London’s next Mayor: who is the greenest candidate?

The environment in general and climate change in particular, will be a major challenge for London‟s next Mayor. This will require real leadership and action, not just talk. Londoners need a Mayor who will deal with everyday concerns of housing, transport and waste and who will lead London to become a world leading sustainable city.

Friends of the Earth has analysed the election manifestos of the three front runners for London Mayor: Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and Brian Paddick. We have particularly assessed the candidates‟ views on the key issues of environment, economy, transport and housing. The candidates‟ own words (shown in „quote marks‟) are used in our analysis, along with our own commentary in places.

Friends of the Earth is non-party political and independent. We work with all parties to make the environment and sustainable development central to decision making, public policy and business conduct. When political parties adopt adequate policy and turn this into suitable action we applaud and when they fail to do this we criticise.

Friends of the Earth’s 2008 election asks:

London must take a lead on tackling climate change

Commit to high savings in the amount of carbon dioxide London produces by helping us all to change the way we use energy and resources in our homes, at work and in

the use of transport. The world‟s top scientists say we must start reducing emissions

by at least 80 per cent by 2050. London‟s Climate Change Action Plan has put it at the head of cities taking the issue seriously.

Clear and comprehensive plans to save energy in London homes and buildings and to use far cleaner, renewable energy technologies.

A thriving low-carbon sustainable economy

Start developing London as a low-carbon and sustainable economy. Gaps between the better off and the most disadvantaged people and areas must be reduced, and wealth produced with far less environmental damage and better use of limited resources.

Transport for a sustainable city

Say “no” to proposals to expand London airports, and reduce the impact of existing operations and growth.

Tackle road traffic, congestion, carbon emissions, air pollution and other effects both in central London and across the whole of the capital.

Advance ‘environmental rights’ in London

Introduce an Environmental Justice Code giving Londoners proper rights to participate in environmental decision-making which affects them.

There are 9 candidates standing for Mayor of London:

Richard Barnbrook (British National Party) Sian Berry (Green Party) Lindsey German (The Left List) Ken Livingstone (Labour Party) Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrat Party)
Gerard Batten (UK Independence Party)

Alan Craig (Christian People‟s Alliance)

Boris Johnson (Conservative Party) Winston McKenzie (Independent)

Matt O‟ Connor (The English Democrats) has withdrawn his candidacy.

Boris Johnson, Conservative candidate

Boris Johnson wants to: „take action to make London the greenest city in the world‟ and

make a „cleaner and greener London‟ with „improvement of our local open spaces a top

priority‟. He focuses on the quality of local environments, streets, parks and spaces and wants to „make London a pleasant and safe place to live, by nurturing and protecting the public spaces that bind us all together.‟

He says he has „hardened‟ his view on climate change in the light of scientific evidence. He says „London needs to set an example to the world as a sustainable, green city.‟ To do this he

will „emphasise the importance of keeping environmental issues at the forefront of decision

making and ensuring coherent approach across all areas of policy.‟

Best Big solutions: these would make a real difference

Keeping the current Mayor’s ‘challenging’ policy to tackle London’s contribution to

climate change with a 60% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2025. Requiring all new homes, whether built by housing associations or by private

developers, to meet quality housing standards set by the Government’s Code for

Sustainable Homes.

‘It is crucial that we improve the energy efficiency performance of London’s existing domestic properties’ with Council Tax rebates to persuade homeowners to better

insulate their homes. We also like… His opposition to expansion of Heathrow airport (along with the other main mayoral

candidates). In his manifesto Boris exposes the claimed economic benefits made for

expansion and the „sleights of hand‟ by the Government and supporters of more expansion

over the noise and air pollution effects a third Heathrow runway would bring.

Ensuring that ‘no development takes places on green belt and Metropolitan Open

Land’. We think this should also include any land waiting to be fully designated as MOL.

Ending the ‘garden grab’ by protecting back gardens ‘from being lost to new

development’ and writing into the Mayor’s London Plan a ‘presumption against residential development on domestic gardens’. Boris makes a thoughtful case for the role

of gardens in absorbing rainwater, reducing flood risk, supporting wildlife and in countering

the „heat island effect‟ caused by the concentration of much built development.

