The Local Government Association (LGA) said that over 300 councils have declared a climate emergency, and many are assessing risks and developing plans.
In particular, risks to residents' health from heatwaves is considered one of the greatest climate concerns for councils following record-breaking heatwaves last summer that led to thousands of excess deaths across the country.
The LGA called on the government to enable urgent acceleration of local adaptation action as part of its forthcoming National Adaptation Programme (NAP).
The NAP sets out the actions that government and others will take to adapt to the challenges of climate change in England over a five-year period. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are currently working on the third iteration of the NAP which is expected to be published this summer and will run from 2024 to 2029.
The LGA said it must include more to raise the awareness of how people and partners...