London Climate Action Week 2021

There are four themes for London Climate Action Week, each with a number of virtual events which are free to attend and open to everyone.

Theme 1: Green, fair and resilient recovery - events
Theme 2: Road to COP26 - events
Theme 3: Whole of society climate action - events
Theme 4: Sustainable, net-zero London - events

Since declaring a Climate Emergency, Kingston Council has been working on its Climate Emergency Action Plan, which will be proposed to the Place Committee in September.

The draft plan will then be open for consultation and we look forward to receiving your input into how to shape our local response to this global issue.  

Find out what action the council is already taking to tackle climate change below.

Street Lighting

The council is moving to 100% LED street lighting over the next two years. The LED lights will be much more energy efficient compared to traditional street lighting and will reduce the borough carbon footprint.

Active travel

Leaving the car at home and travelling by bike or on foot when we can is cheaper, healthier and reduces the impact we have on the environment. We’ve been extending our walking and cycling infrastructure across the borough to enable residents and visitors to Kingston to leave the car at home and reduce their carbon footprint. 

We recently opened a new Cycle Hub next to Kingston station which has space for almost 400 bikes, is sheltered from the rain, monitored by extensive CCTV and is free to use. A fabulous new cycle and pedestrian bridge linking the station and the river has also been built next to the Hub, providing better links to the river and adjoining cycle routes. More information. If you don’t currently have a bike, why not take a look at our Try Before You Bike scheme and explore the borough.

Electric vehicle chargers

We have been installing electric vehicle chargers across the borough following a consultation with residents. There are a mix of slow chargers, fast chargers and overnight lamp column chargers available for residents to use. Visit our website for more information.

Electric vehicles for Estate Services and Libraries team

The council’s Estate Services team are replacing 12 diesel vans with electric vans which can travel 106 miles on a full charge. The Kingston Community Library service will also receive one of the vans to help develop their expanding at-home service through projects such as Reading Friends which combats social isolation. The 100% electric vehicles don’t produce carbon dioxide (CO2) or Nitrogen Dioxide (NOx) particles and are virtually silent when running, which means the journeys they undertake will have less impact on the environment and cause less disruption to residents early in the morning and late in the evening. 

Green Economy

We have been working with businesses, thought leaders, academia and policy makers, most of them Kingston residents, to highlight the business opportunities arising from the transition to a green economy. On 11 May Kingston Council and Kingston Chamber of Commerce held a business roundtable event which was attended by businesses and experts from across the borough - a summary and recordings from the event can be found on our website.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The average recycling rate in Kingston for 2020 - 21 is 47.7% of waste from households in Kingston is recycled, which is high compared to other comparable boroughs. We continually encourage residents to limit their impact on the environment by reducing the amount of waste they produce, reusing items where possible and making the most of our recycling service. Visit London Recycles for lots of helpful information to help you help reduce the amount of waste you produce.

School streets

We have increased the number of school streets in the borough to help tackle poor air quality associated with the school run, most recently at Latchmere and St Agatha’s Primary Schools. School Streets limit motor vehicle access during drop-off and pick-up times, supporting active travel by making it safer for children and their families to walk, cycle and scoot to school.  

Solar Together

Earlier in the year we took part in Solar Together, a unique group-buying scheme for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and battery storage. This scheme makes solar panels and batteries more accessible and more affordable for a great number of people. In Kingston, 779 properties registered their interest in the scheme. More information.

Tree planting

The council has planted almost 1500 new trees across the borough over the last two years. We will be planting a further 500 trees between November 2021 and March 2022. Local people will once again be invited to help shape our planting programme and pick up to three places that they would like to see new trees planted this winter. More information to follow soon.

WildWays

To help boost local biodiversity, the council is now trialling a different method of verge management at eight WildWays sites across Kingston. During the first year the grass will be allowed to grow longer, it will then be cut and removed. This will help lower the nutrient level of the soil, resulting in a reduction of grass growth and allowing more space for wildflowers to emerge. More information.