Nicky Gavron opened the discussion by championing the role of cities in tackling climate change. Gavron highlighted the fact that half of the world's population live in cities, which in turn are responsible for 75% of global CO2 emissions, and highlighted the fact that indeed it is cities that stand to suffer most from the adverse effects of climate change. Gavron claimed that London Climate Change Agency will set an example of how cities can overcome the potential barriers and harness their massive potential for action. Outlining the key details of the London Plan, designed to deal with the capital's rapidly expanding population, she stated that London aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% on 1990 levels and 60% by 2050. Gavron said that a key part of this plan is to make London a Low Emissions Zone, whereby high emission vehicles would be penalised, and explained that the Congestion Charge played an important part in this strategy - having reduced the number of cars in the zone by 30%, CO2 emissions by 19% and energy consumption by 20%.

Gavron also discussed the need for greater decentralisation of energy provision and distribution, arguing that centralised generation of energy was hugely inefficient and pointing out that London has 27% of the possible Combined Heat and Power (CHP) capacity of the UK. The Deputy Mayor also announced that London will establish its own public/private owned Energy Services Company (ESCo), which is a company that aims to reduce energy and maintenance costs and promote sustainability and energy efficiency in the London area.

Allan Jones, Chair of the London Climate Change Agency, discussed his experience working for Woking Borough Council, and his new position as Chief Development Officer of the London Climate Change Agency. During his time at Woking, he achieved a remarkable 48% reduction in energy consumption on 1990 levels, 44% reduction in water consumption, 77.5% reduction in CO2 emissions in public buildings and a 17% reduction in overall emissions across the borough. He claimed that these measures actually resulted in a saving of £5.5 million over ten years – raising the prospect of potential savings of many times that amount in London. He also highlighted the "self-preservation agenda", pointing to London's vulnerability from climate change; flooding and tidal surges that could prove devastating to the city.

Jones stressed the value of achieving greater independence from the National Grid. He claimed that a typical coal power station was only 30% efficient and that on average a further 9% of energy was wasted in transmission – resulting in an overall efficiency of only 21%. Jones stressed that this was not sustainable and that, just as Woking had achieved 98.5% independence from the grid, London also had more than enough renewable capacity to become entirely self-sufficient. However, he did state that in order to achieve this paradigm shift in energy supply; a supply of trained engineers was essential, and that this was something that the Grid had in abundance.

Walt Patterson, of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, argued that 'we have to look at energy in a different way'. He argued that our traditional electricity system needs a massive rethink in the direction of decentralisation. He talked about energy as being a process rather than a commodity and said that; 'climate is an energy issue – so climate is also an infrastructure issue'. Patterson went on to argue that it as it is buildings that use the most energy and discharge a large proportion of the UK's CO2 emissions, the application of technology and improving building regulations to improve energy efficiency is of crucial importance.

The debate was then opened up to the floor. A representative from the London Borough's Energy Group welcomed the discussion about decentralised energy networks but expressed concern that the government's apparent sympathy towards nuclear power suggests that such views are not being listened to. A spokesperson from the Association for the Conservation of Energy said that the Energy White Paper of three years ago had given positive signals to the renewable energy sector but that this had recently been completely undermined. Walt Paterson expressed disbelief that the nuclear issue was back on the agenda and said that no new nuclear build had ever happened either on time or on budget.

Deputy Mayor, Nicky Gavron, talked of a 'fantastic opportunity' for London. She argued that London needs to overhaul its energy infrastructure and now has the chance to incorporate modern technology in order to create a twenty-first century solution. Gavron claimed that local government was born with a green impulse – to provide clean water and sanitation. She also highlighted London's key role in the so-called C20, an alliance of the world's major cities working together to find practical solutions to environmental problems. Gavron stated that she believes London can be an innovator and a leader within Europe and the wider international community.

Allen Jones claimed that Woking provided an example of what could be achieved. He made the case for harnessing forms of renewable energy that are currently under-exploited – such as municipal waste. However, Jones was eager to stress that he was not proposing higher levels of incineration but rather advanced processing techniques. He contended people in Woking were broadly supportive of the measures and that they were endorsed by all three major political parties. Gavron also said she believed that regulation could change attitudes, which in turn would change behaviour. She stated that she believed that decentralisation of energy is key in the fight to reverse climate change, and that cities have a fantastic opportunity to lead as innovators in developing 21st century solutions to meet this challenge. She believed in 'showing by doing' - that London must get to work and champion the case for a radical rethink of the way in which we generate and consume energy.

We would like to thank National Grid, a Network member, for hosting this event.

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