Climate action: climate justice, health and social care

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out how communities, organisations and governments can progress towards better lives for themselves and their children, without leaving anyone behind. The LGA has a guide for councils setting out proposals for how they can respond to the SDGs and develop them in their own communities.

UN Sustainable Development Goals: A guide for councils

This briefing provides the information to help directors of public health consider the appropriate public health response to air pollution in their area.

Air quality: a briefing for directors of public health

Cheshire’s Natural Health Service uses the best of the county’s green space assets to help tackle recognised local health inequalities. This initiative builds on the growing body of evidence that activities in the natural environment can have a significant impact on keeping people healthy.

Cheshire West and Chester Council: Enhancing health, tackling climate change

When declaring the Climate and Ecological Emergency in 2019, Swale Borough Council committed to ensuring the most vulnerable in society were not adversely affected. To help deprived communities save money, improve their energy and water efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions, the Fuel and Water Home Adviser was appointed to work within communities to improve their livelihoods.

Swale Borough Council: Fuel and Water Home Advice Service

Portsmouth City Council proposed a number of different solutions to reduce air pollution levels, one of which was the investment in a network of charging facilities, both on and off street, to encourage public and private uptake of plug-in vehicles.

Portsmouth City Council: delivering on-street residential charge points to address air quality issues

The Royal Borough of Kingston is committed to increasing the use of participatory democracy to develop responses to difficult issues. As a result, the council held their first Citizens’ Assembly, asking residents “how do we collectively improve air quality in Kingston?”

Kingston's Citizens' Assembly on Air Quality - Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

The LGA in association with the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) have produced a short publication targeted at local authorities, health and wellbeing boards, commissioning groups and health services. It shows how climate change should be part of the conversations about the new structures, responsibilities and ways of working in health and social care.

Sustainability – changing conversation: incorporating climate change into the health and social care reforms

Whilst it is difficult to casually link high exposure to air pollution to health outcomes, Portsmouth's residents experience higher rates of premature death from cardiovascular diseases and cancers than the England average. Air pollution also has a disproportionate impact on the city's most deprived areas, where residents are already vulnerable to poor health.

Air quality in Portsmouth: using design principles to address air quality

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) have created this toolkit to make evaluating the health and wellbeing impacts of affordable warmth schemes easier and more effective. They have created this toolkit for local organisations managing affordable warmth schemes and directors of public health and housing in local authorities.

The 2019 report of Countdown on health and climate change explores how we can ensure that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate. It is a free article but you will need to create an account.

This tool allows local authorities to quantify the potential costs to the NHS and social care due to the health impacts of air pollution and can be used to estimate the health cost savings of low carbon transport projects.

Climate Just have created a tool which maps the most disadvantaged areas through climate impacts and the different areas that are likely to be affected by flooding and high temperatures. The maps can be used to identify common themes related to vulnerability and review the recommended actions – consisting of raising awareness and partnership working. 

The Spatial Tool for Climate Just - assessing the geography of England's vulnerability to climate change

C40 Cities have suggested that climate action plans should include engagement with the community and stakeholders, policy and the impact. They have included a video of mayors of Bogota, Cape Town, New York City, Paris, Portland and Seoul, explaining why climate change and social inequality should be tackled together.