London’s Covid-19 recovery will only succeed if it’s an environmentally sustainable one.

The Covid-19 crisis has taught us many lessons, but one that sticks out for me is the increased importance in preventing and preparing for possible future crises. While people now appreciate and understand more than ever the vast impact major crisis causes, it helps shine a light on another crisis we’re facing – the climate emergency.

As we build back from the pandemic and help business, people, and the economy to recover, we’ll be moving towards a different society from the one we left behind in January 2020. But we have an opportunity to make sure we learn the biggest lessons from our health crisis and ensure our post-Covid society is a better one. The new normal needs to be one that encompasses solutions to the climate crisis, that makes sure we’re building a greener London to protect our environment and our children’s futures.

Yet there is no better time to act. Whether it’s improving and expanding transport links, increasing and protecting swathes of green spaces, planting thousands of trees, or building and insulating homes for the future, ensuring a sustainable economic recovery in London.

That’s why Sadiq Khan has a plan for London which includes the creation of thousands of green jobs which will replace some of the jobs lost in the pandemic and ensure our long-term infrastructure is sustainable. Let’s learn from our past mistakes, create new opportunities, and build London back greener.

ANNE CLARKE
Labour & Co-operative
London Assembly Candidate for Barnet & Camden