London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has announced a new £12 million fund to improve access to green and blue spaces across the capital, marking the start of London Climate Action Week 2025.
Dubbed the Green Roots Fund, the initiative delivers on a key pledge from Khan’s 2024 election manifesto.
The fund will offer grants of between £10,000 and £500,000 over the next three years to support the creation and enhancement of parks, rivers, wetlands, community gardens, and other natural areas.
It also aims to restore habitats and reintroduce lost species, as part of a wider drive to boost London’s climate resilience.
ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUALITY
The launch comes as research highlights continued environmental inequality across the capital.
Those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are more than twice as likely to live in areas lacking green space, while over one in five households in London have no access to a garden.
Khan says: “This is about delivering spaces across our capital that are greener, healthier and more climate resilient. The benefits of nature should be for everyone.”
The Green Roots Fund will be available to community groups, borough councils and local stakeholders and is expected to fund a broad range of initiatives, from tree planting and wildflower meadows to urban waterway improvements and ‘parklets’.
LONDON CLIMATE ACTION WEEK
Its launch coincides with London Climate Action Week (21–29 June), now the largest city-wide climate event in Europe, with more than 700 events and 45,000 attendees expected.
As part of the week’s programming, the Mayor is participating in the Climate Innovation Forum and a Youth Summit hosted at ZSL, while 12,000 seed packets are being distributed to residents in areas with limited green access.
Since taking office in 2016, Khan has overseen the creation or enhancement of over 900 hectares of green space – the equivalent of 2,000 football pitches – and supported the planting of more than 600,000 trees. His administration has also invested over £2.5 million through the Rewild London Fund, and £4 million via the Grow Back Greener programme.
