London is world's fifth greenest city

London has been ranked as the fifth most sustainable city in the world by Arcadis.

In its Sustainable Cities Index this year, the consultant has ranked the capital ahead of the likes of Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

There are six UK cities in the index and all were ranked inside the top 50.

The other British representatives are Edinburgh (13), Manchester (25), Birmingham (31), Glasgow (36) and Leeds (38).

The index ranks 100 global cities by environmental, social and economic sustainability.

Despite the Brexit vote, the index placed London in third for economic performance, behind only Singapore and Hong Kong.

But the research shows the UK’s other cities are falling behind, and “must do more” to attract foreign and domestic investment for transport infrastructure and regeneration projects.

Richard Bonner, Arcadis’ UK cities director, said: “As one of the world’s greenest capitals and position at the centre of international trade, London can reap the long-term benefits of being a truly sustainable world city.

“However, three of the UK’s largest regional centres – Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds – are being outperformed by their European rivals.

“In particular, their poor economic performance should be of concern to policy makers looking to rebalance the country’s economy in the wake of Brexit.”