The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has faced criticism after making a round trip to Brazil, a distance of 12,000 miles, to attend a climate conference. This is his fifth foreign trip this year. According to data, Khan has traveled nearly 28,000 miles since the beginning of the current year. The Mayor of London and his assistants from the city council traveled to Rio to attend a gathering of mayors committed to responding to the 'climate emergency'. Research by the 'Evening Standard' revealed that by the time he returns to London at the end of the week, Khan will have traveled a total of 27,572 air miles, equivalent to 235 laps on the M25 motorway, which is 117 miles long and surrounds Greater London. When the flights of his assistants are added, the total reaches 229,294 air miles traveled this year—a distance comparable to the distance from the Earth to the moon. Conservative MP Neil Garrett mocked the mayor, saying he is 'tackling climate change with a long business-class flight every time'. Khan's appearance in Rio came just hours after criticism of his record on reducing emissions: one of his allies from the Labour Party in the city council warned that the capital would not achieve its 'zero emissions' target for 2030. In his inaugural speech last Monday, the mayor used the opportunity to criticize US President Donald Trump, calling him one of the 'climate wreckers' that mayors must fight to reduce the danger of global warming. In unannounced remarks, Khan largely revived his long-running verbal war with Trump. He said: 'Among the famous wreckers is the President of the United States, who stood at the United Nations a few weeks ago and described the climate crisis as a hoax'. In his speech at the Rio summit, Khan spoke about his own policies, stating that the 'Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)' has brought huge environmental benefits and promised to install more solar panels on school buildings the following year. It can also be revealed that Khan's 'trade mission' to Africa in July—the first of its kind for a London mayor—cost London taxpayers a great deal. Figures published by Greater London reveal that the trip to Africa from July 14-19 to Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Johannesburg, and Cape Town (South Africa) cost Greater London almost £84,000, according to the 'Evening Standard'.
