Ambitious guide to reducing capital’s energy demand by 4% by 2030 and 15% by 2050.
London baked in record-breaking heat this summer, at one point the Met Office measuring 38.1°C – just over 100°F – in Kew Gardens. That level of heat is exhausting, with serious impacts on health and infrastructure.
A key issue for London is the densely clustered building stock contributing to an urban heat island effect. But the capital has a high volume of poorly insulated and/or ventilated buildings, and ever increasing pressures on critical infrastructure such as energy and water. With global temperatures set to rise even further over coming years, the new Cooling Roadmap for London (CRL) is essential reading – and not just for those living or working in the capital.
The CRL demonstrates the way a sustainable, efficient and equitable cooling (SEC) scenario based on passive measures and nature-based cooling could significantly reduced energy demand. Indeed, the roadmap estimates savings of 0.3 to 0.4 TWh per year by 2030, or some 4% compared to not intervening, and up to 2.2 TWh per year by 2050, or some 15%.
The 54-page technical report prioritises three sectors where heat risk is most acute – social housing, social care and healthcare – and three interconnected strategic objections: to reduce energy demand in focus-sector buildings, to address potential ‘cooling poverty’ and inequity in and around such buildings, and to protect the health of heat-vulnerable people.
It sets out 19 options for action, divided under four categories: policy and governance; buildings and technology; community and culture; and landscape and public realm.
The CRL is published by the C40 Cities Group, in partnership with the Mayor of London, Love Design Studio, Carrier Global Corporation, Shade the UK and Greater London Authority. The CRL is available as an executive summary and
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and Co-Chair of C40 Cities, says: ‘Year after year, we are seeing record-breaking heatwaves and the profound impacts they are having on our economy, infrastructure and livelihoods. In the summer of 2025, London endured four separate heatwaves with temperatures exceeding 30°C, causing an estimated 315 heat-related deaths across the city.
‘The climate crisis is not a business-as-usual situation; the urgency of extreme heat demands action now, and I’m proud to say that London is positioned to become a global leader in sustainable, efficient and equitable cooling.’
Photo by Nick Page / Unsplash
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