London mayor Ken Livingstone is to test his plans to make London the most sustainable city in the world in regeneration areas next to Wembley stadium and at Elephant & Castle.

Following prime minister Tony Blair鈥檚 appeal to the G8 nations to take prompt action on climate change, Livingstone will announce on Tuesday that he will be working closely with Brent and Southwark councils to make the schemes 鈥渆nergy action areas鈥�.

The two projects will be joined by Barking town centre and a fourth site, thought to be King鈥檚 Cross. The four projects are to become exemplars of sustainability for the rest of London.

The four energy action areas will have sustainable policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 20% by 2010 and a 60% by 2050.

They will do this by installing innovations such as combined heat and power systems, which are more efficient ways of generating energy than relying on the national grid. The Greater London Authority intends to test how well the systems work on the four action areas and the roll them out across the capital.

David Green, chief executive of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy, heads the London Energy Partnership, Livingstone鈥檚 steering group on energy strategy, which selected the test areas. Green said: 鈥淣obody has done all this before, and rather than piloting it in one area we decided to do it on a range of sites.鈥�

We think it鈥檚 possible at Elephant & Castle to add 4200 homes and 1 million ft2 of leisure without increasing carbon emissions

Chris Horn, Elephant & Castle director

Chris Horn, Elephant & Castle鈥檚 development director, said he was happy to have energy action area status because the project was already planning tough sustainability targets.

鈥淲e think it鈥檚 possible at Elephant & Castle to add 4200 homes and 1 million ft2 of leisure without increasing carbon emissions. The big schemes in London are a good opportunity to do this kind of thing.鈥�

Margaret Beckett, secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, said in a speech last week to G8 legislators that the government was reviewing its climate change programme to increase capacity for CO2 reductions. The review could lead to further measures for energy efficiency in new buildings and refurbishments.

Postscript

Are the energy action areas a good idea? Email us at building@cmpinformation.com