A strategy to introduce an ambitious programme of environmentally-friendly projects is set to be adopted in North Yorkshire in a move that is being heralded as a “defining moment” to help to curb climate change.
Members the executive will meet on Tuesday next week (18 July) when they are expected to give their backing for the climate change strategy to be formally introduced by the authority.
A consultation that was conducted with the public across the county saw more than 1,700 responses with people overwhelmingly in favour of dramatically reducing harmful carbon dioxide emissions through a wide-ranging package of measures.
The draft strategy sets out how we will develop work that is already under way to reduce harmful carbon emissions, which are responsible for climate change. It also outlines how the council will prepare for changes in climate.
Initiatives which will need to be introduced include producing more renewable energy, reducing the use of fossil fuels, improving insulation in homes, encouraging the use of low-emission vehicles and promoting more active travel such as cycling and walking.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “This new strategy is among the most important documents that I have witnessed in more than 20 years that I have been a councillor, and it represents a defining moment in our fight against climate change here in North Yorkshire.
“We do know that we, as a council, cannot do this on our own. Our common understanding of the causes and impacts of climate change - and what we can do about it - is growing throughout society.
“Every business, organisation, public sector body and community needs to play its part. By working together, we can ensure we make our climate ambitions a reality for everyone.”
The draft strategy acknowledges that a host of measures will need to be employed and will have to be introduced across the public sector as well as businesses and North Yorkshire’s communities.
Figures show that North Yorkshire produced 5,829 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (kt co2e) in 2020, with agriculture equating to a third of the total, transport responsible for 28 per cent and 19 per cent coming from homes.
The eight-week public engagement revealed that 73 per cent of responses were from people who said that they “worry a lot or a fair amount” about climate change. Most people said that they had taken actions at home to tackle climate change such as recycling and reducing home energy consumption.
Survey responses showed the highest priorities for the public to tackle climate change, including the introduction of more energy-efficient buildings, more renewable energy, a collective effort to reduce carbon emissions across the whole of society, more sustainable travel and increased efforts to reduce waste.
A survey was also co-designed with members of the Harrogate Youth Council which was specifically targeted at young people aged under 25.
Key concerns that were voiced in this survey included the role of large corporate businesses in contributing to climate change and deforestation, and calls were made for more efforts to reduce the production and use of ‘single-use’ plastics and increased work to protect public green spaces and the marine environment.
Executive member for climate change, Cllr Greg White, said: “We undertook the engagement with the public to listen to exactly what people’s biggest concerns are to ensure that we have a detailed vision to tackle climate change that is representative of our society.
“It was particularly important that we engaged with younger people, as they and future generations are going to have to live with the consequences of climate change unless we take urgent action now.
“It is heartening to see that we had such a large number of responses to the engagement from across the county, showing just how seriously the threat of climate change is being taken by people.
“I would like to stress that whilst we, as a council, will do all we can to tackle climate change, every individual will also need to play their part.”
Authorities have already declared climate emergencies, with the former North Yorkshire County Council, which merged with seven district and borough authorities to form North Yorkshire Council on 1 April, officially acknowledging the grave threat of global warming by confirming its commitment to tackle the issue in July last year.
Work which has already been undertaken in the county to tackle carbon emissions includes the installation of energy-saving LED street lighting, energy efficient improvements to buildings and trialling the use of electric vehicles.
New ways of working forced by the coronavirus pandemic, with many employees working from home instead of undertaking a daily commute, have also contributed to a reduction in carbon emissions.
Other proposed measures to ensure that we achieves an ambition of reaching carbon net zero by 2030 include reducing energy demand and an increasing focus on low-carbon energy such as solar power as an alternative to fossil fuels.
In January, members of the executive endorsed an ambitious bid for York and North Yorkshire to become the first carbon negative region in the country, meaning more carbon dioxide emissions would be removed from the atmosphere than are emitted.
This ambition is seen as key for the nation to reach the Government’s target for the UK to become carbon neutral by 2050 and will rely heavily on North Yorkshire’s prized natural habitats as well as an increasing focus on developing cutting-edge industries in the green sector.