In an effort to fend off a projected temperature rise in London in the next several decades, the mayor of London’s environment advisor announced a plan to increase the amount of trees, The Guardian recently reported.
A recent study by The UK Climate Impacts Programme concluded that London’s average temperatures could increase by 39 degrees F (3.9 degrees C) by 2080. The study also said that increasing the amount of plants and trees could offset rising temperatures.
Mayor Boris Johnson’s plan, Leading To a Greener London, will see the planting of two million new trees in the city, an increase of five percent of the city’s tree population.
Launching the plan, the mayor has a set a path to making London a leader in addressing climate change and reducing pollution and carbon emissions. He said London is already a green city and that the carbon footprint of Londoners is about half of the United Kingdom average. However, London consumes a lot of energy and generates more than 20 million tons of waste each year, he said.
The plan also calls for installing green roofs, implementing new food growing spaces and a recycling program that pays residents to recycle. The city is underway with an energy master plan, which is funding decentralized energy capacity and a home retrofit project. Johnson wants London to be “the catalyst for an electric vehicle revolution.”
“I want to see 100,000 electric vehicles on the streets of London by 2020 at the latest,” he said.
