The Mayor of London has announced a new fund that is aiming to help organisations in the capital achieve net zero by the target date.
Worth £500 million, the Green Finance Fund is aiming to support projects that will deliver benefits to enable enhanced energy efficiency, clean transport, or renewable energy. Any organisation that is in the Greater London Authority Group, any of the 32 London local authorities, social housing providers, NHS bodies, universities, or colleges are able to apply for loans between £1 million and £75million. The terms of the loans will be flexible and will hold lower interest rates than the government’s Public Works Loan Board lending scheme.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said:
“I’m committed to making London net zero by 2030, a target that is achievable is we make bold decisions together now. That is why I’m pleased to announce the Green Finance Fund will lend up to £500 million of investment to low carbon, green partnership projects.
“We’ve already allocated funding to some exciting projects around London and I’m looking forward to seeing what other green initiatives we can support. The fund is open for applications now so don’t delay. By working closely together on energy efficient projects we can help build a better London for everyone, a cleaner and greener city for all.”
Cleaning up London’s air will not only improve the health of Londoners today—but future generations too.
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) June 30, 2023
Hear it from the expert: pic.twitter.com/jkGzgWUMjW
Up to £34.2 million from the fund has also been made available for Transport for London to finance other projects over the course of the next three years. These projects include transitioning to new LED lights inside Underground stations, replacing LED streetlights, introducing new solar panels at Tube depots, and making energy efficiency improvements to TfL buildings all over London. It is anticipated that at least 8,900 equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide every year will be save through these developments.
Chief Safety, Health and Environment Officer at Transport for London, Lilli Matson, said:
“Reducing carbon is a critical part of our work to reduce the impact of public transport on climate change and we are delighted to receive this additional funding to help accelerate our work. Not only does LED lighting provide a brighter, mor welcoming environment for our customers, it helps us reduce maintenance costs, and helps make London a greener and more sustainable city for us all.
“The conversion to LEDs is one of many measures we’re taking across our transport network and buildings to help further decarbonise public transport. London leads the way towards achieving net zero and we are committed to doing what we can to ensure our services are the most sustainable way to move around the city.”
Alongside the Green Finance Fund, the Mayor is also extending his flagship Low Carbon Accelerator programmes through £5 million of funding. These have helped organisations upgrade thousands of buildings in the city since 2016, leveraging more than £200 million worth of investment and projecting a saving of around 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. Projections also predict that millions of pounds are going to be saved on energy bills.
Image Credit: iStock
