From Friends of the Earth (as this come from a politically neutral group it is unedited):
Friends of the Earth's assessment of the environmental policies of the candidates for London mayor
This
mayoral election has been a race to the top on environmental issues,
with candidates vying with each other to show that they have the
greenest policies to improve Londoners’ lives.
Overall, our assessment shows that whoever is the next mayor,
Londoners will benefit from
greener policies than those of central government, which has torn up initiatives, from insulating cold homes to supporting solar energy.
All of the main candidates have signed up to policies including
protecting the Green Belt, opposing Heathrow, and building high-quality,
zero-carbon homes.
But on the
critical issue of air pollution, the 2 frontrunners still need to
toughen their plans if Londoners are to be protected from one of the biggest threats to our health.
The final scores
We’ve also published a
full breakdown of how we scored each candidate on each issue [pdf].
Our 10 policy tests
Friends of the Earth asked the main mayoral candidates to tell us where they stood on
10 key policies which our supporters ranked as the important tests of whether the next mayor will protect London’s environment.
Our aim has been for the candidates to make clear pledges to implement these policies.
Our analysis
Sian Berry (Green Party) and
Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat Party) are the joint
greenest candidates, with each committing to deliver all of our 10 key policies.
Sadiq Khan (Labour Party) and
Zac Goldsmith (Conservative Party) are
almost neck-and-neck on scores with Sadiq inching ahead by half a point.
Sadiq has committed fully to deliver more of the key green policies
needed to protect the environment and Londoners’ health and economy,
while Zac falls short in more areas.
All of the main candidates have signed up to strong policy on key
issues which matter to our supporters, including powering London with
clean energy, ensuring new homes are built to good standards; and
protecting our green spaces.
However, Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith still need to tighten their
policies in some areas, including, crucially, cleaning up London’s dirty
air.
How did the candidates fare?
Sian Berry has scored a well-earned 10/10, with great policy on every single one of our top issues.
In particular, her air pollution policies are excellent, including a
pledge to convert the entire bus fleet to electric or hybrid vehicles by
2020, and to bring London’s air pollution down to legal levels by 2020
- 5 years earlier than current government plans.
Caroline Pidgeon also scores 10/10, having committed to delivering all of our key policies.
Her cycling policies are particularly good, and she was the first
candidate to support the London Cycling Campaign’s Sign for Cycling
policies.
However, on some issues, a little more detail on how she plans to deliver would be welcome.
Sadiq Khan, scoring a respectable 8/10, has some
very good policies on issues such as renewables, divestment, stopping
fracking, and reviewing the London Plan in the light of the Paris
climate agreement.
However, Sadiq’s strong support for a new runway at Gatwick is a significant weak point in his environmental policies.
In addition, his unwillingness so far to tackle cold homes by
introducing minimum energy efficiency standards in private rented
housing, and his lack of sufficient commitment to dealing with the air
pollution which blights Londoners’ lives, have let him down.
Zac Goldsmith, with 7.4/10, also has some very good
policies on protecting nature, renewables, and keeping strong energy
efficiency standards for new-build homes.
We particularly welcomed his recent promise to follow the other main
candidates in supporting the divestment of the London Pension Fund
Authority from fossil fuels, although he has not committed - as others
have - actively to call for its divestment (a difference we think is
important).
Zac’s promise only to back the purchase of clean buses is potentially
very strong, but without clarification of the start date for this -
which we did ask for - we can’t give him extra points for it.
In addition, his unwillingness to come out strongly against any new
airport capacity in London, and his lack of commitment to strengthening
the London Plan to ensure the city is a leader in tackling climate
change, let him down.
Who does Friends of the Earth want to win?
Friends of the Earth is party politically impartial - we do not
support any candidate. Our aim for the mayoral elections has been to
ensure that all candidates have strong policies on the environment.
Our scoring reflects our assessment of each candidate’s policies on
environmental criteria, and does not represent an endorsement of any
candidate.
