Medway Council launches 2025–2028 Climate Change Action Plan with net zero target

The plan builds on Medway’s Climate Emergency declaration of April 2019 and sets two core goals: cutting greenhouse gas emissions and making the area more resilient to the effects of climate change. It sits alongside the One Medway Council Plan 2024 to 2028, which lists clean, green, safe and connected communities as a priority.

The council’s pitch to residents goes well beyond saving the planet. Lower household energy bills, better health, job creation, less road congestion, support for nature, stronger community ties — the argument is that tackling climate change pays off in ways people will actually notice. Less social isolation gets a mention too, which isn’t the first thing most people associate with solar panels.

Because Medway is a unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Kent, its commitments feed directly into the wider county-level response. The 2050 target will shape decisions on housing, transport, infrastructure and services for decades.

The council has already hosted information sessions on home energy efficiency, and recordings are available through its climate change pages. There’s also a newsletter residents can sign up to for updates.

The 2025–2028 action plan document does not prominently feature new standalone budget figures, though Medway’s broader climate framework includes a first carbon budget of 57,631 tCO₂e for 2020–2027 and a target of 95% emissions reduction by 2050 from a 2018/19 baseline.

Key information

• Home energy sessions: recordings available via Medway Council’s climate change pages at medway.gov.uk/climatechange
• Newsletter sign-up: available on the same page to keep up with Medway’s climate work
• Contact the climate change team: email climatechange@medway.gov.uk
• Social media: Facebook @MedwayClimateChange or Instagram: Medway Climate Change