London's Environmental Initiatives - Example

REPORT ON LONDON'S ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES Name: Subject: Tutor: Date: BUSINESS REPORT ON LONDON'S ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES Introduction The Greater London Authority is one of the administrative bodies in London. It is vested with the powers and obligation of ensuring that development projects are established. They focused on developing the city in following aspects. Firstly, they are focusing on improving the environment, secondly, there are also focusing on social development and finally, the creation of wealth through developing the economy. These powers cover a large area including factors such as fire and emergency planning, policing of the metropolis and economic development. The Mayor commands Greater London Authority. The Mayor has various responsibilities, which comprise; designing the policies to be implemented and monitoring the implementation process. In addition, he proposes the funds to be used in all the process that is designing the policies, implementation and monitoring of the implementation process. The Mayor had other responsibilities such as selecting and delegating strategic executives to functional bodies. These bodies will facilitate the implementation of policies within the city. The main function of the Mayor is to manage and run the city of London. However, he is responsible in creating visions, provision of funding, setting of improvement strategies and harnessing the resources to ensure that the city of London meets the standards of first class cities in the world[Bob12]. A brief review of the powers and responsibilities of Greater London Authority (GLA) The Greater London Authority has a wide variety of responsibilities though, in some areas, they do not offer services directly. They use functional bodies to provide front-line services. Some of the functional services available include Metropolitan Police and Transport for London. They are also responsible for the general social welfare in London. Some of the projects they work on include the boosting of wealth creation within the city, working closely with the security department and planning of the building of the skyscrapers. On some complex issues, they combine efforts with local government. Some of these issues include. i. Collection of waste in town: The policies of the Major concerning disposing and management of are the key direction to be followed. ii. The Mayor must comment on building projects in London. However, the planning decision made locally without consulting the Mayor. iii. There are other bodies in London such as London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. There are main responsibilities are to deal with the emergencies in the capital city of London. The Mayor is accountable for the action of these two bodies. Furthermore, the mayor has the responsibility of appointing 17 members of the Authority while the London assembly has the obligation of nominating the 8 members. London boroughs appoint seven members. Analysis of the policies in both academic and new sources London is one of the leading cities in the world in terms of production and competitive economies. It is among the best at doing things in unique ways. They are creative; use unique style, innovation, dynamism, entrepreneurship, as well as, diversity. They are the leading in improving the environment both locally and internationally. London has been in a position to improve their environment through reducing pollution, developing a low carbon economy, and effectively dealing with the climate change. Furthermore, London has managed to consume low amounts of resource[Dav12]. The mayor proposes various policies to be implemented in order to deal with the environment effectively. The first policy to be adopted in London was to ensure that the greenhouse gas emission is reduced throughout the city. From reliable sources, it is evident that 75% of the energy of the world is consumed by cities. At the same time, 80.5% of the greenhouse gas emission takes place in the cities. From the research, it is evidence that London alone is the main contributor of this emission contributing about 79.9% in the United Kingdom. This is equivalent to 44 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide. Because of the high pollution increase and ever increasing economic development, the amount of emission is also expected to increase at the same rate. One of the key priorities of Mayor was to reduce the increasing carbon dioxide emission in the city. The mayor has set a target of 2025 so that by that year, the carbon dioxide emission will reduce to 65% in the city. This vision can be achieved in the following ways: a. Set a strategy of improving efficiency of energy b. By improving and increasing supply efficiency c. Design and adopt the renewable energy sources. There are other conditions, which have been, passed so that it can assist in further reduction of emission of carbon dioxide. Some of this condition is to ensure that the contractors of the houses within the city are qualified. Furthermore, the constructions of the building must be carried out in the professional manner so that it can meet the requirement of the changing climate. The second policy, which was introduced by the City Mayor five years ago, is the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. This policy focuses on three main things in the city. These factors include: i. Identification of danger within the city and ensuring that everyone is safe in the city. ii. Analysis of the effects caused by change of climate and how it can influence the drought, heatwave and flood in the city. iii. Communication of the actions which are necessary to done in case of disaster and the means of rescuing those who will be affected. Whether forecast department had predicted the possibility of experiencing both