Hackney among boroughs warning climate change could cost London £15bn a year by 2050
Climate change will cost London up to £15bn a year by 2050 unless drastic action is taken at all levels of government, according to a new report from a group of central boroughs that includes Hackney.
More frequent and severe heatwaves, floods and drought in the coming decades will hit both the health and wallets of Londoners, warns the research from Central London Forward (CLF), the partnership of 12 central local authorities of which Hackney is a member.
A borough in the firing line
Hackney is among the boroughs most exposed to the risks the report identifies. Densely built and heavily paved, the borough is acutely vulnerable to the Urban Heat Island effect, which can make the city feel up to 10 degrees hotter than it is as tightly packed buildings trap heat. London has been particularly affected by record-breaking temperatures both last summer and this.
The GLA and boroughs can, however, take steps to address both the causes and symptoms of climate change, CLF says. These include greatly expanding green infrastructure — parks, gardens, woodlands, rivers and wetlands, along with urban trees and planted roofs — to absorb heat, create cooler spaces for residents and reduce flooding.
Green space as a ‘soft target’
Yet such green spaces are often treated as “soft targets” for local authority funding cuts, the research suggests, because no statutory requirements protect them. Boroughs would do well to look to Elephant Park in Southwark, the authors said, one of the largest new green spaces in central London in 70 years. Despite being expensive to maintain, CLF argues the benefits are well worth it.
Mass retrofitting of social housing should also be one of the GLA’s top priorities, the report said, though with more than a million homes needing attention across the capital — including much of Hackney’s substantial council and estate housing stock — funding is likely to be an issue.
Drains built for a smaller city
It is a similar story on flood resilience. City Hall says London has “outgrown” the drains and sewers built more than 150 years ago, which officials note were “designed for a smaller city with more green surfaces.”
“The combined challenges of London’s growing population, changing land uses and changing climate mean that if we continue to rely on our current drains and sewers, we face an increasing risk of flooding,” they said.
To combat this, the GLA’s Surface Water Strategy aims to replace hard surfaces with “permeable paving” and install Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) across streets, schools and housing estates — but CLF says such initiatives “can be difficult to fund and deliver at the scale and pace needed.”
The report praises the GLA for its Cool Spaces Network, which designates certain libraries, leisure centres and shaded parks as public cooling areas, but notes the “general public is often unaware of their benefit or existence, and it is difficult to establish enough spaces to make a difference.”
A call for legal duties
Overall, CLF said there must be a legislative responsibility on local authorities that lack the “strength and political will” to act voluntarily to undertake future-proofing measures against climate change. This would include embedding climate change as a “priority in planning decisions” and giving it the same weight as energy efficiency and net zero, underpinned by secure, long-term funding for adaptation projects that boroughs could bid for on a non-competitive basis.
Charlie Rainsford, assistant director of policy and external affairs at CLF, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The effects of climate breakdown are already being felt in Central London, with severe thunderstorms and heatwaves in the space of 24 hours.
“It is vital that we make Central London more climate resilient so that we can keep people safe, support businesses and maintain London’s place as an attractive place for visitors.
“However, the responsibility for action currently falls on local authorities, without any sustainable funding or a common framework. We are calling for long-term, consistent and devolved funding for adaptation projects and embedding adaptation in planning policy.”
City Hall responds
City Hall sources pointed out that the Mayor has funded the planting of more than 640,000 trees since 2016, including two major woodland creation projects, alongside the creation or improvement of 900 hectares of green space.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the LDRS: “Extreme heat is becoming more common and more intense as a result of the climate crisis and Londoners are already experiencing more frequent heatwaves, including last week’s rare Red Heat Health Alert.
“That’s why City Hall is working closely with boroughs, health services, TfL, emergency services and community organisations to plan how to mitigate the effects of climate change, and why we’ve established a network of free Cool Spaces, thousands of water refill points and drinking fountains across the capital.
“Last week, the Mayor launched Heat Ready London, a long-term vision bringing together partners to help our city adapt to rising temperatures, protect vulnerable Londoners, strengthen critical infrastructure and ensure our communities remain resilient in the decades ahead.”