Meeting the climate change challenge

Chair: Paul Jagger MBE

Members: Shelagh Marshall, Michael Oughtred, Phil Webber, Cllr John Harris, Cllr Carl Lis

Advisers: Phil Younge/Gail Hammond

The Meeting the Climate Change Challenge scrutiny review was carried out between February 2008 and June 2008. The review considered how Yorkshire Forward is addressing the issue of climate change in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The review looked at three themes:

• Climate Change Targets and Regional Performance
• Balancing Climate Change Action and Economic Growth
• Adapting to Climate Change.

Over 50 organisations engaged with this review either by writing, attending events, being interviewed by the consultants or emailing online.

Conclusions

The Scrutiny Board has concluded from the ‘Meeting the Climate Change Challenge’ review that Yorkshire Forward has exceeded the remit that it has been given by the Government, on responding to the threats posed to the region’s economy by climate change. The feedback received throughout the review has praised Yorkshire Forward’s Sustainable Development Team, and the range of projects that Yorkshire Forward has financed to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions. The Scrutiny Board has also detected a willingness amongst all sectors in the region to support Yorkshire Forward in delivering the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) objectives and Greenhouse Gas emissions reduction target, and the new Lower Carbon Policy Product.

The Scrutiny Board has identified several key issues that Yorkshire Forward needs to address:-

• Firstly, the recording and reporting of Greenhouse Gas emissions reduction in the region needs to be improved, as data on the carbon ‘savings’ made from projects is at present insufficiently gathered and communicated.
• Secondly, Yorkshire Forward needs to identify remedial action to ensure that the Greenhouse Gas emissions reduction target in the RES is met, as emerging UK policy and legislation will stretch this target even further. It is clear from this scrutiny review that Yorkshire Forward cannot reach the RES target alone, and if the RES target is to be reached, activity needs to accelerate.
• Thirdly, although Yorkshire Forward has been commended for their activities on flooding, the Scrutiny Board has concluded that greater effort is needed to address ways in which extreme fluctuations in temperature can be handled.
• There is a high degree of interest in Yorkshire Forward investing in newer and bigger environmental and renewable technologies, to reduce the use of fossil fuel, and provide a larger proportion of energy from renewable sources. There is also a desire to see investment from Yorkshire Forward in schemes that will de-couple economic growth from carbon emissions, so that economic growth is not obtained to the detriment of the environment. To achieve this, the scrutiny review proposes that a more equal emphasis needs to be placed on economic, social and environmental factors.
• Finally, the Scrutiny Board has concluded that if the region is to adapt to a changing climate, the attitudes and behaviour of the region’s businesses and residents needs to change, so that the overall consumption of energy and production of waste is reduced.

The Scrutiny Board made nine recommendations for how Yorkshire Forward’s activities in climate change can be improved, as found below

• To ensure that the new Single integrated Regional Strategy better aligns, and clearly embeds climate change action and has the development of a lower carbon economy as a cross-cutting theme.
• To develop a dedicated Yorkshire Forward Climate Change Delivery Plan to identify and communicate the climate change issues and actions that Yorkshire Forward will specifically deliver in the region, how they will develop a lower carbon economy, and their priority innovation and business support activities that will address climate change issues
• To develop a set of output targets for Yorkshire Forward funding, with which to measure changes in GVA, as well as measure the region’s economic performance, social well-being and quality of life, environmental progress and protection, and carbon emissions reduction
• To help tackle under-investment in sustainable transport options by strategically influencing Government to increase the level of national investment in transport, with additional spending ring-fenced for public transport and cycling improvements where there is an evidenced need
• To promote the use of sustainable development assessments in project development with other public agencies in the region, in order to develop best practice
• To adopt a strategic approach to support the development and deployment of renewable energy in a manner that benefits businesses and communities and results in best practice, and disseminate best practice so that it may be replicated
• To work in partnership with Local Authorities to establish a pilot anaerobic digestion facility in the Yorkshire and Humber region as an alternative to waste incineration, and consider ways in which the region’s businesses can be supported on dealing with commercial and industrial waste and in becoming more resource efficient
• To ensure that the new Best Practice publication clearly explains how new technologies have been used in the construction of buildings in the region, the costs involved, the impact that the technology has had on carbon emissions and how these can be easily replicated in other regions.
• To formally investigate the costs and practicalities involved in developing a regional carbon budget and carbon currency, and look at how the region’s business community can be advised and supported to make a Carbon Reduction Commitment.

As addressing Climate Change is not solely the role of Yorkshire Forward, the report also included Messages for Government and the regional Climate Change Executive Group.

At the next six-monthly monitoring meeting, updates will be received from Yorkshire Forward and the Climate Change Executive group.

The Full report and Executive Summary is available to download below. For any additional information on this review please contact the scrutiny team.