LIVINGSTONE HAS GIVEN NEW CLIMATE CHANGE AGENCY LARGE IN-TRAY OF WORK TO DO

11.16.43am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 20th Jun 2005

Commenting on the launch of the new Climate Change Agency later today, Liberal Democrats warned the new organisation will have a lot of work to do after five years of disappointment.

The Liberal Democrats will highlight the Transport for London Business Plan 2005/6-2009/10 that shows London are set to miss specific climate change targets including: -

· Reducing congestion across London - it is set to increase by 8% from 2000 levels by 2010

· Cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% and CO2 emissions by 20% from 1990 levels to help Britain comply with the Kyoto Protocol

London Assembly Liberal Democrat environment Spokesperson, Mike Tuffrey, said:-

"The Mayor has left the Climate Change Agency with a lot of work to do in its in-tray. For all his talk, London is now spewing out more pollution than when he took office."

"With London the powerhouse of Britain's economy, the failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will hit the UK's chances of meeting the Kyoto Protocol and reduce the threat of global warming."

"The new Agency must hit the ground running from day one to deliver with simple practical solutions to help Londoners make a real difference on tackling climate change to benefit the rest of the world."

ENDS

Notes to editor

Table 9 on pages 35-36 of the TfL Business Plan 2005/06 - 2009/10 sets out the targets and the expected achievements of London:-

Description of target or indicator Change National Target Projection for London Pass/fail

Traffic congestion Change between 2000 and 2010 Awaiting shared delivery targets agreement 8% more congestion Fail

Local public transport (bus and light rail) usage Change between 2000 and 2010 12% 50% Pass

LU journey times Cut journey times over duration of plan Cut journey times over duration of plan 13% improvement Pass

Number of adults and children killed or seriously injured in road accidents Change between average for 1994-1998 and 2010 40% reduction for adults, and 50% reduction for children 40% reduction for adults, and 50% reduction for children Pass

Air quality Meet National Air Quality strategy objectives for carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulates, sulphur dioxide, benzene and 1,2-butadiene Various targets reductions in concentration Expected to meet targets for carbon monoxide, lead, sulphur dioxide, benzene, and 1,2 butadiene. Reductions in PM10 and NO2 but unlikely to meet target Fail

Greenhouse gases Change between 2000 and 2010 Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% from 1990 levels, and move towards a 20% reduction in CO2 by 2010 Unlikely to meet target Fail

Cycling trips Change between 2000 and 2010 No target in 2004 PSAs 72% increase Pass

Bus reliability Change between 2000 and 2010 99.5% of scheduled mileage, except where this is beyond their control Projected to meet 98.8% Fail

Bus fleet Change between 2000 and 2010 Reduce to average 8 years Projected to exceed target Pass

Bus accessibility Change between 2000 and 2010 50% of full size bus fleet to be fully accessible 100% of the bus fleet to be fully accessible by 2005 Pass

Maintain strategic road network Change between 2000 and 2010 Proportion of network in need of maintenance between 7% and 8% Substantial improvement Fail

Halt deterioration of local road network Change between 2000 and 2010 Halt deterioration by 2004 and end backlog by 2010 Substantial improvement Fail

Bus passenger information New target introduced in April 2002, specifically for information at bus stops Year on year improvements in information at bus stops Customer Satisfaction Survey information projected to rise from 75 in 2003/04 to 77 in 2009/10 Pass

Department for Transport targets can be found at:-

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_023008-11.hcsp#TopOfPage