London's recovery starts with you

London needs to increase cycle lanes and massively increase availability of local composting and food waste collection. 

We urgently need to end our dependence on and the burning off fossil fuels of any kind. Energy used by all businesses, organisations and households should be generated by fossil fuels - subsidy programmes to encourage investment in solar by private home owners. Subsidy programmes to encourage homeowners to insulate and double glaze their homes - especially where those homes are being low income people. Retrofitting buildings to make them more energy efficient would save Londoners money as well as benefitting the environment. 

Make composting and/or the diversion of compostable waste from landfill a requirement for all business - especially hospitality. 

White or green roofs. Improving the green spaces in all areas - the importance of which was demonstrated by the recent covid pandemic. 

Explore a doughnut economics model of development - as the Netherlands is doing. 

these, amongst other initiatives, would help to create jobs, reduce the impact of pollution on health, reduce heat island effects experienced in summer. 

Expand the Santander cycle scheme further into the south, or sort out some kind of 'cycle loan' scheme were people can pay a little per week (e.g. the amount that would normally be paid on public transport) to pay back owning a bike over the long term, or free cycling / cycling proficiency lessons. Cycling is a win-win for London as it gets people exercising, it's a cheap mode of transport if you get a cheap bike, it lowers pollution, and it lowers traffic on the roads. Separated bike lanes would probably encourage more people to cycle as one of the things that holds people back from cycling are its perceived dangers.

The whole of London should be running on renewable and affordable energy, this includes transport. This is possible if we focus on green jobs and shift subsidies from damaging practices such as non renewable energy and provide subsidies instead for this green transition. We also need to reduce the pollution in zones 2-3, our health is intrinsically entwined with the health of natural systems. 
 

I am happy to see that one side effect of the covid-19 measures is that more companies are seeing the benefits of working from home. Rush hour congestion has always been a problem for London, and we can greatly reduce emissions from transportation by staying out of the office more often.

However, I am worried about how this will effect those who do not have access to the technology and knowledge that makes remote work possible. Many companies are interviewing and communicating online, expecting people to have a computer and know how to use it. Some of us don't have the computer literacy that is taken for granted by employers, so are missing out on online-only opportunities.

Similarly, we are expected to make purchases and engage in social activities online during the pandemic, but people without a computer are stuck. I support using technology to do things in a safe and energy efficient way, but only if everyone has equal access. The lockdown has been really hard on people who previously relied on library/cafe computers to communicate.

So, what can the government do to ensure everyone has access to a computer? I suggest an initiative to help low-income or unemployed residents to purchase a computer or set up broadband, as well as free training programmes for those who don't know how to get started.

I'm aware this would be expensive, but we could offer incentives for tech companies to act as partners in this initiative, developing low-cost hardware and delivering training. A project like this would not only benefit disadvantaged Londoners, but also make it an appealing location for growing tech companies to expand.

To make sure that London remains an attractive place to live and work, we need to invest in green infrastructure, transport, housing, etc. Pollution in zones two and three must be tackled, and public transport should be more energy efficient and more attractive to commuters and tourists.

As we transition to a zero-pollution world, the jobs that will be needed are those that can benefit a greener city. By training Londoners in the skills they need for green jobs, we can tackle longer term unemployment by making sure job growth is future proofed. We'll also be equipping ourselves with a labour force that can make a positive impact on the living standards in our city. 

Retrofitting buildings to make them more energy efficient would save Londoners money as well as benefitting the environment. As one of the most populated cities in the world, we have an opportunity to be world-leading and make a huge impact.

London is one of the most influential, diverse, exciting, vibrant, interesting, cultural and modern city in the world.

The same will not be said if our leaders continue to abolish the wishes of the people who live there as well as commute each and every day into the city to support it's thousands of businesses and upkeep as a city. 

Tourists will no longer appreciate and want to visit a city that has toxic levels of air pollution. 

People will start to acknowledge and hear in this socially connected globalised world the atrocities London is committing on a daily basis with it's environmental issues.

We are no longer living in a fantasy world by wanting renewable clean energy for all. By wanting our children to grow up in clear air cities. By requesting our voices to be heard yet every time being met with ignorance and instead people in power investing in business. Business has no heart, people do. People make up this beautiful city I adore and am so glad to live nearby. 

London is an extremely rich city, which means it can easily invest into totally restructuring the way the city works. It is not a pipe dream to have all of the public transport amped up in london to support everyone so they don't need to drive. It's not a pipe dream to invest in insulation for thousands of businesses/homes. It is not a pipe dream to envisage a city with no waste. We can make this a city where all of this and hundreds of other green initiatives are MADE THE PRIORITY. 

What did everyone run to in the city during COVID-19 to save their mental health. Green spaces. It has proved its importance to us and it's solidarity in saving us. Now act. Act to save the green spaces, the global environment, catastrophes like the coronavirus from happening again. It doesn't need to happen. It shouldn't happen. And if london puts in the work and shows other cities around the world how it's done. It wont happen.

I absolutely am behind this mission. We have less than 12 years left to drastically change the whole world systems and the UK and the capital London needs to be a leader in this as the birth place of the industrial revolution and therefore the longest standing carbon emmitor. Constant pursuit of GDP growth should be pushed aside and instead focus on quality long term job creation, well being, and achieving net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible in order to keep within the 1.5 degree warming limit. 

