Mayor of London announces 1.5 degrees-compatible action plan

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced plans to make London a zero carbon city by 2050. The Mayor says the plan is compatible with the highest ambition of the Paris Agreement which would limit global average temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The new report links with the London Environment Strategy, published in May 2018, which showcases many of the policies and programmes designed to achieve the zero carbon 2050 ambition. The London Environment Strategy was one of the first city plans published to be compliant with the highest ambition of the Paris Agreement.

The 1.5°C Compatible Plan looks at the different scenarios London can take to reduce its emissions and to reach the zero carbon target.

One of the key messages from the plan is that London urgently needs to increase the number of buildings retrofitted with energy efficiency measures.

It also states that London’s path towards a low carbon future relies on continued grid decarbonisation and more ambitious national government action. If Government further decarbonised energy systems and buildings UK-wide, the report says, carbon could be reduced by an extra 30 per cent.

London's 1.5°C Compatible Plan was informed by several earlier reports:

• Building Energy Efficiency - An Arup model to help London understand how energy efficiency can be achieved.
• Zero Carbon Energy Systems - LowCVP members, Element Energy modelled four scenarios to zero carbon energy by 2050, based on electrification, decarbonisation of gas, decentralisation of energy or a patchwork solution.
• Adaptation - Mott McDonald have reviewed London’s existing activity on climate adaptation and identified where there is need for more to avoid the impacts of increasingly hot, dry summers and unpredictable weather

The scenarios to reach a zero carbon energy system have been modelled down to borough level. A website tool shows the energy, transport and other emissions under each scenario. It also shows the required level of energy efficiency retrofit and heat pump installation.