London 'one of the greenest cities in the UK,' study claims

London is one of the greenest cities in the UK despite its ongoing battle against toxic air pollution, a study suggests.

As temperatures soared in the hottest June day for forty years, the Mayor of London triggered an emergency air quality alert warning of toxic pollution in the capital.

But a new study, published by Britain’s Real ‘Green & Pleasant’ project, suggests that despite air quality concerns the city is still ranked fourth in a list of green cities in Britain.

The study, commissioned by property website Good Move, analysed the carbon emissions, recycling levels and energy consumption in ten major British cities.

Analysts also researched the amount of green space in each city, as well as the number of Green Party seats, to establish “which city is doing its bit to make our country greener”.

According to emissions data from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, London has the lowest carbon emissions of all ten cities.

The capital also uses the least amount of gas – with British Gas records showing Londoners burn through 16,880 kilowatts of gas per hour - more than 4,000 kilowatts less than the worst offending city Bradford.

Top ten 'greenest' cities

1. Bristol

2. Edinburgh

3. Glasgow

4. Greater London

5. Sheffield

6. Bradford

7. Manchester

8. Leeds

9. Liverpool

10. Birmingham

These statistics, combined with satellite data revealing 23 per cent of the city is made up of green space, ranked London “greener” than northern giants Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.

Birmingham was, in fact, the worst city for carbon emissions – producing four times that of London.

This latest study comes just a day after Sadiq Khan announced plans to make London even greener by introducing new rules to make London “zero-emission” by 2050.

The Mayor set out proposals on Tuesday which included extending existing public transport lines, introducing new green buses and taxis and transforming streets to make walking and cycling more attractive travel options.

In a controversial move, the Mayor’s plans include the introduction of a per-mile charge for motorists.

The plans suggest that the charge – which would vary based on the time of day, congestion and how polluting the vehicle is – would be replace schemes such as the Congestion Charge and low emissions zones.

Announcing the plans, Mr Khan said: "We simply cannot afford to take the same old approach to travel as our growing population puts increasing pressure on our network."

"Only by focusing on active travel, providing efficient zero-emission transport and reducing our dependency on cars, can we improve the health of Londoners, support economic growth, deliver homes and jobs, and make our city an even better place to live."

RAC roads policy spokesman Nick Lyes pointed out that the mayor was "particularly brave" to raise the idea of road pricing for motorists.

He said the measures “would require the fitting of black box technology into every vehicle, which may work for residents living and using roads in Greater London, but which might be more problematic for occasional visitors driving into London from outside the capital."

But Cycling UK policy director Roger Geffen praised Mr Khan's vision for London's future transport strategy.

He said: "The Mayor of London's ambitious targets to reduce the volume of motor traffic on London's roads, making it a safer, cleaner and pleasanter city is a breath of fresh air from our otherwise polluted capital."