Plans to ‘Revive rundown parks and gardens’ with a £6 million Priority Parks

Programme to ‘maximise the health and environmental benefits they bring by

improving their safe use’. Trialling a new service of orbital express bus routes for outer London to provide an attractive alternative to car use between key locations in south London.

Introducing LiveBus, a scheme to help Londoners to plan their trips with all bus stops served with electronic information boards saying when the next bus is due.

Converting London’s bus fleet to less carbon-intensive hybrid engines, when possible. Sounds good but needs more work

Reforming the congestion charge to be far more effective by moving ‘to a flexible pricing system so we can effectively target the worst congestion’. We have always said

the Congestion Charge is a blunt instrument to be refined over time in response to changes in travel patterns and how well it encourages drivers to think more about their travel choices in central London. Johnson‟s design changes should address the fact that congestion is not confined to the central zone.

Keeping the Low Emission Zone because he is ‘passionately committed to improving

London’s air quality’ and says ‘the Low Emission Zone is a step in the right direction.’

As Mayor, Johnson would need to show that his policies to speed up road traffic would not

lead to a worsening of London‟s air quality.

£1million a year…to ‘plant 10,000 street trees’ particularly in deprived areas. As with

Brian Paddick‟s manifesto, on the surface this sounds very good. He makes a good case for the role of trees in creating attractive local environments, absorbing traffic noise, providing shade and a cooling effect. Will the trees be native species? How will they be cared for?

‘Make recycling easier and more convenient through innovative approaches, such as

paying Londoners to recycle’. He refers to RecycleBank, a USA scheme rewarding high recycling with tokens to spend at shops such as Starbucks, IKEA and Timberland. A London scheme should be based on new ways to reward people instead of adding to consumer culture and creation of more waste. The scheme should be linked to Johnson‟s other plans to

create incentives to improve home insulation or to enjoy London‟s cultural events and venues.

‘We must see a fundamental shift towards micro-generation and decentralised energy

technology. We will strive to ensure that London is a world leader in renewable and

new energy technology.’ This fine aspiration is not backed up with any firm policies by, for example, extending existing policies in the London Plan which require developments over a certain size to generate a proportion of their own energy needs from on-site clean, renewable energy sources.

‘Getting more Londoners walking and cycling…determined to see many more Londoners cycling…so we will make it safer and more convenient to cycle’. Fine aims

not backed by clear policies to deliver this especially dealing with safety and driver behaviour. Central London cycle hire scheme but no proposal for similar schemes beyond the centre.

Opposing current plans for the Thames Gateway road Bridge ‘in its present form’

although he does not rule out a new road crossing and needs to set our more clearly how he would help regenerate the area without adding to road traffic and pollution.

Gimmick or wrong focus? We disagree with… His plan to re-phase traffic lights as the way to cut traffic congestion, to make bus services more reliable and help deal with climate emissions from road traffic.

The real issues are that:
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The weight of traffic trying the use London‟s roads as recognised by Johnson‟s transport manifesto: „our roads are some of the most intensively used in Europe‟

Road traffic is growing across London and is not just a central London issue Other road traffic is the major cause of delays to buses Traffic lights are as much for safety of people walking as for controlling traffic Above certain speeds vehicles use more fuel and pollute more
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We doubt that re-phasing traffic lights will be enough to dramatically cut emissions from

London‟s road traffic, a key source of climate change gases. Although Johnson says

speeding up traffic will improve bus services his manifesto contains no measures to give

buses more priority. This is despite promises of „fresh thinking to relieve congestion on public transport‟ and his vision of „buses that can compete with the very best in the world – for speed, reliability, quality of journey….‟

Scrap the proposed climate change related congestion charge aimed at ‘gas guzzling’

vehicles. Boris should let the proposed £25 scheme proceed. Instead he proposes to tackle emissions by dealing with congestion yet his only measure for this is to re-phase traffic lights which could well add to emission levels as well as undermining road safety.

