The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a major new push to accelerate the capital’s journey to net zero by 2030, unveiling a Climate Finance Taskforce and opening the latest round of the £500 million Green Finance Fund during London Climate Action Week.
The newly formed Climate Finance Taskforce, chaired by Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, CEO of the Green Finance Institute, will bring together investors and stakeholders to unlock billions in private sector investment. The goal: to fund clean energy, sustainable transport, and green infrastructure across the capital.
The Mayor also launched the fifth round of the Green Finance Fund, which has already committed £318 million since 2023 to projects expected to save over 45,000 tonnes of CO₂e. This is equivalent to removing 31,000 cars from London’s roads.
Previous projects include:
- Solar panels on the London Stadium
- Energy upgrades at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
- Support for the London Fire Brigade’s all-electric fleet transition
Discussing the ambitions to make London a net zero city by 2030, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said:
“In London, it’s estimated that we’ll need £75billion worth of infrastructure investments if we’re to achieve net zero by 2030. To help meet this challenge, two years ago I launched the London Climate Finance Facility, to unlock billions of long-term flexible private finance. Our Green Finance Fund has already approved over £300million in low-cost loans – enabling projects that will lead to a reduction in emissions equivalent to taking more than 30,000 cars off the road. But we’re not stopping there. I’m also proud to be launching a brand-new Climate Finance Taskforce, to help our city attract the funding it so urgently needs.”
In a landmark move, Transport for London has also awarded a multimillion-pound contract to EDF Renewables UK to supply clean solar energy to the capital’s transport network. A new solar farm in Essex will provide 80 GWh of electricity annually, enough to:
- Power the entire Tube network for a year
- Or run the DLR and Tram networks for 15 years
The project will also support biodiversity through tree and hedgerow planting and create hundreds of green jobs in construction and operations.
Image credit: iStock
