Sadiq Khan has declared himself an “ally” of both Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon in the battle against climate change.
The London mayor, on his third and final day in Glasgow for the COP26 conference, is due to share a platform with Scotland’s First Minister on Wednesday afternoon as they look to attract investment from the “green economy”.
Mr Khan, dubbed the “king of mayors” after being elected chairman of the C40 group of world city mayors, said shareholders and the wider public now expected firms to “invest sensibly” in projects that did not harm the environment.
He told the BBC Today programme: “We are partners in this fight against climate change and I see myself, and I have told Boris Johnson this, as allies to our Prime Minister.
“I’m seeing the First Minister today and I’m an ally with Nicola Sturgeon, because all of us are on the same side.”
Mr Khan announced an additional £30m over two years would be added to a City Hall energy efficiency fund, which he hopes will subsidise £150m of investment in low carbon projects and help London become “net zero” by 2030.
The fund has already enabled buildings to be retrofitted with energy-saving measures and heat pumps, and providing electric vehicle charging hubs.
But Mr Khan said the total cost of London going carbon neutral was likely to be £100bn and said investment was needed from the Government and the private sector.
He said he was keen to make driving “less attractive” to encourage more Londoners to walk, cycle or use public transport.
Asked on Times Radio whether he could use the congestion charge “punitively”, Mr Khan said: “I’m a firm believer in rewarding good behaviour and carrots rather than sticks, but you raise a really good point about how you can nudge people’s behaviour and make them think again.
“At the moment, roughly 65 per cent of Londoners make their journeys by walking, cycling and public transport. The way to make that even higher is to make those options attractive and to make the alternatives – driving – less attractive.”
He plans to keep the C-charge at £15 but reduce its hours of operation from 10pm to 6pm from February 28 next year to help the night-time economy.
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“The key thing is taking people with us,” he said. “That is why making people aware of the consequences of their action, the upsides and the downsides, is so important.”
London’s new fleet of electric buses is being built near Falkirk. Scotland has committed to achieving net zero by 2045, five years ahead of the UK target.
Ms Sturgeon said: “By grasping the opportunities provided by green industries and supply chains, we can create the good green jobs of the future and secure a just transition away from fossil fuels.”
