The capital must do a better job of protecting its trees, a London Assembly committee has concluded.
A report from the environment committee, called 'A chainsaw massacre', said thousands of street trees have been cut down over the past five years.
It said that 40 per cent of trees removed have been due to insurance claims, but it is possible that just one per cent of these claims were justified.
In total London has lost around 40,000 street trees, while 48,000 have been planted over the last five years.
Committee chairman Darren Johnson said: "This report calls for direct level action to help London adapt to the effects of climate change and help maintain its status as one of the greenest cities on the planet.
"London's treescape is changing. Our investigation has found a net gain of over 8,000 trees planted across the capital in the past five years.
"But we need to plant, maintain and protect more broadleaf trees which provide the real benefits for future generations."
