'Energy for Londoners' plan revealed by Labour Mayoral hope
Energy for Londoners would prioritise city-wide energy efficiency and green energy schemes including expanding the use of solar and creating more district heating initiatives, with the prospective mayor emphasising how having a cleaner and more efficient energy supply is crucial for London to meet carbon reduction targets and take the lead on environmental issues.
The Tooting MP, who revealed the proposal during a visit to Islington Bunhill Energy Centre project, which will use heat from the London Underground to warm over 1,000 homes, claims he will be the “greenest Mayor London has ever had,” while also arguing that the current Mayor of London Boris Johnson has “squandered a fantastic green legacy” and left the capital as a “middle- ranking global city at best.”
“I want my daughters to grow up in a city that is cleaner and greener, in which people aren’t dying because the air is so filthy. But I also want London to be at the cutting edge of new green technologies, generating the growth and jobs of the future,” he said.
“Energy for Londoners will bring a renewed focus to our drive to make London a cleaner, greener city. Building a cleaner, greener city will only come about through leadership from the top. For eight years, London has lacked that leadership.
“We’ve gone from being a global leader on environmental issues to a middle-ranking global environmental city at best. The Tories have squandered a fantastic green legacy and I’m doubly determined to make London once again a beacon to the world.”
The proposed energy firm would aim to make use of Transport for London’s land and buildings, including installing solar panels onto station roofs, while also ensuring new developments have built-in low-carbon designs and encouraging the collective purchasing of community generated energy to power public buildings and the tube and issuing, along with issuing Green Bonds and exploring the use of debt-based instruments such as ISAs to invest in green projects across the city.
Energy for Londoners adds to Khan’s current roster of green policies, including banning fracking in London; expanding the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to other parts of London; establishing National Park London; promoting continued investment in cycling provision and green buses; and discouraging the use of polluting vehicles.
