London's recovery starts with you

I struggle with why so many are anti 20 mile per hour. With traffic and traffic lights Throughout London and the boroughs, I definitely get to where I need to at the same time, sometimes quicker. The stop accelerate stop of faster roads is only seems more efficient. I would like it to stay. I am a big fan. We do need to improve air pollution. I would like all boroughs to have the air pollution displayed on line. I would like libraries to lend out readers for in our homes. I think we would be surprised at the levels caused in the house caused by cooking and fires and inefficient extractor fans.  I think we need to further understand this if going green is about our health. We then need further understanding of the differences in pollution to each local area that changes make. Has making speed limits 20 miles an hour increased or decreased local air pollution? I know they are safer for cyclists etc but tell us what effect these changes make. Same when we trial run school no car zones. Let's celebrate these changes locally via borough websites. It will help make hard changes easier. The greener we go the better. I feel all flat roof garage groups across London could have solar panels on them where they are visible to the sun. The electricity earnt can fund things locally to keep moving greener.  I would like to see more windmills on our high ground, as they are beautiful. Local flour access would be ideal. We all use it. Other than that the goals of green public transport and buildings are just sensible and a given. Move with the times as a leading city to get the best for our residents and visitors that will help generations to come. 

The current road policy is not working and is simply increasing congestion and pollution.  There needs to be an understanding that people are still going to use cars, taxis, vans and lorries and that prioritising bicycles over motor vehicles is not an effective planning solution.  Do what you can to make vehicles greener, rather than making life more difficult for drivers.  Congestion is a nightmare where you are introducing the Streetscape schemes, they are ill thought out and unwanted by most residents.  Also, please get rid of 20mph zones on all but residential side streets - longer journey times = more pollution, and it seems completely unnecessary on many main roads.

Every proposed new building, office block and housing should be required by law to have its own solar panels, heat pumps, insulation and rain collection systems. Roof gardens should also be encouraged. It doesn't make sense that we still allow buildings that are not self sufficient. 

I think carbon offsetting is one big con. It doesn't solve the problems just shifts them and makes a lot of money for some. 
zero carbon and zero waste are admirable aims however as with everything else it's the poor ,elderly and or ill and disabled who are disproportionately affected so these elephants in the room need serious resolutions, carbon and waste can't be shuffled around we are all on the same one blue planet 

Our food supply forms a large part of our carbon footprint and in the city of London we need to make every effort to produce more of our food and market it in such a fashion that much of the income goes to the producer, thus local  plots using mainly manual labor and markets to sell the produce to the public.  This may sound slightly utopian but it is a far more resilient system than our current system of supermarkets with extended supply chains and the current pandemic has shown us that resilience in the system is vital when problems arise.

Having a local food producing system would also guarantee a large number of local jobs which would be independent of the movements of the stock markets which are unpredictable.  People will always need to eat and there will be jobs producing food.

Since most of our food is currently transported over large distances, this gives it a large carbon footprint and many of us must now be aware that every time we add to the burning of fossil carbon, we dig a little more of the grave for our civilization.  Also current agricultural methods contribute to soil degradation but small scale, largely organic cultivation is much better.

The outer London boroughs have lots of land which could be devoted to small scale food production

I'm very pleased that being green is a key part of London's new mission but we have to be serious about it and lead by example, that might mean tough choices and short term inconvenience for us all. Understandably Covid-19 has in some ways brought back a lot of single use plastic that we had started to eradicate, we shouldn't loose the momentum on this one. Could one of the green industries we can encourage be around creating compostable packaging and making this standard? Can composting be done at a greater level, maybe community compost spaces, or rewards for those who have home composts, or create less waste. I think there should also be rewards for those who don't use cars, or only have one car per family. I would love to cycle more but I'm not a confident cyclist and would definitely not cycle on London's roads as they are, clogged with traffic and pollution. More pedestrian and cyclist only spaces would be great as well. 

Very important to look at greener ways to do all things and reduce pollution in our city

Please rethink the environmentally toxic Silvertown Tunnel. Building new roads creates more traffic.  We know that traffic pollution kills, and this will disproportionately affect some of the least well off Londoners.  A new cycling/pedestrian bridge would be a much better investment.