This should include 100% renewable energy including on public transport, and shutting down coal factories and no fracking and supporting other countries to the same. 

Commercial and residential buildings should be retro fitted to be energy efficient. New commercial buildings must be net zero carbon emitting. 

Carbon taxing should be introduced immediately with the worst offending companies paying to help the most. 

Cycle lanes should be expanded and tackling bicycle theft needs to be a focus in London as it's absolutely rampant. 

London should be at the forefront of leading the UK’s Climate Emergency. We are one of the most populated and international cities in the world, if we can get it right the entire nation will follow. 

We need to reduce pollution in zones 2-3, we need to ensure London transport is not only affordable and accessible but ran with cleaner energy. 

We need to support the unemployed, especially those effected by COVID by providing support to transfer into more permanent and greener jobs. 

We need to ensure the Design and Build industry meet new greener regulations and put them into practice ASAP, as they are the ones responsible for 40% of all landfill waste. We need better practice of restoring old buildings instead of building new and unfordable ones. This in turn will focus on helping the housing crisis, which will better the economy. 

We welcome this mission.

There is evidence that green spaces have a positive effect on mental wellbeing.

Reducing air pollution will improve the health of people with respiratory difficulties many of whom are older people.

We should be putting in a long term plan to have the whole of London on renewable and affordable energy, including our transport.

Homes and businesses should be well insulated with to reduce energy consumption. Can we use this as part of the rebuild to create reliable green jobs?

We need more accessible local green spaces for ALL Londoners to enjoy. 

Less traffic pollution in zones 1 and 2. The ULEZ is great but so many people with lower incomes are living in areas with high air pollution, causing huge health risks. 

London should be helping the unemployed and recently redundant transition into jobs that are green and reliable. Again this should be part of the COVID-19 rebuild. 

I learned yesterday that the congestion charge is now being applied at weekends. Whether it is true or not the perception is that its introduction without fanfare is deliberately to raise money from people who really cannot afford it at the moment. Trust in 'the powers that be' - of any political persuasion -  are at a very low ebb, money is tight and anxiety high. People who would normally be supportive of measures to reduce carbon emissions are being antagonised and I believe this is counter-productive.  

We need to centralise the garbage and recycling system and invest in better waste management. Currently we are exporting a lot of our waste to other countries and not dealing with this material and this problem locally. We need to bring all waste areas under the same guidance and use public companies, rather than private companies, to manage this. Or at least invest more in regulating these companies. This will bring about local jobs as well as spur on material and recycling innovation in this sector. Not to mention make it easier for consumers – no matter where they are located – to understand what material goes where, and help manufacturers design for the waste system.

Secondly, not only do we need to invest in retrofitting existing buildings with the capacity for harvesting green energy, we need to invest in local urban agriculture. Currently places like Singapore and Paris are pushing for urban farming and injecting small-scale arable land into the roofs of parking garages and public buildings. These can be rented out to local citizens, providing a potential second income. This investment will help London become more self-sufficient in the face of faultering global supply chains, whilst also helping to cool down the city and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

Two suggestions from me: firstly, connect local independent fruit and veg growers with food banks. Food banks don't always offer fresh fruit and veg, which can be expensive in the shops, and allotment owners and others often have spare. Secondly, sit down with every primary school in London and work our safe walking/cycling/scooting to schoo routes. There is a lot of needless car traffic taking kids to school, especially when it's wet. Walking is better. 

Please don't forget that those of us who live in central London still need delivery vehicles & workmen to be able to access our homes. You've just blocked off the cycle lane outside my block of flats with high kerb stones which makes it very difficult for deliveries. Where are they supposed to park? Where are home removal lorries supposed to park so they don't have to dive across the road carrying sofas, beds etc?

I agree with making the roads as safe as possible for all road users, but you must keep a balance so we can ALL live our lives. I'm a pedestrian but I find the work that's been done in a lot of places to widen pavements a little over zealous. Roads have been narrowed so much and corners made so sharp that vehicles often end up driving partly on the pavements simply so they can get by. Efforts to make pavements safer have had the opposite effect in some places. The leveling of roads with pavements at junctions also encourages cyclists to use the pavement, again, not safe for either pedestrians or cyclists.

Over the past few years I've watched quite a few new blocks of flats being built after old buildings have been knocked down. Almost without fail these new blocks are too tall and too close to existing buildings, over looking people's homes, blocking light and in some cases, giving them nothing but a wall to look at. This type of development is not necessary and is detrimental to the people already living here. And I go back to my initial point, where are delivery drivers and workmen supposed to park for all these extra people being crammed into these new flats?

The wonderful peace and quiet that we enjoyed during lockdown has made me realise I need to get out of London, but I do hope my comments will be taken on board. Please make sure you strike a balance between the residents needs and the needs of people trying to get about.

Thanks

We must encourage cycling in order to reduce pollution. However the biggest obstacle to new cyclists is the threat of traffic. The 20 mph speed limits do not work. They are not enforced and most drivers disregard them because they know there is rarely a penalty. We must enforce the limit via speed cameras. I have been cycling for over 30 years in London and this problem seems to be worsening especially now where Johnson is discouraging use of public transport and encouraging driving. Cycling therefore can be a very frightening experience and aggression from drivers makes the situation even worse. Solve this problem and you will solve many others.