Kingston’s approach to preparing for the impacts of climate change

Overview

We are inviting everyone who lives, works or spends time in the borough to share their views on Kingston’s approach to preparing for the impacts of climate change.

Your feedback will help ensure that our approach reflects local knowledge, lived experience and community priorities. Strong community involvement is essential to making sure our response to climate change is fair, practical and effective.

Why this matters

Some climate impacts are unavoidable and are already being felt locally. Kingston is experiencing hotter and drier summers, more extreme rainfall events, and an increasing exposure to heatwaves, flooding, drought, and water shortages. These changes place growing pressure on our communities, infrastructure, public health and natural environment.

Our response

To address these challenges, Kingston Council has developed a flexible approach to climate adaptation that can respond to the demands of a changing climate.

The overall approach includes:

• Identifying key climate risks and vulnerabilities
• Preparing for and manage climate impacts
• Delivering priority actions to reduce risk and build long-term resilience

This responds to commitments in the council’s Climate Action Strategy, first introduced after the council declared a climate emergency in June 2019 and most recently updated in November 2024. We encourage you to take part and share your views.