Having clean air to breathe must surely be a fundamental right for anyone.    But the cleaning up of our air needs to happen much faster and the roads made much safer for cyclists.  Everyone here has suggested many sensible ways to help achieve this.  As regards cars, if they are to still be allowed at all, then at least keep the traffic moving - some of the recent road narrowing schemes have only resulted in traffic jams which creates far more pollution than moving traffic. I just would like to add, with clean air in mind, there also needs to be much greater awareness of not allowing one's engine to idle when parked. It happens everywhere, despite councils saying it is not permitted. People are fined for parking their cars for too long but seem to be allowed to park with their engines spewing out fumes. Likewise teaching people not to drop their litter - there needs to be a big campaign and fines to raise awareness and really change people's behaviour. Whatever we are doing now isn't working. Our parks are so beautiful and the pride and joy of our city, but people should never feel they can just get up and walk away leaving all their litter on the ground. And if I may just add.. why are leaf blowers still allowed in this city? They are banned in several US states for their polluting effect (both noise and air).

Simply forcing cars off the road is not the answer. We need real transport alternatives that are accessible, affordable, safe, clean and green. A huge network of rentable, affordable electric vehicles; cars, bikes, and scooters? Smart roads? Parking only for shared vehicles? Transport needs a long-term strategic approach. At the moment the strategies seem very short-term. I for one, would love to be able to pick up an electric car outside my house, go to Hampstead Heath or Richmond Park for a walk, leave the car there and return in another one.

In lockdown I started cycling far more than before. I would like to continue this, and I'm considering cycling to school in September. However, more designated cycle routes would be a good thing. I can see that our roads are less wide than in many countries, but steps to improve it would be good.

Free water fountains would also be an asset, especially as most cafés now don't refill bottles. 

More car free spaces, especially in the centre would also give it a far more pleasant feel to walk around. 

Remove exemption for diesel black cabs for both the ULEZ and congestion charge as they are not only CO2 emitters but also worsening London's roadside air quality (in the form of harmful nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter). Alternatively provide a discounted fare for passengers choosing to travel in electric taxis, subsided by TfL. An idea might to be combine the two previous ideas, and use the money gained from enforcing ULEZ+Congestion charge from diesel black cabs to pay for subsided fares for electric taxi use. This is one way of depressing the market for diesel black cab use

Consider expanding public space in the post-COVID London that is being planned, particularly in the overcrowded areas of Central London.  An idea could be to expand on and re-connect the remnants of elevated pedestrian walkways as we see near the Barbican and near Monument.  Particularly if these elevated walkways could be connected to elevated terraces, that would create a system that offers additional space that is public.  I addressed some of those ideas in a photo-essay on the terrace overlooking the Thames near Monument, https://www.analog.cafe/r/a-terrace-in-the-sky-fq8z

Check and ensure that all green alleys next to rivers and canals are well trimmed and are wide enough so cyclist can get around pedestrians.
This not the case in many places /both in East and West London/ and this is where people are going out to enjoy.
All parks should be friendly for visiting - this mean grass regularly trimmed and at least few benches. 
Drinking fountains should be put around whole London, as in the moment when I go out with bicycle in heat is question: "should I try to enter shop and have my bike stollen, or I should ride with warm or no water at all". 
And drinking fountains will help pedestrians in heat too, not only cyclist. Most european capitals have these, why we don't have them in London.

Ban cars in the city centre like Oslo has and invest in overground public transport, e.g. trams

So one of the most important aspects in regards to A new Green Deal is the word Green.Front gardens are continuing to be paved over where I live reducing green space, reducing wildlife, reducing insects and making less and less space to help out vanishing bees. I would like it to become illegal to pave over your front yard.  This is also heating up our cities. Local council tree surgery must be addressed to. Waltham Forest has a very archaic policy to street trees and have been reducing all leaf covered branches in the middle of summer.  In some London boroughs trees are allowed to grow with very little pruning which has a number of huge benefits. Providing shade to help reduce the heat in our neighborhood, increase clean air, help biodiversity. On a 33 degree day the road temperature soars above 40. 

I fully agree with the mission and goals. I am not underestimating what a huge task this is. It will require extensive additional research into every aspect of London infrastructure and life, for example related to the retrofit of Victorian and Edwardian housing stock as described in an earlier comment, to ensure we are investing in effective and sustainable methods and not just in quick fixes to meet requirements.  Once it is clearer what needs to be done to remake every aspect of our living, legislation will be needed to compel compliance. Otherwise, construction companies, car manufacturers, energy producers etc etc will be looking for loopholes and wriggle-room to escape or scale down their obligations. 

I think this is the way forward in London. Low to zero carbon emissions and eradication of NO emissions should be a priority for the health and well-being of Londoners. In addition we should look at how this urban space can become the most biodiverse in the world. . For example how can new builds encourage nesting birds, pollinating insects, hexdghogs etc.