Funding for London boosts offer for low carbon economy

This summer the Mayor of London Boris Johnson's drive to capture London's share of the green economy stepped up a gear as he unveiled his public/private ‘London Green Fund' to leverage millions of pounds of private investment, bolster energy and new waste technology initiatives and enable the development of a carbon cutting infrastructure. The fund will be a valuable tool in meeting the Mayor's 60 per cent carbon reduction target by 2025 and compliments London Thames Gateway's already strong offer for environmental technology companies.

The Mayor's green fund plans are contained in ‘Leading to a Greener London' detailing his environment and climate change priorities for London. The Mayor wants to improve Londoners' quality of life through an ambitious series of environmental improvements - tackling climate change, reducing pollution/improving air quality, consuming fewer resources and using resources more effectively - which also exploit the new opportunities coming from developing a low carbon economy.

He will also be piloting a new Green Enterprise District; and through the work of the London Waste and Recycling Board, plans to unlock the value in waste through an £84 million fund which runs through to 2011-2012, turning waste into an opportunity.

You may remember our news on Cyclamax, the waste management firm we assisted, some months ago. Since the announcement on plans to build its flagship facility on a 3.5 hectare site at the London Sustainable Industries Park, Cyclamax has been preparing a planning application and expect to be operational in early 2012. The company has also been working on advanced uses for syngas derived from the gasification with the London Thames Gateway based University of East London, and the London Hydrogen Partnership.

Gateway to London is looking forward to leveraging more success stories like these, thanks to the climate created by new initiatives and organisations like ourselves, which have focused on developing business opportunities for clean technology companies.