Lunch & Learn: Why climate resilience matters for neighbourhood health

This session explores Cornwall‑specific climate risks and how the VCSE sector and NHS can work together to build resilient neighbourhoods. Our climate has changed and continues to change. Whether you believe in climate change (or not), the facts are clear – our changing climate is impacting our health. Between 2020 and 2024 in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimated there were a total of 10,781 heat-associated deaths as a direct consequence of heatwaves. Projections suggest heat-related deaths are set to rise to around 11,000 per year by the 2050s without climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. Just this year, we have seen the impacts of Storm Goretti first-hand here in Cornwall; widespread power, communications and water loss, travel and transportation disarray and supply chain disruption leaving our most vulnerable residents, remote communities and whole neighbourhoods cut off for days. Not only are these storm events going to become more frequent, but the secondary impacts we will feel within our neighbourhoods will become more of an issue, whether it’s localised flash flooding from intense rainstorms, impacting local farmers and growers and our precious food systems, or increased damp and mould in our homes, one way or another our changing climate is going to impact us all, physically and mentally. This Lunch & Learn session, delivered in partnership with Volunteer Cornwall, will explore Cornwall‑specific climate risks and how the VCSE sector, working with NHS partners, can mitigate, adapt and prepare for our changing climate to nurture healthy, resilient neighbourhoods where people and nature can thrive.