030 project that will support some of the most disadvantaged areas of the capital to transform their local environments and set them up for a zero-carbon future.

Labour’s London Assembly Economy and Environment Spokesperson, Leonie Cooper AM, said:

“Investment in green infrastructure goes hand in hand with the creation of the next generation of high-skilled jobs, which will fuel our capital’s economic recovery.

“London is leading the way when it comes to its response to the climate emergency and the national approach now needs to align with this.

“Despite the Mayor’s efforts to lay the foundations for London’s road towards clamping down on air pollution and meeting its 2030 net-zero carbon target, City Hall remains limited in the scope of its powers and resources to go even further.

“Ministers should know that any support they give to green infrastructure projects in the capital will produce benefits for the rest of the country.

“It’s clear Whitehall need to do far more to meet even their own, sluggish net-zero target of 2050. Far greater ambition is needed on the part of the Government to save Londoners’ jobs and avert a climate catastrophe”.

ENDS