Boris under fire after 100 days

London Mayor Boris Johnson has come under fire from green campaigners as he celebrated his first 100 days in office.


The Green Party and Friends of the Earth accused him of failing to act quickly enough on his green manifesto pledges after being elected in May.

Green Party London Assembly member Jenny Jones said Mr Johnson’s team on the London Development Agency did not have enough expertise in tackling climate change, and criticised his failure to appoint an environment advisor within his policy team.

“Boris has tried to talk the talk on tackling climate change in London but has already tripped up on his first simple steps towards walking the walk,” she said.

She added: “By not appointing environmental experts to the LDA board, he is missing the chance to build on the good work already being done in London.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor told edie: “The Mayor believes tackling climate change is a moral imperative, which will be clearly reflected in policy implementation and budget prioritisation across the Greater London Authority group.

“The Mayor is confident that the exceptional and diverse talents of the LDA board are eminently suited to ensuring that his policies are effectively implemented with value for money.

“The board will be assisted as required by teams of environment experts working both at the LDA and City Hall.”

Friends of the Earth also added their criticisms of Mr Johnson’s policies to date, particularly his decision to scrap new congestion charge tariffs.

The group called on Mr Johnson to prioritise climate change in his first Budget and set out a clear strategy for delivering his pledge to cut the capital’s carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2025.

London campaigns coordinator, Jenny Bates, said: “After 100 days Boris Johnson has yet to show how he will keep his promise to make London the world’s greenest capital.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor said he had already announced a wide range of environmental plans, including planting more trees and ten high-technology Low Carbon Zones across London by 2012.

He also announced last month that the priorities for his budget included a 60% reduction target.

“The Mayor will deliver policies which will achieve genuine carbon emissions savings,” the spokesperson told edie.

“The £25 congestion charge was ‘gesture politics’ and would have had minimal impact on London’s emissions, instead clobbering normal London families with a hefty fine for simply trying getting around their city.”

Kate Martin

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