In an address to senior financiers at the London Stock Exchange today (March 21), the mayor highlighted the capital’s strengths as a low carbon financial centre.

The multi-million pound fund will finance the development of low carbon waste and recycling infrastructure, help create ‘green collar’ jobs and stimulate a low carbon economic growth.

It will, the major said, contribute significantly to the diversion of waste from landfill and reduce carbon emissions.

Mr Johnson said: “A century ago London was cashing in on carbon, but I am determined we now harness the wealth of investment opportunities coming from the shift away from the use of increasingly costly fossil fuels.

“The prize is not only better environmental stewardship and cash savings, but the injection of billions of pounds into the city’s economy and tens of thousands of high quality jobs.

This multi-million pound fund to provide greener waste and recycling facilities is a great example of the type of innovative thinking that will stimulate low carbon economic growth for the capital.”

The Foresight Group will manage the waste and recycling fund on behalf of and as part of the London Green Fund.

The Foresight Environmental Fund, as it will be known, includes £35 million investment from the London Green Fund which Foresight has doubled with commitments for a further £35 million from local authority pension funds and a range of other investors.

Currently, there are 90 London based listed stocks on the FSTE Environmental Opportunities UK indices.

An Ernst and Young report commissioned by the Mayor estimated that if London can secure 1% of the forecast global spend on low carbon goods and services, it could deliver nearly £4 billion to the economy through to 2025.

Alison Brown

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