Agenda item

The refreshed version of the Climate Change Action Plan was considered and adopted by the Cabinet on 26 August 2025.  It is the third iteration of the plan since the Council’s declaration of a climate change emergency in 2019.  Its vision aligns with the One Medway Council Plan priority “enjoying clean, green, safe and connected communities.”

The actions within the plan aim to reduce carbon emissions in line with the One Medway Council Plan objective to achieve net zero by 2050 and increase resilience against the impacts of climate change for both Medway Council and Medway “the Place”. The plan has been refreshed to reflect the Council’s current approach to climate action and aligns with the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Discussion:

The Board received the refreshed Climate Change Action Plan which aligned closely with the One Medway Council Plan and the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy . This is the third action plan since 2019 when the Council declared a climate emergency, and since then, both Council headquarters and the Medway area overall emissions had reduced by over 30%. There were two overarching aims of the Action Plan which were to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 and to improve resilience to climate change both for the Council directly and the area of Medway as a place and a community. The Action Plan was structured around five priority areas detailed in the report.

It was important for the Council to support all of its communities to understand what a changing climate means for them, what they can do to take action, individually and collectively, where to go for guidance and support and to understand the wider benefits of taking action. The Board was reminded that the effects of climate change had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups, particularly older adults, young children and those with long term health conditions.

The Board was asked to consider how they could work in partnership to support the aspirations of the Plan for example, through knowledge sharing, community engagement, infrastructure, or service delivery.

Members made the following comments and raised questions:

It was recognised that for the first time there was significant progress and actions taking place to meet net zero by the target date.

The Medway Voluntary Action (MVA) reaffirmed their commitment to driving forward the aspirations of the Plan and commented that there were several things that would be useful in driving forward actions, such as a toolkit or provision of resources that could be shared with the community. Officers agreed to work with the MVA on any specific resources that may be useful. It was also commented that resources on Climate Change were shared through the Council website as well as social media platforms.

The MVA was asked how many charities had an objective to address climate change, and if was it possible to do a comparison to determine how best to support them. The Board was informed that a full audit had not been completed but an opportunity to poll Charities on whether they had a policy and statement on climate change would be explored. However,  it was envisaged that many would as it was often a requirement linked to funding.

It was commented that Medway NHS Foundation Trust was in the process of revising its Green Plan and had just been awarded a grant to decarbonise its estate. The opportunity for more joined up working alongside being a stakeholder would be welcomed. Additionally, it was expressed that this grant would make a difference to patients, practice and the hospitals ability to deliver its targets. It was suggested that there may be opportunities to work in partnership to deliver synergies. Officers agreed to discuss this with Medway NHS Foundation Trust.

Climate change messaging - it was asked whether there was a wider appreciation from the public on the negative effects of climate change, particularly for older adults and the vulnerable. Officers said annual surveys took place to better understand community views, awareness of what the Council was doing and what their personal responsibilities were. There had been good improvement in awareness, action and ownership of responsibility. Businesses and organisations were aware of challenges and were actively making changes as they understood the connectivity. The Board was informed that there were still many people who were unsure what actions they could take, and it was vital the Council continued its engagement to help people understand how they can get involved in climate action and the benefits for them.

Home energy efficiencies - it was asked what support was being given to homeowners to support them with making energy efficiency measures, in particular the older housing stock which was a large proportion of Medway homes. The Board was informed of active engagement being undertaken to improve home insulation such as through the Warm Home Local Grant that was targeted particularly at people under a specific income threshold. It was recognised that there was a large older housing stock and there was a piece of work being undertaken to identify where there would be opportunities in the future to do some more targeted work to assist homeowners to improve insulation in their homes.

It was commented that it would be beneficial to link actions to health and wellbeing and for the Health and Wellbeing Board to be champions by requesting report authors to emphasise how their report aligned with the aspirations of the Climate Change Action Plan.

Integrated Care Board - it was commented that in looking at the NHS blueprint and responsibilities for climate and sustainability, it was re-affirmed that the ICB was changing with a shift of responsibility to providers and it was asked how the ICB would ensure that providers remained committed. The Director of Strategic Change and Population Health, NHS Kent and Medway ICB clarified that at this stage the ICB was still undergoing planning for reorganisation, and it was not possible to provide specifics. It was within the national guidance that ICBs would not hold this responsibility in the future and therefore this work would need to be continued with providers. The Chairperson suggested that this question be posed at the upcoming meeting of the Integrated Care Partnership as well as sharing the plan with them.

Decision:

a) The Health and Wellbeing Board noted the report.

b) The Health Wellbeing Board agreed that Members share the Climate Change Action Plan with relevant stakeholders and encourage them to help promote and work towards the aspirations of the Plan