London Mayor unveils climate action plan

The mayor of London, England, Ken Livingstone, has released a new Climate Change Action Plan for the city, that goes beyond the existing congestion charges that have been in place for several years now. Carbon dioxide emissions have stayed flat in London since 1990 thanks to high usage rates for public transport. Currently, transport only comprises 22 percent of total emissions, and this can be improved by up to 30 percent by just getting people to buy the most efficient version of whatever car they choose to drive.

The plan also calls for making London homes more energy efficient and the city government will be offering discount priced attic and wall insulation to residents of the city. Lower income residents can get the insulation free of charge. Businesses will be encouraged to cut energy use by turning off lights and computers at night. Finally, Livingstone wants to move 25 percent of London's energy supply off the national grid to local generated energy systems by 2025. The plan calls for London to reduce CO2 emissions by 33 million tonnes annually by 2025, which would require an annual reduction of 4 percent annually. The whole plan can be found at the London government website at the Read link.

[Source: City of London Government via GreenCarCongress]