The Mayor of London today (Friday 1 May) pledged £3 million to develop 10 flagship Low Carbon Zones to cut carbon emissions, create jobs and slash energy bills in the capital.
Speaking at HRH Prince Charles’ May Day Summit on Climate Change, the Mayor formally invited applications for the Low Carbon Zones by committing at least £200,000 funding for each Zone. The Low Carbon Zones will be funded by the London Development Agency's recently approved budget for climate change activities. Private sponsorship will also be sought to help fund the programme.
The Zones will have a target to deliver 20.12 per cent of carbon emissions savings by 2012 and will bring together local authorities, community organisations, residents, businesses and utilities to work in partnership in a targeted geographic area.
The Mayor has pledged to cut emissions in London by 60 per cent by 2025 and these Zones will showcase how this can be achieved using existing and new technologies, helping to establish the capital as a leading low carbon city. The Zones are expected to include a range of carbon-cutting measures in homes, neighbourhoods, businesses and public buildings such as:
 - Home insulation
 - Smart meters to help people regulate their energy use
 - Retrofit packages for public and commercial buildings
 - Decentralised energy plants to produce heat and electricity locally
 - Renewable energy sources such as solar panels
 - State of the art facilities to use waste as a clean fuel source
The Low Carbon Zones could be as small as a couple of streets, or encompass areas of 1000 buildings. 
Boris Johnson, said: 'I am fully signed-up to taking the necessary steps to combat climate change and ensure we protect our planet. By doing so, there is great potential to deliver 'green collar’ jobs in the capital and I am determined to pursue this opportunity aggressively.
'We are investing £3 million to kickstart 10 ‘Low Carbon Zones’ which will champion the latest technologies and firmly place London on the world stage as a low carbon city. These energy-busting zones will create an armada of flagships across London, focused on finding the most effective ways to rapidly cut carbon and slash energy bills.'
Chairman of London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee Councillor Mike Fisher said: 'London's boroughs will continue our work with the Mayor's office to establish low carbon zones in the capital. The challenge to reduce the levels of carbon we put into the atmosphere will be won or lost in major cities such as London. Setting up these localised zones will help us greatly in this fight.'
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust commented: ‘These new Low Carbon Zones are a great way to get communities galvanized to take action. This new funding will help kick start some exciting projects that we are looking forward to supporting.’
The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, said: ‘I welcome the Mayor’s announcement about low carbon zones, in particular the effort to encourage local people, groups and businesses to work together to cut their carbon emissions. The Diocese of London pledged three years ago to reduce the carbon emissions of its churches and other buildings by 20.12% by 2012.  So far we have achieved a reduction of 12.8 per cent in carbon emissions from consumption of power and heat by our churches.’
The Mayor announced his intention to develop ten Low Carbon Zones last year. Since then detailed discussions have taken place with major utility companies, borough councils, the Energy Saving Trust and local community and delivery partnerships to bring forward these plans. There are real benefits in local authorities, energy providers and local communities coming together in this way. In addition to the energy bill savings that this will create, bringing services together means costs are cut and efficiencies achieved.

Source: The Mayor of London

| More...