A GROUP of climate-concerned Islingtonians got together at Christ Church Highbury to put their minds to the challenge of how to retrofit – or “future proof” – buildings.

Organised by Islington Climate Centre, the evening last week took the shape of a People’s Assembly, a brainstorming, ideas-sharing way of generating solutions for the problems posed by climate change.

Heating, cooling and powering our homes and businesses accounts for a huge share of pollution, but measures like insulation, solar panels and LED lighting can make them cleaner and cheaper to run.

People heard from council staff, an architect and a “retrofit educator” before splitting into groups to come up with their own ideas.

One group suggested mapping the borough street by street to see which buildings are ripe for retrofit, while others suggested improving skills-training for the work that needs doing, and making sure to use accessible language and images to help people understand what can often be a jargon-heavy and confusing part of climate action.

Part of that could be re-naming retrofit as “future proofing”, the residents suggested – more of a does-what-it-says-on-the-tin name for what will be an important part of adapting to climate change.