Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Resident Experience. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment & Transport

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FOR THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Approved the draft ‘Haringey Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Action Plan’ to come into effect from January 2026 (Appendix A), which would accompany Haringey’s Climate Change Action Plan.
   
   
2. Noted the progress that Haringey had made in tackling the climate emergency, as detailed in the published Climate Change Action Plan and annual carbon reports.
   
   
3. Noted the Council’s varied and collaborative work consolidated by this plan, driven by committed Council officers across departments, which was either already underway or would be implemented through the approval of this plan, aiming to deliver a borough that was more resilient to the worsening effects of climate change. There was, however, a need for further cross-sector collaboration moving forward to ensure accountability and commitment to delivering actions in the plan and to keep this issue a priority.
   
   
4. Noted that the current available and agreed funding for adaptation and retrofit projects to build the borough’s future resilience came from a variety of funding streams/grants, including the Section 106 Carbon Offsetting Fund (Haringey Community Carbon Fund, Overheating), UK Shared Prosperity Funding, Major Works Fund, Capital Programme Fund, Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, and Public Health Grant.
   
   
5. Noted the still significant cost of addressing climate change adaptation and resilience, the even bigger cost of inaction, and the current shortfall of available funding and resources to deliver climate adaptation measures to effectively protect the borough and its residents from climate-related impacts.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

The National Adaptation Programme (NAP3), the London Climate Resilience Review, and other national/regional initiatives recommended that local authorities develop and implement adaptation plans to respond to current and future climate risks and enhance resilience.

Real and local events involving flash flooding in 2021 and the effects of Summer 2022, compiled in Haringey’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment chapter, highlighted the impact of a changing climate on residents and recommended actions for the Council to take forward. ‘Flooding,’ ‘Drought,’ and ‘Heatwave’ risks were rated “Very High” on the Haringey Borough Risk Register.

There were significant costs associated with inaction, specifically due to economic losses caused by extreme weather events. This included damage to infrastructure requiring repairs, increased health and care costs, and increased resources needed to respond to urgent events. Furthermore, lost output from heat-related reductions in productivity was already significant in London, valued at £577 million per year. Proactive investment in climate adaptation and resilience was significantly more cost-effective, with every pound spent saving between two and ten pounds compared to inaction.

The delivery of a borough action plan to manage overheating risk was an activity in Haringey’s Corporate Delivery Plan 2024–2026, as part of the ‘Responding to the Climate Emergency’ theme. This report and plan sought to complete this activity.

During ‘The Great Big Green Week UK’ and London’s Climate Week in 2024, the Carbon Management Team, with support from Public Health, the Greater London Authority (GLA), and Bloomberg Associates, organised a workshop focused on ‘Adapting to a Changing Climate,’ inviting local residents and activists to share concerns and recommendations. One key takeaway from this workshop was that residents recommended the Council have a plan focused on adaptation.

Alternative Options Considered

The impacts of climate change were happening, demonstrated by the increased intensity and frequency of severe weather events. Therefore, the Council needed to ensure residents, partners, services, and staff were better prepared for and could respond effectively to future events, which were inevitable. Not having a dedicated plan would have put Haringey and its residents at further risk.

Adopting an overheating action plan, a required activity in the Council’s Corporate Delivery Plan 2024–2026, would have supported improvements in the borough’s preparedness and response to heat but would have lacked focus on other climate-related impacts such as flooding, which was already causing local incidents and impacting infrastructure and residents’ health and wellbeing.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport introduced the report.

It was stressed by the Cabinet Member that climate change was not a distant threat and that the 26 excess deaths in our borough during the 2022 heatwaves and the loss of life during Storm Eunice demonstrated that the impacts were being felt by residents. It was explained that the proposals were about strategic solutions meeting operational implementation.

It was explained by the Cabinet Member that the proposed approach was distinctive because it framed climate adaptation as a primary public health intervention. The plan was led and co-developed by Public Health professionals and drew on data from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), and sat under the oversight of our Wellbeing & Climate Board.

It was explained that the Health in All Policies approach provided the operational framework for this plan and that Climate change was a threat that could not be solved by one department working in isolation. It was explained that the proposed plan involved actions across planning applications, housing retrofit programmes, procurement policies, community engagement, and public communications.

The Cabinet Member noted that the plan rested on four interconnected pillars that worked as a dynamic system rather than isolated projects. Intelligence gathered through risk audits provided the evidence base for targeted investment. Greener, cooler public spaces created through physical upgrades supported public health goals by providing safer, more habitable streets and safe refuges during heatwaves. Communication campaigns ensured that partners such as care homes were aware of risks and response protocols. Collaboration with partners like the NHS provided crucial health data that refined future risk assessments. This systemic approach created a holistic and resilient strategy.

