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Boris Johnson: London needs to prepare for extreme weather
Pippa Crerar, City Hall Editor9 Feb 2010
Boris Johnson today warned Londoners to prepare for extreme weather such as flooding and heatwaves.
The Mayor said that all the scientific evidence suggested the capital would face hotter, drier summers, wetter winters and rising sea levels on the Thames.
He claimed the city could prepare for climate change by planting more trees and roof gardens, reducing the demand for water and setting up weather stations and temporary heatwave refuges.
“The vast majority of scientists are still telling us that London is going to get hotter and drier and be at greater risk of flooding,” he said.
“It doesn't matter whether you think climate change is man-made or not. The evidence tells us extreme weather is here to stay.
“If these guys are right we need to be ready for the impacts and the opportunities climate change will bring. We either need to grow gills or think of other ways of adapting.”
It came as Mr Johnson launched an online consultation to get the public to write his adaptation strategy.
They will be asked to add their comments to the draft plans on the site – www.london.gov.uk/climatechange - and the best ideas will be included.
He said Londoners were “fed up being bullied and lectured” by politicians over climate change.
In London, 11 of the last 13 years were the warmest on record and some scientists say that July rainfall could fall by 40 per cent in the South East of England by 2080.
Winters will also be much wetter with January rainfall increasing by up to 25 per cent in Southern England by 2080, causing flooding.
Sea levels on the Thames are also expected to rise by up to one metre this century, putting the homes of many more Londoners onto the flood plain.
Mr Johnson has also launched an Assembly consultation of his climate change mitigation strategy. He has pledged to cut London's carbon footprint by 60 per cent over the next ten years and attract tens of thousands of green jobs.
But his critics warned he was at serious risk of missing his targets.
Green Assembly member Darren Johnson said: “Adapting to climate change is extremely important. But even more important is the need to reduce our carbon emissions to prevent further climate change.
“The Mayor's strategy to fight climate change commits him to achieving only a third of what is needed to reach his target of a 60 per cent cut in emissions by 2025.
“The current Mayor is relying too heavily on government action, and shying away from making cuts himself. The fact is the Mayor is not doing anywhere near enough to fight climate change in the capital.”
Mr Johnson has signed up fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and actress Jane Horrocks to help promote his campaign.
They will feature along with other celebrities in an exhibition by leading portrait photographer Cambridge Jones at City Hall in which each gives their thoughts on climate change.
