Webinar: City of London Corporation update on climate action and biodiversity strategies
The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) in collaboration with the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, is pleased to present the City of London Corporation’s update on Climate Action as the concluding City of London Green City Briefing for 2021.
Climate resilience is key to securing the City of London’s future. This presentation is to report on the progress of the City Corporation’s radical Climate Action Strategy.
The briefing takes place free of charge on Tuesday 7 December 2021, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm GMT with presentations by Alderman and Sheriff Alison Gowman and Gordon Roy, City of London Corporation – monitored by Dr Heather Barrett-Mold, Immediate Past Master of the Court of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners.
The City of London Corporation has put its plans to increase resilience on a par with reaching net zero emissions. Alderman Gowman comments: “The ability for cities to adapt to mitigate the impact of climate change is vital for our generation, and for those to come. The City of London Corporation is a forerunner in sustainable solutions – from being the first local government body to introduce a smokeless zone in 1954 to ensuring the ongoing enhancement of our green spaces across Greater London. Now we have also set ambitious but achievable carbon emission targets and we are showing leadership to businesses and residents as well as to cities around the world. We aim to be a global leader in both climate action and in financing the international green transition.”
Alderman Gowman will present the City Corporation’s ambition for a green and climate resilient Square Mile. This includes an introduction to the Climate Action Strategy, and the Liveries Climate Action Group, as well as the Biodiversity Action Plan. The presentation will conclude with insights into securing the future of the Square Mile.
As one of the two Sheriffs of the City of London, Alderman Gowman’s role at the Old Bailey is to support the Judges and to work with the Lord Mayor in promoting the City. As a Director of the Green Finance Institute, she promotes green finance and is a leading member of the City Corporation’s work on private finance for COP26. Her environment and sustainability interests led her to bring together the Livery Companies to consider the Livery and the City’s response to the climate challenge under the banner of the Livery Climate Action Group.
Through its Climate Action Strategy, the City Corporation commits to achieving net zero by 2027 in the City Corporation’s operations, net zero by 2040 across the City Corporation’s full value chain and supporting the achievement of net zero by 2040 in the Square Mile. It also aims to achieve climate resilience in buildings, public spaces, and infrastructure.
In preparation for hotter drier summers, warmer wetter winters, more extreme weather events and higher sea levels, the City Corporation has implemented a range of resilience measures including green roofs, urban greening, landscaping, flood resilience and climate resilient new buildings. As of 2020, the Square Mile had 42,600m2 of green roof, up from 11,200m2 in 2005. This is set to increase to 65,800m2 by 2024.
An overview of the resilience risks the Square Mile faces, and what measures could support climate resilience, will be presented by Gordon Roy. He says “by taking a leading role in action against climate change we hope we can inspire other authorities to be ambitious and pioneering in their own approaches to it. A great example of our forward thinking is the recently adopted Riverside Strategy which looks at ways to protect the City from rising sea levels by heightening the flood barriers along the Thames.” He will also describe the implementation of Cool Streets and Greening initiatives, and the preparation of a resilience catalogue and planting measures that are proposed.
Gordon is the District Surveyor and Environmental Resilience Director at the City of London Corporation. He is a key player in the implementation of climate resilience in the Square Mile through the City Corporation’s Climate Action Strategy. He is overseeing a number of Climate Resilience initiatives including the pioneering Riverside Strategy and a series of pilot projects which will test resilience measures in the City’s public realm.
Throughout 2021, the series of City of London Green City Briefings has presented compelling evidence and examples of the power of ‘living green’ in delivering multiple solutions to city challenges.
To join the concluding webinar on ‘the City of London Corporation’s update on Climate Action’ visit aiph.org/event/green-city-
For more information contact AIPH Green City at greencity@aiph.org