It was noted that any successful adaptation required carefully integrated interventions. Physical changes to the environment had to be combined with changes in knowledge, behaviour, and social organisation. Creating neighbourhood emergency response networks had limited value if residents were not aware of who the vulnerable people in their street were or did not understand their role in checking on isolated neighbours during heatwaves or storms. An awareness campaign was ineffective if there were no physical safe spaces or protective infrastructure for people to utilise.

The Cabinet Member stressed that the proposal was designed as a live and iterative strategy, not a static document. Our robust governance and monitoring framework ensured that adaptation was a continuous process of action, evaluation, and improvement.

Following questions from Councillors Das Neves and Connor, the following information was shared:

• It was noted by Cabinet Members that the Council was ahead of its National Adaptation Programme targets for 2028, and it was noted that there was positive work with other boroughs to undertake a London-wide approach to climate change adaptation.
  
  
• It was explained that the plan was aimed to be public sector-wide, including within the Voluntary and Community Sector, to ensure that the plan would be borough-wide.
  
  
• It was explained by the Cabinet Member that the Council was looking to consolidate work across the Council in response to a wide-range of legislation, which all worked to mitigate climate change. It was stressed that this would work to consolidate and rationalise funding opportunities.  
  
  

·       It was noted by officers that the Council had other published plans, such as a Surface Water Management Plan and a Heatwave chapter in Haringey's Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, containing local heat and flood data, which informed the development of the CCARA. Future revisions to these would also support the monitoring of progress and impact of the CCARA. 

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Approved the draft ‘Haringey Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Action Plan’ to come into effect from January 2026 (Appendix A), which would accompany Haringey’s Climate Change Action Plan.
   
   
2. Noted the progress that Haringey had made in tackling the climate emergency, as detailed in the published Climate Change Action Plan and annual carbon reports.
   
   
3. Noted the Council’s varied and collaborative work consolidated by this plan, driven by committed Council officers across departments, which was either already underway or would be implemented through the approval of this plan, aiming to deliver a borough that was more resilient to the worsening effects of climate change. There was, however, a need for further cross-sector collaboration moving forward to ensure accountability and commitment to delivering actions in the plan and to keep this issue a priority.
   
   
4. Noted that the current available and agreed funding for adaptation and retrofit projects to build the borough’s future resilience came from a variety of funding streams/grants, including the Section 106 Carbon Offsetting Fund (Haringey Community Carbon Fund, Overheating), UK Shared Prosperity Funding, Major Works Fund, Capital Programme Fund, Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, and Public Health Grant.
   
   
5. Noted the still significant cost of addressing climate change adaptation and resilience, the even bigger cost of inaction, and the current shortfall of available funding and resources to deliver climate adaptation measures to effectively protect the borough and its residents from climate-related impacts.
   
   

Reasons for Decision

The National Adaptation Programme (NAP3), the London Climate Resilience Review, and other national/regional initiatives recommended that local authorities develop and implement adaptation plans to respond to current and future climate risks and enhance resilience.

Real and local events involving flash flooding in 2021 and the effects of Summer 2022, compiled in Haringey’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment chapter, highlighted the impact of a changing climate on residents and recommended actions for the Council to take forward. ‘Flooding,’ ‘Drought,’ and ‘Heatwave’ risks were rated “Very High” on the Haringey Borough Risk Register.

There were significant costs associated with inaction, specifically due to economic losses caused by extreme weather events. This included damage to infrastructure requiring repairs, increased health and care costs, and increased resources needed to respond to urgent events. Furthermore, lost output from heat-related reductions in productivity was already significant in London, valued at £577 million per year. Proactive investment in climate adaptation and resilience was significantly more cost-effective, with every pound spent saving between two and ten pounds compared to inaction.

The delivery of a borough action plan to manage overheating risk was an activity in Haringey’s Corporate Delivery Plan 2024–2026, as part of the ‘Responding to the Climate Emergency’ theme. This report and plan sought to complete this activity.

During ‘The Great Big Green Week UK’ and London’s Climate Week in 2024, the Carbon Management Team, with support from Public Health, the Greater London Authority (GLA), and Bloomberg Associates, organised a workshop focused on ‘Adapting to a Changing Climate,’ inviting local residents and activists to share concerns and recommendations. One key takeaway from this workshop was that residents recommended the Council have a plan focused on adaptation.

Alternative Options Considered

The impacts of climate change were happening, demonstrated by the increased intensity and frequency of severe weather events. Therefore, the Council needed to ensure residents, partners, services, and staff were better prepared for and could respond effectively to future events, which were inevitable. Not having a dedicated plan would have put Haringey and its residents at further risk.

Adopting an overheating action plan, a required activity in the Council’s Corporate Delivery Plan 2024–2026, would have supported improvements in the borough’s preparedness and response to heat but would have lacked focus on other climate-related impacts such as flooding, which was already causing local incidents and impacting infrastructure and residents’ health and wellbeing.