About the project

As London experiences hotter summers and more frequent heatwaves as a result of climate change and the urban heat island effect, demand for cooling is expected to rise significantly.

The first of its kind in the UK, the Cooling Roadmap for London (CRL) sets out a long-term framework for sustainable, efficient and equitable cooling across the capital. It explores what rising temperatures could mean for London's buildings, communities, infrastructure and energy systems over the next 25 years and beyond, and the actions needed to keep the city cool, healthy and safe for all Londoners.

The CRL was commissioned by C40 Cities, supported by the Greater London Authority, funded by Carrier, and delivered by Love Design Studio with Shade the UK. It strengthens the evidence base for the Mayor of London's Heat Ready London plan, published in August 2026.

Our approach

Extreme heat affects everyone, but not equally. Older people, young children, people living with existing health conditions and lower-income households are some of the groups of people at greatest risk. To help address this, the CRL focused on buildings and spaces within three sectors that support and are home to some of London's most vulnerable people: social housing, social care and healthcare.

Our approach combined stakeholder engagement with data-led analysis to understand how heat is already affecting London's most vulnerable communities and how this will change as the UK continues to get hotter. Alongside modelling future cooling energy demand across the capital, we developed borough-level case studies to test how heat adaptation recommendations could translate into practical local action.

Outputs from the study

The CRL has established one of the first city-wide evidence bases for understanding current and future cooling energy demand in London.

Our analysis found that the energy required to cool homes, workplaces and public spaces could more than double by 2050 if rising temperatures are met primarily through increased use of active cooling such as air conditioning.

In response, the CRL identifies 19 priority actions across four themes:

Policy and Governance

Buildings and Technology

Community and Culture

Landscape and Public Realm

Together, these actions provide a practical pathway over the next 25 years to reduce cooling energy demand, address potential cooling poverty and inequality, and better protect the people most vulnerable to rising temperatures.

The CRL now forms part of the evidence base for the Mayor of London's Heat Ready London plan and supports the city’s wider climate resilience and adaptation ambitions.