New investment and taskforce to help London reach net zero

The Mayor of London has announced new funding to cut carbon emissions in the capital and unveiled a taskforce to drive more green investment.

The dedicated Climate Finance Taskforce will be chaired by Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, Chief Executive of the Green Finance Institute and will bring together investors and stakeholders to develop strategies and solutions to unlock billions of pounds of private sector investment to help London reach net zero by 2030. 

Making the announcement in a keynote speech opening the Climate Innovation Forum during London Climate Action Week, Sadiq Khan also opened the fifth round of his £500m Green Finance Fund, which supports projects across London to deliver energy efficiency, renewables, heat networks, or clean transport.

Projects that have received funding in previous rounds include those installing solar panels on the roof of the London Stadium, energy efficiency measures to support the wider extensive redevelopment of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, and funding to support the London Fire Brigade’s transition to an all-electric fleet.

The fund has already committed £318m since 2023 to projects expected to save 45,043 tonnes of CO2. 

Applications for the next round of funding are open until 4 September 2025.

It was also revealed in the mayor's speech that TfL has today awarded a multimillion-pound contract to EDF Renewables UK for clean solar energy across the public transport network. TfL is London’s largest single consumer of electricity, using around 1.6TWh per year.

A new solar farm in Essex will provide approximately 20 per cent of its output to TfL, which is about 80 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year – enough clean energy to run the entire Tube network for a year [1] or power for both the DLR and Tram network for 15 years.

The project will also help to improve biodiversity in the area through the planting of trees and hedgerows to allow for natural regeneration and will create hundreds of green jobs in construction and operation at the site.

Khan said: “In London, it’s estimated that we’ll need £75billion worth of infrastructure investments if we’re to achieve net zero by 2030. To help meet this challenge, two years ago I launched the London Climate Finance Facility, to unlock billions of long-term flexible private finance. Our Green Finance Fund has already approved over £300million in low-cost loans – enabling projects that will lead to a reduction in emissions equivalent to taking more than 30,000 cars off the road. But we’re not stopping there. I’m also proud to be launching a brand-new Climate Finance Taskforce, to help our city attract the funding it so urgently needs.”

Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas, Chief Executive of the Green Finance Institute (GFI), added: “London has long been a pioneer in green finance, and the GFI is proud to build on our foundational work designing the original London Green Finance Fund. This new Taskforce marks a critical next step - bringing together leading public and private capital providers to co-develop innovative financial structures that can unlock investment at scale. By aligning climate ambition with investable solutions, London can once again lead by example, catalysing a model that could ultimately be replicated across UK regions and beyond.”