The Guardian writes: "London councils yet to spend £130m in local climate funds"
- Anthony Burke
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
The Guardian writes: "London councils yet to spend £130m in local climate funds"
In summary:
A Guardian investigation has found that London councils have yet to spend more than £130 million collected through a carbon offsetting scheme designed to fund local environmental projects. Since the scheme was introduced in 2016, developers have paid over £170 million to offset emissions from new buildings — but less than a quarter of that has been used.
The funds were intended to support green initiatives like tree planting, retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency, and investing in clean energy infrastructure. However, delays in project approvals, lack of clear spending strategies, and slow-moving bureaucracy have left the majority of the money unspent.
Campaigners and experts are now calling for greater transparency and urgency, warning that valuable opportunities to address the climate crisis at a local level are being wasted. With the impacts of climate change already being felt across the UK, the pressure is mounting on councils to turn funds into action.
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