the drought and floods in the future. Because of this, various policy measures were implemented so that it can be used in securing people. For example, Drain London Forum was established and given the responsibility of looking for effective means of dealing with problems[Mat12]. There are supposed to investigate areas which are risk and find ways of dealing with the possible problems which can be experienced in such places. Scholars who are in London have predicted the dangers which can affect people in the city due to changing climate. They fear there might be a massive loss of lives if enough precaution is not put in place. There are countries across the world that has experienced the impact of climate change. Another policy that Mayor introduces in London was the policy relating to the environment called Waste Recycling policy. This policy was extremely vital because the main aim of this was to save more than 90 pounds lost annually. This was done through reducing of the waste which was produced in the city. From the research carried out it indicated that London produces around 50 tonnes of waste per day. The reduction of waste in the town was to be undertaken in ways which comprises of implementation of Business Waste Strategy and also the use of Municipal Waste Management Strategy. This implementation has already been exercised, and the reduction of waste had been achieved within the city. There are also other objectives that were part of the plan and these comprised of the management of the waste in the most efficient way in London, encouraging of the activities which can yield the same results. These activities aim at improving the environmental advantages especially in terms unstable climate. It is evidence that these programs will help the realization of objectives set in the city. People in London are expected to enjoy life than ever before, especially after reduction of waste and the cost involved. The Mayor of London is also planning to ensure that the people in the city are breathing fresh air and not the polluted air. This is achieved through cleaning of the environment and making sure that the environment is green. There have been debates in London concerning the strategies of reducing air pollution in the city. This means that the strict policies affecting the transport sector need to be amended. Mayor commented that millions of pounds will be spent cleaning the air to achieve the targets set. One of the policies amended in cleaning the air is the cleaning the fleet of buses in the city to ensure that they conform to the Euro IV emission standards for PM10 and NOX. The second policy aimed at facing out all the old vehicles on the roads. This is because older vehicles then to pollute a lot as compared to new ones. The third policy is the one which focuses on smaller vehicles that are operating either a taxi or personal van. The policy stated that, from 2012, all kinds of these vehicles should be Euro 3 standard in the Low Emission Zone (LEZ). However, there are other policies that are not related to vehicles though they aimed at reducing at reducing air pollution. Some of these policies comprise of implements of ways of dealing with the biomass boilers. There are also policies which deal with dust and the means of reducing them from polluting the air. Finally, The Greater London Authority has focused on conservation of water as key elements in a sustainable environment for the Londoners. The Mayor once confesses that his dream was to ensure that the environment London is clean so that the people in London can enjoy quality life there. He further said that his vision can only be achieved if the water in the city is safeguarded[Tim121]. However, he admitted that there would be challenges caused by the change in climate. In another part of London, the effects of change in climate had already been felt. Furthermore, the increase in population might be another factor which might interfere with the achievement of this goal. The Mayor said that a lot of water is lost through leakages in the pipes and some mare lost through mismanagement. He further commented that water management is extremely important, and people should, therefore, learn to use water efficiently. Critical evaluation of the evidence provided by the literature source used Though the policies are beneficial, it needs to consider the consequences of its implementation. The policies such as phasing out the old vehicles so as to reduce the carbon emission are impressive but what about the majority who are depending on those cars? Mayor should, therefore, strategies on how to compensate the people with such vehicles. The other policies of conserving the environment were so necessary because they did affect the public negatively. Policies such as reducing greenhouse gas emission are one of the effecting policies of cleaning the environment. Furthermore, the Mayor should think of policies to be implemented to ensure that the factories are not destroying the environment through air pollution. The policy of Climate Change Adaptation Strategy is vital and needs to be emphasized because it help in focusing the drought and floods which might be a disaster for the city. Whenever there is drought or floods in the country many people might because of various diseases and other problems associated with it. Finally, the issue of introducing meters which will ensure water efficiency in the city necessary. However, the government should consider paying part of the bill on behalf of the public. This will reduce water bill and furthermore, most people including people with low income will effort to use the facility[Mat12]. In addition, the government should allocate some funds which will assist people who are planning to build new houses in the city to meet the requirement of new technologies. 