Kingston's Climate Action Strategy
Kingston’s Climate Action Plan was first approved at Place Committee on 10 March 2022, after being shaped by community and expert feedback during the Kingston Climate Conversation in 2021.
In 2024 it was refreshed and retitled as 'Kingston's Climate Action Strategy 2024 - 2030'.
It aims to reduce emissions, protect and enhance nature and prepare the borough for the unavoidable impacts of climate change, while also bringing other benefits such as safer streets, warmer homes, new jobs and improved air quality.
With investment already made to reduce emissions from its vehicles, buildings and street lighting, the council aims to reach net zero in its operations by 2030, while helping the wider borough reach net zero by 2038.
To help achieve this, the council will maintain a focus on attracting green funding and grants to Kingston, to ensure the borough is able to take the action that’s needed.
You may also be interested in the following supporting documents:
- Download our first progress report (Published September 2023)
- Read plain text versions of our first progress report on our website (Published September 2023)
- The climate section of our 2023 Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
- Download Kingston's Climate Action Plan (Published March 2022).
The council's Net Zero 2030 Strategy, which was approved at the Place Committee on Thursday 14 March 2024, outlines the remaining steps that will need to be taken to reduce council emissions as far as possible and be used as a basis to inform future decisions and investment related to climate action.
The key steps include:
- The disposal of assets which are no longer required
- The smart retrofit of current assets based on building requirements
- The transition to an electric fleet
- Where possible, the connection of council buildings to future District Heat Networks
- The introduction of a no gas policy in council buildings
- Implementation of BREEAM Excellent standards in all new builds, where possible
- Committing to a Power Purchase Agreement to ensure a set percentage of the council's electricity comes from renewable sources
- The installation of solar panels to complement the Power Purchase Agreement.
You can download the Net Zero 2030 Strategy from our website (Published March 2024) for further detail.
If you have any questions about this topic, or would like any documents mentioned on this page in a different format, please email climate@kingston.gov.uk.