Mayor plans the greenest city in world

London could become the "greenest" capital in the world with wind turbines on top of office blocks and homes, under radical plans drawn up by Ken Livingstone.

The lower reaches of the Thames could also be lined with wind farms and many buildings fitted with solar panels in a move aimed at generating and conserving energy.

The Mayor hopes to disconnect the capital from the national grid and make it selfsufficient in electricity.

"London uses more energy than the whole of Ireland and about the same amount as Greece or Portugal," he said.

The grid would be eventually replaced by a network of smaller power stations fuelled by natural gas and organic waste as well as solar energy.

The plan will be carried out through the Climate Change Agency for London which will be launched this spring.

One of the most controversial aspects concerns transport. The Mayor wants to make London a "low emission zone" by 2007 meaning lorries, coaches, buses and taxis would be banned unless they met tough anti-pollution standards.