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Background <p>Climate change poses growing risks to population health. In England, local authorities can influence key determinants of climate-related health outcomes through responsibilities for housing, transport, environmental protection and public health. However, climate mitigation and adaptation are not statutory duties, and there is limited evidence on how climate and public health objectives are integrated across local policy frameworks.</p> Aim <p>This study reviews local authority policy documents across English local governments, examining how they incorporate public health objectives within climate-related strategies, align policies across multiple policy domains and address health inequalities.</p> Methods <p>We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 129 publicly available policy documents from 12 local authorities across four regions of England. Documents were identified through structured web searches and analysed using an a priori conceptual framework covering mitigation, adaptation, population health, environmental exposures and sectoral policy domains, vulnerability and inequality, and interventions.</p> Results <p>Policy documents included a wide range of interventions, particularly in transport, housing energy efficiency and urban greenspace. Public health was rarely articulated as a primary objective and was more commonly framed as a co-benefit. Cross-sectoral alignment varied between policy domains, with stronger integration observed in active travel, housing retrofit, greenspace access and quality as well as flood resilience strategies. Air quality and transport strategies most clearly linked climate and health objectives, while food, greenspace and health and wellbeing strategies often did so implicitly. No authority had a standalone heat strategy, although heat-related actions appeared across multiple policy documents.</p> Conclusion <p>Local authorities are implementing many interventions with potential public health benefits, but explicit integration of public health objectives within local climate policy frameworks remains variable. Stronger cross-sectoral coordination, clearer public health framing, and improved monitoring may help maximise health co-benefits and reduce climate-related health inequalities.</p>

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How are local authorities responding to climate change and health impacts? a policy document analysis of four England regions

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月31日

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  • Turner GA,
  • O’Connor L,
  • O’Connell E,
  • Coleman PC,
  • Sharma-Waddington H,
  • Hajat S,
  • Kovats RS

摘要

Background

Climate change poses growing risks to population health. In England, local authorities can influence key determinants of climate-related health outcomes through responsibilities for housing, transport, environmental protection and public health. However, climate mitigation and adaptation are not statutory duties, and there is limited evidence on how climate and public health objectives are integrated across local policy frameworks.

Aim

This study reviews local authority policy documents across English local governments, examining how they incorporate public health objectives within climate-related strategies, align policies across multiple policy domains and address health inequalities.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 129 publicly available policy documents from 12 local authorities across four regions of England. Documents were identified through structured web searches and analysed using an a priori conceptual framework covering mitigation, adaptation, population health, environmental exposures and sectoral policy domains, vulnerability and inequality, and interventions.

Results

Policy documents included a wide range of interventions, particularly in transport, housing energy efficiency and urban greenspace. Public health was rarely articulated as a primary objective and was more commonly framed as a co-benefit. Cross-sectoral alignment varied between policy domains, with stronger integration observed in active travel, housing retrofit, greenspace access and quality as well as flood resilience strategies. Air quality and transport strategies most clearly linked climate and health objectives, while food, greenspace and health and wellbeing strategies often did so implicitly. No authority had a standalone heat strategy, although heat-related actions appeared across multiple policy documents.

Conclusion

Local authorities are implementing many interventions with potential public health benefits, but explicit integration of public health objectives within local climate policy frameworks remains variable. Stronger cross-sectoral coordination, clearer public health framing, and improved monitoring may help maximise health co-benefits and reduce climate-related health inequalities.