City Focus
61
“Underpinning everything is making sure London capitalizes on getting its fair share
of the low-carbon economy” MARTIN POWELL, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, LONDON DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
fi nancing mechanisms, get actual deals done and over the line, and also help them to work in co-operation with likeminded sustainability directors in other cities around the world. “We help the city teams with the steps
they’re taking to attract private fi nancing, and, on the capital side, validate potential investors’ interest in energy-effi ciency retrofi tting on a city scale and bring them together with the people and players needed in order to turn these kinds of energy-effi ciency schemes on. “So on one side we prepare the sustainability teams within the cities for what they need to do to be attractive to private capital, and on the private capital side we’re assembling the right ecosystem around the capital with the right fi nancial mechanism so that they are ready to be matched with the cities.”
Retrofi tting the city The RE:FIT program is key to London’s
plan to increase the energy effi ciency of its buildings, aimed initially at bringing about improvements to public sector buildings, which, along with commercial buildings, are responsible for 43% of the city’s total carbon dioxide emissions. Buildings are identifi ed and a target
percentage energy savings and payback period set. A contract is signed with one of the energy service companies signed up to the framework, with the ESCO carrying out the works and guaranteeing the resulting reduction in energy use and associated carbon emissions. This guarantees payback of the initial investment, with delivery risk transferred to the ESCO, resulting in a cost-neutral project that meets London’s environmental aims. Martin Powell, director of environment at the London Development Agency, says: “We had to design programs that were going to enable us to unlock
WWW.CARBONWARROOM.COM ISSUE 02. JUNE 2011
massive levels of fi nance to get about £40bn into London, which is roughly the cost of meeting our 60% target. And it will probably take another £40bn to get us to the 80% target. “About three years ago, the
the next 18 months, we’ll retrofi t up to 200,000 homes in London. The RE:FIT program is looking at public sector buildings, and the Better Buildings Partnership will address the commercial sector.
target for cutting carbon emissions
60%
levels by 2025 set by London mayor, Boris Johnson
programs were looking at small pilot projects to establish the best ways to save carbon. We changed our focus to the question of how you go after the most amount of carbon at the cheapest rate. Cost per ton of carbon is the driver, and we were aiming to launch programs that the market would respond to, which got us into the whole retrofi tting agenda. “We’ve come up with three very
diff erent models for fi nance. On the homes side, we’ve a program called Renew, and the ambition here is in
“Underpinning everything is making sure London capitalizes on getting its fair share of the low-carbon economy. London is a global leader, there are skills London can off er the rest of the world as we enter this new economy. We’re
also matching all of these opportunities to the skills agenda,
looking to put the long-term unemployed into green jobs. The great thing about these retrofi tting programs is that they create lots of jobs – it’s a fantastic thing for London.” Ranger too is enthusiastic about how
these programs can benefi t the city as a whole, and says the private sector has an essential role to play in their success – through partnership rather than simply sponsoring public sector activities. He says: “All our environmental
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68