Alderman Alison Gowman created and leads the Livery Climate Action Group (LCAG), one of the most active pan-livery (over 100 of the 114 livery companies are members) groups ever. I’ve been pleased to support it over the years, and thrilled to be asked by her to open proceedings. My remarks to:
Masters, Wardens, fellow Aldermen, ladies and gentlemen:
I am delighted to join you for the Livery Climate Action Group Conference 2024: Planning for a Resilient Future. My thanks to my fellow Alderman Alison Gowman for your opening remarks, and more importantly for founding the Livery Climate Action Group and chairing it successfully since its inception.
This is now a well-established and vital part of our City and Livery community, helping coordinate, support and inspire climate action across more than 100 livery companies – and it is a great achievement that almost all livery companies have become members! We are delighted to see so many Livery Companies represented here today alongside local SMEs, the City Business Improvement Districts, and schools.
It is crucial to involve the next generation, which is why it is great to see so many students taking part in today’s conference. Jay Leno once joked that “the global warming outlook is much worse than originally predicted, which is pretty bad when they originally predicted it would destroy the planet.” It is a testament to the strength of the Livery movement that we are so engaged in addressing this most pressing of global challenges.
City history
Those from Livery Companies may have heard me describe the City of London Corporation as the world’s oldest democratic workers’ and residents’ cooperative – with elections having been held continuously since the 7th century. Over those centuries, the City has had to show resilience time and again – in the face of war, plague, fire – and now, global warming. In was in the aftermath of the Great Fire that the modern insurance industry was born. And the City came back stronger than ever. This is where we draw our resilience from.
City story of climate action
Our 14-century history gives us a 14-century view. As well as looking back to our past, we always need to look to our future resilience, which is why the City has always taken the long-term view when it comes to our climate. The City of London became one of the first places in the world to pass clean air legislation, following the Great Smog of London in 1952. The City of London’s Clean Air Act in 1953 banned the emission of smoke in the City. This lay the groundwork for the first UK-wide Clean Air Act in 1956, making the UK a world leader in environmental action. The need to take this position of leadership was reinforced at the Rio Conference and at every COP Summit since, where the City Corporation has been an active participant. We have also used our position as a global financial centre to become a global sustainable finance centre, launching the first carbon markets here after in the 1990s after the Kyoto COP.
Connect to Prosper and sustainable finance
The theme of this mayoralty is Connect to Prosper – celebrating the many knowledge miles which flow through our Square Mile, the world’s coffee house – the place where the world comes to find and to finance the solutions to global problems, most notably climate change. London tops the Global Green Finance Index, as a one-stop shop for sustainable finance solutions. We have worked to mobilise the financial and professional services sector to support Net Zero and climate resilience projects around the globe, including promoting financial instruments such as policy performance bonds, to help governments meet their climate targets. As part of Connect To Prosper we have launched the City of London Carbon Credit Cancellation Service (C4S), giving people the opportunity to be truly net zero by netting off actual emissions on the wholesale Emissions Trading Scheme.
Resilience
As well as the Corporation and the financial services sector, we need to draw on the expertise, the experience and the resilience of our Livery community. There is no Planet B – we all need to take climate action and plan a resilient future. This is a challenge which all countries are grappling with, and is usually near the top of the agenda in each of the 24 countries I have visited during my time as Lord Mayor. People look to the UK for solutions and for opportunities to collaborate – but their experiences also provide many lessons which we can learn from, and we can take the best examples from other global cities and adapt them to our city.
As well as finding the global solutions, we can demonstrate the best local practices. Today, the City of London is leading the way once again, with a Climate Action Strategy committing us to Net Zero across our organisation by 2027 and across the Square Mile by 2040.
City Plan 2040
The City of London Corporation is now in the process of introducing its new local plan, City Plan 2040. The City Plan aims to promote growth in a low carbon economy at the local level – promoting sustainability in new buildings, supporting improvements to existing buildings, and increasing the the biodiversity of our open spaces. Just down the road, outside the Mansion House, the renewed public realm is one small example of how the environment can and will change. On a larger scale, Finsbury Circus, the Square Mile’s largest open space, is being improved in a way that will increase the City’s biodiversity.
The Livery Companies have the chance to shape the future of our City. We appreciate how much the Livery movement puts into education and training. This gives us an opportunity to better address the challenges of adapting to climate change, especially in terms of carbon and biodiversity, involving all age groups – whether managing legacy or anticipating inheritance. Livery Companies are assessing the impacts of their charitable works on the environment, dealing with the challenges of climate change, and building a resilient future. There are easy ways for all to become involved – the annual City Pollinator Count which we initiated this year being one example.
Call to action for Livery
We want to see more and more Livery Companies using their vast networks – with their vast reach – to raise climate change awareness and encourage climate action across the City.
Our thanks once again to the Livery Climate Action Group for organising today’s conference, to the Merchant Taylors’ Company for hosting it, to the Mercers’ Company for sponsorship, and to the City Corporation for support.
The Livery movement has carried this City over the centuries, and once again we look to the Livery to help us plan for a resilient future. With a Livery community of 50,000 engaged citizens, we hope all our Livery Companies will their skills, networks and connections to spread the word, tackle climate change, and build our City’s resilience – as they have done throughout London’s history.
I wish you all a successful conference. Thank you.
