The council illustrated its concern in January 2020, when it joined other cities worldwide in declaring an Ecological and Climate Emergency and recognising the need for urgent action to lower emissions. The topic has been the focus of many brochure printing campaigns aimed at spreading awareness throughout the world.
Kingston Council, which believes the volume of change needed in a short space of time is enormous, has come up with a draft response plan that highlights what action could have the most effective and quickest impact, and it is now seeking feedback from the local community.
Mayor of Kingston Steve Staikos described the preparation of the draft plan as the first step, saying the community needs to play an important part in identifying their priorities for meaningful, scalable and urgent action. He added:
“We also want to hear how they want to be involved in achieving our community emissions reduction target of Net Zero by 2030. Reaching this target requires a whole of community response so it’s important we all work together.”
The mayor said that while the council is able to make a significant difference through its own actions and initiatives, contributions from residents, industry and business will be paramount to achieving a positive outcome.