Seven years after the first borough in the capital formally acknowledged the climate crisis, three of London's 33 local authorities have yet to declare a climate emergency. Bexley, Bromley, and the City of London Corporation stand apart, having never made the formal commitment to address humanity's most pressing environmental challenge.
Climate emergency declarations are formal governmental actions, both local and global, signifying a clear commitment to reducing carbon emissions and striving for more environmentally responsible operations. The majority of London's councils adopted these declarations in 2019, with others like Barking and Dagenham, Hillingdon, Barnet, and Havering following between 2020 and 2023.
Authorities Explain Their Stance
Reporters sought explanations from the three authorities regarding their stance on what is globally recognised as a crisis demanding urgent action. Bexley Council, Bromley Council, and the City of London Corporation each said that their focus lies on achieving tangible progress in carbon footprint reduction, rather than engaging in what Bromley termed "virtue-signalling" or Bexley described as "climate alarmism".
Bromley is widely known as London’s greenest borough, as over half of its total area is green belt land. Josh Coldspring-White, Bromley’s Executive Councillor for the Environment, said: “Whilst other boroughs may engage in virtue-signalling on climate change by passing motions declaring a climate emergency, Bromley Council and its contractors have actively been pursuing substantive work and undertaking real practical measures to reduce our carbon footprint instead. Since 2018 for example, we have successfully reduced the emissions of the council by 55 per cent, which is great progress by any measurement and all of that without wasting millions of pounds of council tax-payers money in the process too. I am confident that Bromley has taken the right approach to ensure a cleaner, greener borough for future generations.”
However the independent Council Climate Action Scorecard puts the Conservative-run authority in 31st out of 33 London councils. Particularly low scores for governance and finance, biodiversity, and collaboration and engagement leave the borough languishing near the bottom of the table. The scorecard was created by Climate Emergency UK which itself was set up in response to the climate emergency declarations that councils started making from the end of 2018. The scorecard tracks practical action towards net zero since 2023 measuring carbon reduction since then.
Bromley's Practical Measures
Bromley Council argues though that it is measuring its carbon reduction from 2018. Work to achieve Bromley’s stated 55 per cent reduction includes converting most of Bromley’s street lighting to LEDs. Nearly a third of Bromley Council’s total direct emissions in 2024/25 were from its street lighting, the council says. The council says it has reduced its street lighting carbon emissions by 63 per cent since 2018/19 due to the LED switch.
Gas and electricity from the council buildings is the largest contributor to Bromley’s carbon footprint according to the council. It says it has managed a 49 per cent reduction in its building emissions since 2018/19. Bromley Council moved to a more energy efficient home when the new Civic Centre officially opened last year. It has also reduced emissions from its fleet of vehicles by 88 per cent since 2018/19.
Other environmental projects being carried out by the South East London authority include planting 5,000 street trees and 8,000 tree whips, desilting Kelsey Lakes in Beckenham and securing £363,000 in grant funding to improve the water quality, biodiversity, and overall ecology of Keston Ponds.
Bexley's Approach
Moving across the border into Bexley, the fellow Conservative-controlled council had a similar response. Bexley Council said it had a “strong environmental record, from boosting recycling and protecting our green spaces to installing new EV charging points and improving energy efficiency”. A council spokesperson said: “Unlike other local authorities, we’ve always prioritised action over rhetoric and common sense over climate alarmism. Our approach delivers for the environment, saves taxpayer money, and enjoys the support of local people.”
Bexley has installed over 400 EV charging points in the last year, it is investing £2.5m into the borough’s playgrounds and it is supporting residents to retrofit their homes for free using its Warm Homes Local Grant. Alongside its partners, Bexley Council has been restoring and protecting natural habitats on Erith riverside. Granite blocks removed from the old flood defence wall at Chelsea Embankment have been repurposed and reused at Erith’s Riverside Gardens.
The South East London authority also says it has a clear vision when it comes to reducing waste and reusing resources. Bexley runs free clothing repair, furniture restoration and cookery workshops and it also manages a Reuse Shop at Foots Cray Reuse & Recycling Centre so good quality household items that would otherwise be thrown away can be resold.
The Climate Action Scorecard though puts Bexley dead last out of all 33 local authorities in London for action to cut carbon emissions since 2023. Planning and land use is its top scoring category on the scorecard with a 53% reduction between 2023 and 2025, but low scores across all other categories put Bexley as London’s worst performing over the two years measured.
Recycling Rates
When it comes to the actions of its residents, Bromley is London’s recycling king. The borough has topped the leaderboard for having the city’s best recycling rates for the past four years, and it hasn’t been out of the top five spots for the past ten. Since 2015/16, Bromley residents have recycled 48.8 per cent of their household waste, on average.
Bexley isn’t very far behind either. Although its recycling rates have dipped since 2021/22, the borough maintained a 50 per cent or more recycling rate from 2008/09 all the way to 2020/21. Bexley also achieved the highest recycling rate of any borough ever in 2013/14 when it reached 55 per cent.
The City of London is a way off these two Outer London boroughs. It ranked as the capital’s fifth-worst for recycling last year, its recycling rate clocking in at a measly 26 per cent though it should be noted the city is predominantly a business centre with very little in the way of residential neighbourhoods compared to other areas.
City of London's Net Zero Ambition
Ambitiously, the City of London Corporation has committed to reaching net zero by next year. The City Corporation did consider a motion to declare a climate emergency in 2020 and voted against it. At the same October meeting, it approved its Climate Action Strategy. A City of London spokesperson said: “Rather than focusing on declarations, we’re tackling climate change head on and strengthening resilience across our buildings, public spaces, and infrastructure. Our fully funded Climate Action Strategy commits us to reaching net zero in our own operations by 2027, and across all our activities, including our investments and supply chain, by 2040.”
The City of London said it was already making “strong progress” towards these goals. Square Mile emissions have fallen by 24 per cent since 2017, they said, while the corporation’s own operational emissions are down 60 per cent since 2018. It has fully funded a net zero support programme for over 200 small and medium-sized City businesses, which is expected to cut carbon emissions by more than 177,000 tonnes by 2040.
The City says it has added or improved green space equal to the size of about 65 tennis courts across the Square Mile and it has purchased 100 per cent renewable energy since 2018. The Corporation is also installing 374 purposefully designed ‘leaky dams’ in ditches in Epping Forest which it manages, making it the largest natural flood-management project of its kind in the South East. The project will reduce flood risk for over 500 homes by slowing peak flows during heavy rainfall and bring a range of ecological benefits to the forest.
The City of London Corporation has been named a global climate action leader by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a global non-profit organisation that runs the “world’s only independent environmental disclosure system”. As for the Climate Action Scorecard, the Corporation performs well too. It’s placed third out of 33 in London for its carbon reductions between 2023 and 2025.
