Kingston Council says “our commitment to the climate emergency is at the heart of all we do”

It follows protests by Extinction Rebellion yesterday, one year on from when the borough declared a climate emergency.

The authority says they’ve employed “dedicated” staff, and have “created learning opportunities” for employees so they can be “carbon literate”.

They’re hoping to work with climate change networks and promote cycling.

The campaign group says “This is not the time for token gestures and lip service” and they want to see “big bold steps” to inspire other boroughs.

Kingston's statement in full:

In June 2019, the council declared a state of climate emergency and committed to a target of delivering carbon neutrality by 2038.

Since the declaration, the council has worked to ensure our commitment to the climate emergency is at the heart of all we do. Sustainability is a key consideration in all council reports and commissions.

We have employed dedicated staff, such as a biodiversity officer, to support us in our aspiration to be a cleaner, greener borough, and have created learning opportunities for staff to create a carbon literate workforce which can deliver real change for Kingston.

We have continued to engage with residents about the climate emergency and wider sustainability issues, notably in last year’s Citizens Assembly on the subject of Air Quality.

Moving forward, we will continue to work with climate change networks, such as the London Councils Climate Emergency network, to deliver change.

As we recover from COVID-19, we are also promoting active travel and making pedestrians and cyclists a priority, ensuring that residents can follow social distancing regulations whilst travelling sustainably.

Monitoring air quality outside of schools:
We have an extensive monitoring network across the borough which includes several schools. We use the GLA's London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory model to effectively fill in the gaps between the monitoring points.

Electric charging points
So far this year 24 chargers have been installed across 11 sites, as well as numerous charging points on private land. Some of these chargers are waiting to be connected to electricity, which is hoped to be completed in the next month.