City Hall hints at ‘retrofit revolution’ as part of their push for net zero by 2030

Mete Coban MBE, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, told delegates at Centre for London’s London Conference in November to “watch this space”, as the Greater London Authority prepares to announce, “a significant intervention in the retrofit area.”

Coban, who wouldn’t be drawn on the detail of this announcement, made the remarks as part of a ‘Decarbonising London’ panel session, which discussed the advantages and challenges of retrofitting older properties to make them more energy efficient.

Making London a greener and more sustainable city is a priority for many Londoners. New polling by Savanta for thinktank Centre for London, reveals that two-thirds (65%) of Londoners believe it’s important that London achieves net zero by 2030.

Asking Londoners their perspectives on environmental issues, the polling further revealed:

• Young Londoners are particularly concerned about achieving net zero. Three-quarters (74%) of 18–34-year-olds believe it’s important to achieve net zero by 2030.
• Londoners tend to be concerned with their day-to-day experience of environmental issues. When asked which environmental policy was most important, 40% chose ensuring homes were energy efficient.
• In close second and third place were reducing the amount of pollution in the capital received 39% of the vote, while 38% opted for ensuring London’s streets are safe for active modes of transport like bicycles.
• The health benefits of a greener city are also important to Londoners. Six in ten (57%) of Londoners declare they worry ‘often’ about the air quality in London.

Alongside Mete Coban MBE, the London Conference ‘Decarbonising London’ panel included Christina Calderato, Director of Strategy Transport for London, Rhianydd Griffith, Associate of LSE’s Just Transition Finance Lab and Dr Afsheen Kabir Rashid (Hon) MBE, Co-Founder and CEO of community energy development organisation, Repowering London.

Speaking about the future of green initiatives in the capital, Coban said: “What we need to do is think about the scale and what the Mayor can do. How do we take all these pockets of what we’re doing and really think through scale on projects? The only way we’re going to do that is having a clear vision on climate change.”

Also speaking at the panel discussion, Dr Afsheen Kabir Rashid (Hon) MBE explained that the terminology ‘net zero’ means little to ordinary Londoners, yet meanwhile “energy costs are a real thing for people”. She stated that to get on board with the green transition, Londoners “need to see the benefits of net zero in their community”.

Commenting on the polling and following the panel discussion, Antonia Jennings, CEO of Centre for London, said:

“London’s net-zero target is bold. To achieve decarbonisation of the city by 2030 will be no mean feat. Indeed, City Hall’s progress towards this goal remains slow, due in part to limited Westminster support for its environmental efforts over the past decade.

Despite this difficult relationship with national government, our capital is a global leader in urban decarbonisation, having halved per capita emissions since 1990. Londoners are on this journey with us – particularly younger Londoners – clearly calling for greater action on the climate emergency.

The next five years of progress towards net zero by 2030 will undoubtedly be the most challenging. Bold policy is needed, particularly to decarbonise heating our homes, transform our road vehicles and accelerate retrofitting older properties.

We look forward to hearing City Hall’s retrofit announcement – it will be a crucial step forward. But we’ll need both city and national government to draw on policy from crucial and interrelated areas such as housing, transport, technology, and skills if we hope to achieve net-zero by 2030.”

Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta says:

“Londoners continue to prioritise climate issues highly. This likely because many are personally impacted – such as by air pollution – and driven by the huge swathes of young Londoners who are particularly concerned about achieving net zero.”

“London’s politics will likely continue to be driven by candidates who show they have the policies to address the climate crisis in the capital.”