Re-open consultation on the western extension of the Congestion Charge and abiding

by the public’s feedback. The presumption behind this policy is that the extension is unpopular and should be scrapped. Johnson should keep the extension and consider extending congestion charging to deal with capital-wide traffic problems. With any proposal to extend the original zone there will always be design difficulties. These can be overcome but not unless the zone exists. To tackle congestion he needs to be prepared to extend the zone.

What’s missing?

The manifesto does not cover the need for London‟s economy to start to rely far less for its

success on environmental damage and use of resources within and beyond London.

Boris Johnson says ‘we must do everything possible to reduce the amount of waste

that we produce’. No measures are proposed to reduce waste. He refers to voluntary

agreements which a Conservative Government would strike with industry to „cut back on the production of waste‟. Voluntary approaches are no substitute for firm incentives and

regulations to cut waste at source. He promises to promote waste exchange schemes like

„Freecycle‟, to lobby for a ban on single-use plastic bags and to „continue to push for stronger measures‟. His emphasis is on tackling waste once it has been produced (treating the

symptoms) not on avoiding waste in the first place (addressing the cause).

He says he will ‘use all the powers at my disposal to push the use of renewable energy sources in London’ and ‘will champion greater use of renewable energy sources

wherever possible.’ Johnson does not support these ambitions in his manifesto with details and specific plans including the contribution which renewable energy will need to make to meet London‟s energy demands if it is to be effective in helping curb climate change.

No manifesto position on 20 mph streets. Johnson‟s manifesto has no policy on the

introduction of residential 20 mph zones. This is odd given his emphasis elsewhere in the manifesto on the importance of quality streets and places and also the evidence of people surviving collisions with vehicles travelling at safe speeds, especially in residential areas. He

has stated (BBC London, 15/4/08) that he would support 20 mph streets „where appropriate and achievable‟ which should mean most residential areas.

Boris Johnson’s score: 7 out of 10. He says he has changed his mind on climate change. He now supports the current target to reduce London‟s carbon dioxide emissions under the

Mayor‟s climate action plan which, Johnson says, „is achievable…with the right leadership‟. Notably, he has also adopted the current Mayor‟s other key policies on the Low Emission

Zone and the role of the Congestion Charge. In his manifesto Johnson shows understanding of the civilising effect of quality local environments and the role of open spaces, gardens and street trees in dealing with a range of concerns from health, noise and air quality. He has bold plans for new and existing buildings

to be meet new standards for their use of energy but his aim to be „leading a green energy revolution‟ will take more than waiting for central Government to start boosting use of

renewable energy in our homes and businesses. This undeveloped policy area currently

underplays London‟s potential role in renewable energy production and use and the economic

and jobs benefits of London being both a manufacturer of and market for clean technologies. Johnson over-simplifies the situation when he claims that emissions from road traffic will be dealt with just by re-phasing traffic lights. To do this would not address the large climate change effect of traffic and the scale of the task needed to deal with this. Emissions from road traffic need drastic attention not fiddling with red lights. By leading with this policy he will need to unveil other more effective policies to tackle transport emissions policies if his climate and other environment policies are not to be undermined.

Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate

Ken Livingstone wants to: „make it my personal priority to ensure that Londoners can

continue to enjoy one of the greenest cities in the world, and that London continues to provide an example to the world on how to create a successful, vibrant and low-carbon city.‟ For the

race to be Mayor he says that „no issue shows the policy choice facing Londoners more clearly than the environment‟.

He says „making London‟s success environmentally sustainable is one of the most important issues facing the city‟ and that he has „made environmental policy a central focus of all that I have done as Mayor‟ because „looking after London‟s overall environment is central to improving Londoners‟ quality of life‟. He says his „bold policies have established London as a

world-leader on the environment, no longer known around the globe for its pollution and

congestion, but for its groundbreaking green policies.‟

Best Big solutions: these would make a real difference Implement the comprehensive Climate Change Action Plan based on science based targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2025 and 80% by 2050. Livingstone

says this is „because cities cause most of the world‟s carbon dioxide emissions there is a vital role for urban areas to play in reducing emissions‟ and that cutting emissions „doesn‟t mean we have to reduce our quality of life, but we do have to change the way we live‟.

