Friends of the Earth has ranked Kingston’s climate friendliness as one of the worst in London.
The charity slammed Kingston with a score of 48 per cent in terms of its climate friendliness in a climate test earlier this month, which ranks joint-last in London alongside Enfield, Redbridge, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Kensington and Chelsea.
The test scores locations with respect to the percentage of area that is woodland, the number of commuters using public transport or cycling, the amount of housing that is well-insulated, the proportion of waste that is recycled and the total megawatts of renewable energy that is available.
Kingston Council has stated it is working to ensure Kingston is carbon neutral by 2038 and is assessing all of its operations’ sustainability.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The council promotes sustainable transport options, including the delivery of our Go Cycle Scheme which is upgrading Kingston’s major highway routes to enable sustainable travel across the borough.
“The council will be planting 600 trees this winter and will continue to support community groups who wish to take advantage of other initiatives such as Woodland Trust’s Big Climate Fightback.”
Friends of the Earth gathered data from local authorities, official government sources and other credible sources.
Councillor Sharon Sumner said: “I am aghast at the number of trees being felled in Kingston. The council needs to do more to tackle the climate emergency that we declared in June.”