1) An analysis of the gap between the development of policy, and the implementation of policy The mayor introduced various policies in London that relate to the environment either directly or indirectly. The effect of these policies is yet to be experienced by the people living in the city. However, there are possibilities of emergence gaps during the implementation process. This is because implementation requires a huge amount to spend. For example to achieve the target of 2025, that is to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, around 60 billion pounds must be spent in implementing those policies. The Great London Authority expects to the government to offer some financial assistance to facilitate the implementation process. However, the Mayor has explained the fact there is uncertainty on whether the central government will donate these funds in a timely. This is the reason why some of the policies as been implemented while others have not. This implementation of incomplete policies has created challenges in realizing the expected results. Another barrier in this implementation process is the lack of awareness in the public as far the environment is concerned. Because of this, the officers concerned with the implementation have a lot to do in for them to realize the desired result. For example, the Mayor and his team should carry out civil education on the importance of environment on the life of a person. It is, therefore, necessary to increase strength by employing more employees. This will facilitate the implementation process because there will be a positive response from the public since they will be aware of the objectives of these policies and their importance’s. Furthermore, the campaign will enable the public to be responsible for their activities that might affect the environment in one way or another. Through this initiative, the policy makers will enjoy full support from the public during the implementation process. London is one of the most developed cities in the world in terms of technology. However, due to rapid changes in technology, the latest version of technologies is needed to be implemented and this will call for larger amounts in implementing them. Some of this technology, as the Mayor said, will require that any house builds either within the city or outside, it should be water and energy efficient. Moreover, car manufacturers should develop electric cars so that they can reduce carbon dioxide emissions[Dav12]. This technology is efficient though is slightly expensive. It is, therefore, vital to consider efficient ways of utilizing these technologies to protect the environment and at the same time reducing the costs which will be incurred. Lastly, the latest research indicates that the living standards of Londoners have improved, and they expect further improvement. However, there are factors which have affected the efforts of exercising equality in the development of various estates. This issue might affect the objective of a better life for all. There is this policy of implementing the efficient use of water. This is done by introducing meters. This is expensive; the low income earners might face some difficulty in servicing it. These meters will raise water bills, and can cause serious impacts because those people who cannot afford will stay without water making life difficult. Opinions concerning the implementation of environmental policies in London Individuals in the city have aired different opinions concerning the priorities of the Mayor in London. For example, some group of people has appreciated the implementation of policies though they feel that some sectors should be emphasized more. A group of a few individuals which were interviewed felt that some sectors are critical because it can influence somebodies life directly. One of the projects they point was the creation of more jobs. Ever rising economic crisis has lowered the Living standard. It is, therefore, necessary to emphasize more on job creation so that more people get employed thus improving the living standard in the city. On the other hand, some argue that in striving toward a better life for Londoners, it is vital to consider environmental conservation as one of the factors which can improve the living standards. Thus, conservation of the environment and implementations of policies regarding the environment should be given a lot of emphasis. It is evident that pollution of the environment was rampant in London exposing people to the dangers of getting diseases. Therefore, the step that has been taken on improving and educating people concerning the conservation of the environment is vital in eliminating health problems that are associated with air pollution. A conclusion concerning the effectiveness of the GLA and the Mayor of London in tackling the key issue that relates to "the environment" In conclusion, the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London have been effective in implementing the policies relating to the environment despite the few challenges facing the implementation process. The evidence that the implementation process has been effective is the ongoing implementation of the objective of turning London into a global point of reference for sustainable cities by the end 2020. The London Sustainable Development Commission is currently implementing policies that were proposed. Even though, the plan to phase out all the high polluting vehicles in London was extended by two years in 2010, some of the policies which were made to cut down the emission of carbon dioxide have been implemented. A good example of the policy which was implemented successfully was the promotion of low-emission vans. The Mayor publicized discounts on the van with low emissions that made many people to go for it. This was one of the strategies to reduce carbon emission in the city. References Bob12: , (Bob Evans, 2012), Dav12: , (Leslie, 2012), Mat12: , (Matthew A. Schnurr, 2012), Tim121: , (Vrijaldenhoven, 2012), Read More