West Yorkshire Combined Authority Joins UK100 as part of Mayor of West Yorkshire’s Pledge to Tackle the Climate Emergency 

The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, has become the 60th signatory of the UK100 pledge, committing the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to join UK100, a cross-party network for locally elected leaders who have pledged to secure the future for their communities by focusing on climate and clean energy policy, and shifting to 100% clean energy by 2050.  

Attending the International Net Zero Local Leadership Conference today, co-convened by the Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street and UK100, Tracy Brabin, together with UK100 members, will directly ask the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng for additional powers to tackle climate emissions. The leaders will demand new powers are devolved from Whitehall including shaping local energy markets, decarbonising transport and tackling emissions from homes and offices.  

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: 

“Here in West Yorkshire, we have a bold ambition to become a net-zero carbon economy by 2038, with significant progress by 2030. 

“Meeting this challenge requires collective action from across all sectors, and will empower our region to build a modern, sustainable economy supported by an efficient transport network and green infrastructure.

“Later this year, we will publish a roadmap and action plan to bring this vision to life, enabling us to commit to net zero operations by 2038, decarbonise our transport system through green technologies like hydrogen power and electric vehicles, improve the energy efficiency of our homes and offices, accelerate investment in natural flood management, and create green jobs so that the people of West Yorkshire can excel in the careers of the future.  

“I want to ensure delivering a net-zero economy is integral to the region’s recovery from COVID-19. Joining UK100 today will bring us one step closer to making West Yorkshire a place where everyone can enjoy the economic, health and environmental benefits of a net-zero carbon economy by 2038.” 

Work already underway to tackle the Climate Emergency

Work already underway to tackle the climate emergency includes: 

• Partnerships for Net Zero: Following the Combined Authority’s and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP)’s  climate emergency declaration in 2019, a series of workshops began the process of establishing the partnerships and collaborations that will develop and deliver the required scale of change. The workshops demonstrated the wide and strong support from over 150 stakeholders for the Combined Authority’s and LEP’s work and the urgent need to act on climate change.
  
  
• Carbon Emissions Reduction Pathways: The Carbon Emission Reduction Pathways demonstrate the different ways in which the climate emergency could be addressed and how to meet our net zero target, providing the scientific evidence base for the roadmap and action plan.
  
  
• The Energy Accelerator: An innovative programme which is supporting 14 low carbon and energy efficient schemes around West Yorkshire, including an LED street lighting in Bradford and the Leeds District Heat Network, to save 250,000 tonnes of C02.
  
  
• Electric Vehicle Charging Points: Work is underway to install at least 88 charging points for ultra-low emission taxis and private cars across West Yorkshire by July 2021 to encourage more people to make the switch from traditional petrol and diesel engines, and to improve air quality.
  
  
• Natural Flood Management: The Combined Authority and its partners have invested £1.7 million in natural flood management projects across Calderdale and Kirklees which will help to protect around 3,000 homes and more than 1,000 businesses and tackle the climate emergency.
  
  
• Better Homes Yorkshire: Energy efficiency measures and new heating systems have been installed in over 4,000 properties helping to reduce bills, lower carbon emissions and alleviate fuel poverty.
  
  
• CityConnect: More than £60 million has been invested in new cycling and walking schemes across West Yorkshire and York since 2015 helping more people to leave their cars at home, improving air quality and health.