Conservative Mayoral Candidate Boris Johnson has pledged to plant 10,000 street trees by the end of his first term if he wins May’s elections.
Mr Johnson says the trees would improve the improve the street environment and offer health benefits through increased shade and lower temperatures and would be funded from the cancellation of The Londoner newspaper which is distributed by the GLA.
Londoners would be asked to help decide the location of each batch of trees to be planted and Johnson is promising that “40 areas will have trees planted by the end of the four-year Mayoral term.”
Commenting on the scheme Mr Johnson said “Trees give the capital its identity as one of the world’s greenest cities. But these trees are not distributed equally around the capital. Many London streets, particularly in deprived areas, have no street trees at all. Why should those streets with more expensive houses get trees when others don’t?”
“Our current Mayor is out of touch with everyday Londoners. Tree planting may appear to be a small gesture but will actually improve the lives of thousands of Londoners. It is time we had a new approach in London. I am the man to bring about that change.”
Garro says
A lot of Boris´ environmental pledges seem to be gimmicky one offs that are not part of any wider context: planting lots of trees, banning bottled water from City Hall, an annual prize for low carbon technology. I´m not sure he grasps how much of a fundamental change is needed to make London energy efficient. I´m not sure he takes climate change seriously.