Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames: Allocating responsibility for adaptation

This case study was collected by London Councils as part of their London Leading: Case Studies in Climate Resilience Leadership report, which showcases how London boroughs are making climate adaptation a priority and embedding action within councils.

An internal working group was set up to take responsibility for climate adaptation within the council. The working group meets quarterly and includes representatives from over 20 teams and service areas, including Public Health, Emergency Response, Highway & Transport, Adult Social Care, Green Spaces, Regeneration, Housing, Capital Projects. The Working Group is the main vehicle for collaborative input on climate adaptation. It has agreed on a vision and governance for an adaptation pathway and a draft Climate Adaptation Action Plan.

The refreshed Climate Action Strategy published in November 2024 has an adaptation theme, which will be complemented by a new Adaptation Strategy. The ‘working group’ model has been in place for other workstreams under the council’s climate action plan and has proved useful. The Climate Action Team held a first scoping adaptation workshop to present the challenge of climate risk and adaptation in the borough and to receive input from staff across the organisation. 

The working group has helped to identify climate risks and vulnerabilities across the council and highlight areas where further work is needed on adaptation, for example on overheating risk in adult social care. The group will be a vehicle for coordinating progress on adaptation across different teams, ensuring knowledge and evidence is shared. 

The group will regularly review priority risk areas, take responsibility for the adaptive pathways process including reviewing climate triggers and thresholds, and delegate the most important decisions to Committees. Group members and their teams will take ownership of actions and other activities as required and deliver within target dates, reporting to the group. 

• Understanding climate change: Climate change can feel abstract compared to the day-to-day focus of council teams. Planning for long term impacts requires additional work and the impacts may be difficult to grasp.
• Ownership: Embedding adaptation across the council and ensuring people take ownership for their part is another challenge. 

Kingston’s adaptation working group fosters collaboration and helps embed adaptation across the council.

This case study was collected by London Councils as part London Leading: Case Studies in Climate Resilience Leadership report. You can view the full report on London Councils wesbite.

Terezie Wickenden 
[email protected]

Eilis Brogan 
[email protected]