Introducing the proposed climate change-related Congestion Charge with a £25 charge for cars with the highest greenhouse gas emissions „to do even more to combat global

warming and contribute to our target to cut CO2 emissions by 60% by 2025‟.

‘Support individual Londoners and businesses alike in cutting carbon emissions’ and

„make it easier for the average London household to cut emissions and save as much as

£300 a year through a comprehensive Green Home Advice Service, on-line, on the phone

and in person.‟

‘Move a quarter of London’s energy supply off the inefficient National Grid and on to cleaner, more efficient decentralised energy, generated within London, by 2025.’

‘Introduce the first comprehensive climate change adaptation strategy of any major

city’ to include measures on „plans to cool the tube‟, flood risk, the role of green space including „green roofs‟, one million trees to create more natural shade and cooling and

protection of private gardens from being paved over.

Use the Mayor’s planning powers to make sure that new developments capture

rainwater and are fitted with water saving fixtures and fittings. We also like… Requiring ‘all new homes receiving public subsidy to meet level 3 of the Code for

Sustainable Homes’ and give priority to housing developments which are built to standards which exceed government targets.

Pilot a ‘new Decent Environment standard for all social housing’ setting „new

environmental standards‟ for carbon emissions, energy and water use and sound insulation.

Opposing runway expansion at Heathrow (along with the other main mayoral candidates).

Giving Londoners ‘tailored advice on the easiest, least polluting ways to get around by

extending the pilot Personalised Travel Planning service to a further 6 boroughs in

2008/9 and, if successful, roll out across London by 2012.‟

‘Working with London boroughs to designate all residential streets as 20 mph zones…

replace speed humps with cameras and other technological innovations.‟

Supporting ‘safe pedestrian crossings’ and ‘traffic management that keeps traffic flowing and allows pedestrians to walk safely.’

‘200 Streets of Gold, premium walking areas which link local destinations like stations,

schools, and shops in inner and outer London, delivering improved pavements, seating and crossings alongside regeneration measures‟.

Increasing spending to invest in cycling to £60 million (a five-fold increase since 2000)

for measures such as a new network of „cycling corridors into central London, providing high quality, quick, safe routes…‟ and „New Bike Zones introduced around urban town centres…‟

‘500 hybrid buses - which cut CO2 emissions by up to 40% - on London’s roads by 2010 with all new buses being hybrids by 2012...’

Further support to develop more car clubs so people can have immediate access to a

locally parked car, „without the costs and hassle of owning a vehicle….ensure that at least

three-quarters of Londoners live within a ten minute walk of a car-club car, and half within a

five minute walk, by 2012.‟

To oppose ‘any new incineration plants in London’.

Increased use of waterways to „transport as much as possible of the millions of tonnes of materials‟ for new infrastructure projects in London.

Sounds good but needs more work Tackling air pollution with a variety of measures, including cleaner bus and taxis

engines which, Livingstone says, ‘will reduce the number of people forced to live in areas with dangerous air quality from one in ten, to one in a hundred by 2012.’ This will

still mean 60,000 out of 6 million Londoners breathing sub-standard air. He needs to set out the steps so that the whole of London breathes air which meets European standards.

‘Roll out a Green 500 programme with large London businesses, agreeing individual targets with firms and giving awards that recognise real cuts in CO2.’ Recognition

should only be given to firms who achieve sizable reductions in their emissions or who develop robust plans and timescales to achieve reductions over time.

‘Promote and run regular subsidised offers for home insulation and energy efficient light bulbs, in partnership with energy utilities and retailers’ and ‘work with Councils

and housing associations to maximise the take up by older people and others on low

incomes.’ Helping more Londoners to improve their energy use requires creative approaches which go beyond just offering cheaper products. The lack of advice and practical help from trusted sources are significant barriers to many people taking action to save money and energy by improving their homes.

A central London bike hire scheme with 6,000 bikes available every 300 metres and

free to use for the first half hour’. No proposals for similar schemes outside the centre.

‘A Green Tourism strategy for London, and work with film, theatre and other cultural