Agenda item

(Lead Member: Cllr T. Swift, Director: Liz Hunter)

Resolved: That the Combined Authority:

a)    Approves the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan and agrees to delegate, if required, any final changes to the Managing Director in consultation with the Mayor.

b)    Endorse the Mayor to bring forward a Climate and Environment Fund and to secure the £85m funding needed for the actions for the Combined Authority. The Combined Authority would work with partner local authorities to design the delivery mechanisms for this fund.

c)     Endorse the Mayor to identify potential funding sources for the Fund, including the Single Investment Fund. Decisions would be taken after the Comprehensive Spending Review, which would indicate whether and when there would likely be further national funding available to support this work.

The Combined Authority considered a report on the climate emergency. It asked them to approve the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan, which would be the Mayor and Combined Authority’s response to address the climate emergency, to protect the environment, and to achieve net zero carbon emissions in West Yorkshire. The Combined Authority was also asked to endorse plans for the Mayor to bring forward a Climate and Environment Fund and to secure £85 million in funding for carbon reduction projects, with sources for this funding to be identified after the publication of Comprehensive Spending Review.

The importance of the plan was noted, with increasing occurrence of flooding events such as that of Boxing Day 2015 highlighted as examples of the significant impact of climate change in the region, and the approval of this plan would be particularly timely due to the upcoming attendance of the Mayor and the Managing Director at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-26). As part of efforts to raise awareness of these climate issues and the important role of the bus service in combatting them, Sunday 31 October had been announced as ‘Free Bus Sunday’, where travel on buses throughout the region would be free. Encouragement toward greater use of public travel would be vital in combatting the climate emergency, and it was hoped that the event would support this.

The Government’s Net Zero Carbon Strategy had been launched earlier in the week, and Members welcomed announced initiatives such as greater support for electric vehicles and grants to replace gas boilers with zero-emission heat pumps, but it was felt that the ambition of the Strategy was not sufficient to achieve a full, inclusive and just recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with it being noted that any incentives to support reducing emissions had to be accessible to all, rather than only those who were already wealthy. It would be important to support Government in tackling the crisis, but it was noted that MCAs and Local Authorities could use their knowledge and experience in local communities to be a leading voice in encouraging a change in priorities and behaviour.

The Plan had been developed with the support of the Climate, Energy and Environment Committee. Three potential pathways toward net zero emissions had been explored in the Plan; it was noted that the early actions set out within the Plan were consistent with all three pathways, and did not preclude any future decisions regarding this. The Committee would be happy to take a further role in the monitoring of the progress of the Plan and in discussions regarding which pathway would be taken, as well as timescales surrounding this.

The Committee had also raised the importance of ensuring that the carbon impact of existing road schemes was being robustly measured within the Plan; a piece of work was currently underway to improve technical guidance for developing schemes and improve analysis for investors and stakeholders, as well as to assess the impact of schemes currently in the pipeline. This was a complex task, as factors such as potential modal shift could be difficult to measure, but a report would be shared when the work had been completed.

Members questioned what work was being undertaken with private developers in the region to encourage them to work in an environmentally-conscious way now, prior to any legislation being implemented. Although retrofitting homes with environmentally-friendly technology was noted as typically being more difficult and costly than new builds, building new carbon zero homes could also be extremely difficult to achieve in certain regions with low margins and viability without costs being passed on. Further Government funding was highlighted as needed in order to incentivise this.

It was also noted that the Mayor’s pledge for 5000 sustainable homes aimed to work in partnership with developers, and work would also be done in the social housing sector to lower carbon emissions. A project currently underway in retrofitting Kirklees homes was mentioned as a positive example of the work already underway, and lessons learned from this pilot would be useful going forward. It was hoped that use of the existing technology, such as heat pumps, would lead to further innovation and a reduction of costs.

Mentions in the report about the reduction of parking were discussed, and Members raised concerns over the impact this could have on tourism, as well as the difficulties faced by some in charging electric cars. Officers advised that any approach toward parking would be carefully considered and multi-faceted to ensure people had different options for travel where possible. The Combined Authority would be working in close partnership with district councils, and it was noted that it would be important to gather further evidence about the impact of parking charges, in order to find most effective path toward encouraging modal shift. The use of Mayoral powers to introduce electric vehicle charging points at filling stations was also under consideration.

Members raised the following other comments and questions:

a)    Investment into heat insulation was highlighted as vital, as it would allow residents to simultaneously lower emissions while reducing the impact of cost of living increases.

b)    The report’s discussion of digital infrastructure investment and pension divestment was welcomed, but further progress was needed, and a more targeted investment of pension funds could be an important next step. 

c)     The idea of a Mayoral ‘gold standard’ for developers was raised, highlighting developers with environmentally-conscious practices and encouraging building new homes with green technology.

d)    Members raised concerns around residents on lower incomes facing difficulties with the costs of switching over to electric/hybrid vehicles, or with supplementary charges including parking.

e)    Further investment was also noted as being needed in social housing stock, and Members questioned what could be done to develop this into a sustainable market.

f)      It was noted that the impact of works on biodiversity was not frequently discussed, despite the onus of Combined Authorities to deliver a net gain in this in its residential planning and civil engineering. Officers would explore what further action could be taken in this area.

g)    The importance of preserving river cleanliness was discussed, and it was requested that the Plan include further detail on this.

Resolved: That the Combined Authority:

a)    Approves the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan and agrees to delegate, if required, any final changes to the Managing Director in consultation with the Mayor.

b)    Endorse the Mayor to bring forward a Climate and Environment Fund and to secure the £85m funding needed for the actions for the Combined Authority. The Combined Authority would work with partner local authorities to design the delivery mechanisms for this fund.

c)     Endorse the Mayor to identify potential funding sources for the Fund, including the Single Investment Fund. Decisions would be taken after the Comprehensive Spending Review, which would indicate whether and when there would likely be further national funding available to support this work.