Royal borough at foot of green league table

Research that compared each borough's air quality, recycling record and provision of green spaces and cycle paths put it bottom of the list.

Its residents breathe the second most polluted air in the city and only two other areas have fewer green spaces.

The average income of people living in Kensington and Chelsea is more than £100,000 but Lucy Siegle of the London Magazine, which carried out the research, said: "Clearly the borough's wealthy are not spending large on green, innovative technology.

"But then affluence tends to breed bigger footprints, not least because it encourages unsustainable trends such as one-person households and far-flung holidays.

"If one does not have money worries, there is no fiscal incentive to turn your heating down - who cares if lagging your hot water tank saves £25 a year?"

She added: "Kensington and Chelsea performs badly under all the measures apart from recycling." Jenny Jones, Green Party member on the London Assembly, said: "It goes to show that having lots of money doesn't mean you understand how to green your borough. Kensington and Chelsea has a real duty to educate its residents."

The greenest borough is Richmond, followed by Bromley and Enfield. Bromley has the highest number of green spaces, while Bexley is best for recycling and Newham has the best air quality.

Lambeth has the worst air quality while Tower Hamlets is worst for recycling, City of London has the fewest green spaces and Barking and Dagenham has the worst provision of cycle paths.

Ms Siegle said: "Richmond is blessed with huge amounts of green space, has an advanced recycling programme, is cycle friendly and enjoys good air quality."

Richmond was the first London borough to bring in punitive parking charges for drivers of gas guzzlers in 2005.