Council-led climate action

The Council is leading on major projects to make the borough safer and more resilient to our changing climate.

The London Climate Risk Map shows how much risk each area in London has. It looks at things like flooding and heat, and how vulnerable people and buildings are. Lewisham is taking action to create cleaner air, greener streets, and warmer homes.

The Council is leading on major projects to make the borough safer and more resilient to our changing climate.

We are working with residents, schools, community groups and businesses. Together we can make lasting positive progress. We invite everyone to take part and act, to help create a better future for us all.

Our progress so far

We have made strong progress since declaring a climate emergency in 2019. Some examples include:

in 2025, Lewisham was in the top 3% of councils in England for climate action
we've invested £3.5 million to improve energy use in seven council buildings
we added solar panels and heat pumps to six schools since 2024, and worked with more than 45 schools in the Schools' Climate Network
we're improving over 1,000 council homes with better insulation, ventilation, solar power, and heating. We secured £10 million in grant funding for a £20 million programme to do this
helping 5,100 households cut heating costs and stay warm since 2019
together with Street Trees for Living and 450 volunteers, we've planted 1,693 trees since 2022, to cool our streets and clean our air
installing 250 electric car charging points, with more coming soon
expanding 50 School Streets to reduce traffic, air pollution, and make schools safer
running three rounds of the Community Energy Fund - this supports locally run projects that cut carbon emissions and save energy
giving 32 grants to local businesses to help them be more eco-friendly in 2025 and 2026

These actions are helping to clean the air, make homes and schools more comfortable, and create a healthier environment for everyone.

The Council is responsible for about 3% of carbon emissions in Lewisham. Since 2018/19, we've cut our corporate emissions by 25%. In 2025, we also started measuring emissions from our supply chain to see what else we can reduce.

our corporate carbon emissions

local organisations' corporate carbon emissions in the Lewisham Strategic Partnership [to follow]

Our climate action plans since 2019

strategic action plan 2020/21

How we perform next to other councils

Lewisham Council climate action scorecard

Our focus for the future

We are working on three main priorities:

cutting pollution and energy use from buildings and transport
preparing for extreme weather, like hotter summers and heavier rainfall
working with our communities to share ideas and take action

This means improving how we heat and power homes. It includes adapting streets and buildings for changing weather. It also means making climate-friendly choices easier for everyone. We want to make it safer and more comfortable for people to walk, wheel, scoot, or cycle around the borough.

Our plans include:

making homes more energy-efficient and affordable to heat
improving drainage to reduce flood risk
expanding safe routes for walking, scooting, and cycling
supporting projects led by local communities

How you can be part of it

The Council can lead, but real progress happens when we act together. Residents, businesses and schools all play an important role. Neighbourhoods are already taking action. Many are working with community energy co-operatives, or tending to urban gardens. Residents are tree planting, going plastic free, or making home energy improvements:

explore our climate action guides for residents, businesses and schools to find practical steps you can take
sign up to our climate newsletter to hear about new projects and ways to get involved
read our latest climate action plan to see our strategy in detail

Published on: 24/02/2026