Mayor: I'll make London eco-capital of the world

BORIS Johnson relaunched himself as the green Mayor today with a pledge to make London eco-capital of the world.

In a bid to shrug off his reputation as an environmental sceptic, he said the city should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions and capitalising on the new energy economy.

He also set out plans to improve the quality of life for millions of Londoners by offering makeovers for parks and encouraging use of electric vehicles.

Mr Johnson told the Environment Agency conference the financial crisis provided an opportunity for developing green businesses. Industry could develop new technologies and create tens of thousands of jobs as it did so.

The keynote speech marks a change in direction for the Mayor who previously criticised the Kyoto treaty, poured scorn on renewable energy and denounced "eco-moralists" for spouting "mumbo-jumbo".

Isabel Dedring, the Mayor's environmental adviser, said: "We want London to be a more attractive, more civil place to live. We can't neglect people's concerns about their local environment even if they seem small scale. Things such as noise pollution, air quality and access to green spaces matter.

"We also want to take advantage of the economic opportunities that climate change is presenting to us. We think this could create thousands of jobs in London over not a very big period of time."

She is working on plans for 10,000 electric cars with zero-carbon emission- to be rolled out across the capital.

The Mayor plans to offer manufacturers a guarantee that the GLA would buy the cars for its fleet of 3,000 vehicles.

He would also try to persuade London councils, which have some 2,000 vehicles between them, car pools and private company fleets, to sign up.

Mr Johnson also launched his "Help a London Park" scheme under which residents can vote for 10 local spaces to each receive a £400,000 makeover. One large park will receive £2 million.

Other key environmental measures included:

● Setting up pilot schemes covering 10,000 homes each where householders would be paid to recycle with vouchers for supermarkets, DIY stores and newsagents.

● Working with councils to set up a new London-wide "101" number so residents can report fly-tipping, noise pollution, anti-social behaviour and other non-emergency issues.

● Providing up to 25 per cent of London's energy from combined heat and power plants, supplying hospitals and housing estates at low cost. Encouraging the use of wind turbines and solar panels on individual homes, although these can be expensive.

● Bringing in LED traffic lights and street lamps and continuing with plans to get more Londoners out of their cars including his bicycle hire scheme.

● Giving £84million for the London wide waste board to spend on new processing facilities and collection techniques, increasing the demand for recycled material and eventually reducing council tax.

● Offering all public sector buildings - which make up 25 per cent of all commercial buildings in the capital - a retrofitting service to boost energy efficiency.