One of the most depressing aspects of the recent general election – which took place only just over three months ago at the time of writing – was that most politicians largely ignored any strong commitment to protecting the environment, most especially from the multiple impacts of climate change, except in the vaguest of terms.
Yet when farmers can’t plant their crops because of record rainfalls and flooded fields; when freak storms destroy roads, railways and bridges; when summer heat reaches levels that threaten human life and puts yet more pressure on the NHS, then it is time to recognise that climate change is not only with us but is making a massive impact on the UK economy.
Measures to deal with these increasing problems cannot just come from central government but will also stem from grassroots decisions and actions by millions of people through personal choices.
How this can be achieved in Yorkshire is set out with remarkable clarity in a major new document which should be required reading for everyone, especially those active in caring for the environment, whether through a local group, larger NGO or private business.
The Climate Action Plan
This report, Climate Action Plan 2024, has been produced by an independent regional body, the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission, established in 2021. Based at Leeds University, its membership includes many leading experts and activists in climate sciences and economics, but also some of the major conservation and wildlife charities within the region. No fewer than 96 research documents and papers form the basis of the plan, plus a long process of public meetings and online consultations that were used to make up this major report, which contains a huge cross-section of academic knowledge but also practical experience from within our region.
What has emerged is a concise, well-argued and well written document avoiding technical jargon, which nevertheless offers some startling evidence of the threats we are all facing in the decades ahead. There are also some remarkable and indeed encouraging indicators of what we, ordinary people and the local and regional organisations we are part of, can do to both militate against, and indeed even reverse, the massive threats to our children and grandchildren from what many leading experts now call the coming climate catastrophe.
Four key pillars of climate action
The commission suggests that to survive into the next generation, people in Yorkshire need to adopt and support what are described as the Four Pillars of Climate Action for the region. These are:
- Rapid emissions reduction – which means moving away as quickly as possible from oil and petroleum consumption towards not just more renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy, but towards a society which is not so dependent on high energy inputs, such as by insulating our offices and homes properly, and promoting walking, cycling or using local trains or buses rather than driving.
- Climate adaptation and resilience – which means we need to accept that even if emissions fall dramatically in the next decade, contrary to current trends, we still need to find ways of coping with weather extremes in terms of creating new infrastructure, flood defences and ‘slow the flow’ mechanism including tree planting and peat restoration.
- Nature restoration – which includes creation of habitats in which natural systems and wildlife can flourish in both urban and rural environments and along wildlife corridors. Increased biodiversity is as vital for human survival as it is for other species.
- A just transition – society must ensure that people with greater wealth and access to resources, and therefore largest environmental impacts, pay a higher proportion of the cost of transition to a greener, fairer economy, and that costs do not fall unfairly on those least able to pay.
If this seems like a set of wildly optimistic wishes, the commission points out that what is required to achieve these outputs in the Yorkshire and Humber region is a mere 3% of our gross domestic product to be devoted to achieving these required environmental and therefore economic goals.
Economic benefits from a sustainable green recovery
But the argument clincher is that these transitions would also achieve eye-watering economic benefits. We could save £25bn per year, in Yorkshire alone, in lower energy costs if we invested in greener ways of heating our homes, travelling less by private car or plane, using more renewable energy, and reducing NHS costs through active travel and improving our well-being in natural surroundings. Every single £1 invested in measures to deliver the Four Pillars of Climate Action could result in £2.30 financial return.
More than 12,000 jobs could be created, each lasting at least 20 years, and this too would have massive wider economic impact through the multiplier effect within the region’s economy. It is this form of green investment that must be prioritised in our region. So how can this vision be delivered?
Regional devolution and local action
Much of the answer lies in one simple word: devolution. Delivery on this plan will not happen by remote, expensive and wasteful diktat from Westminster. It will only happen if it is wholeheartedly adopted by the people of Yorkshire: by individuals, by people in local communities, in parishes, in villages and local city wards. Most of all through if it is accepted by our brilliant network of active and inspiring voluntary groups, some local, some regional, who can share ideas, information and inspiration. Regional industry also needs to buy in, seeking transition to a greener economy not purely out of altruism, but as a huge new business opportunity.
Crucially, we also need support from our own regional political leaders. How reassuring then that in the Foreword for the Climate Action Plan is a statement of support from representatives of the Yorkshire Leaders’ board. It has been written by two of our leading and most respected politicians, representing as they do different political parties: Carl Lis, leader of North Yorkshire Council, and Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council. They suggest:
“We will only achieve the change required at the pace and scale that is needed by working together across political, social and economic boundaries.”
Calling for cross-party Yorkshire unity
The key phase is ‘working together’, a powerful and passionate plea for Yorkshire unity, which can in turn create the kind of radical devolution deal with central government that this region so urgently needs. This would include the powers and resources (human and financial) required to secure the full delivery of the Climate Action Plan in Yorkshire and the Humber.
We need the support of all political parties and politicians within Yorkshire to achieve this, including all MPs who represent Yorkshire constituencies, who also need to back the Yorkshire Leaders Board in delivering the findings of the plan. Yorkshire can and should be in the lead, nationally, in adapting and transforming our nation to deal with the massive challenges ahead.
To access this compelling Yorkshire Climate Action Plan 24 (downloadable as a PDF) visit the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission website.
