Government needs to capitalise on Yorkshire being at forefront of green energy revolution - report

The Yorkshire and Humber region has become an integral part in the bid to ensure that the nation can reach the ambitious target of dramatically reducing harmful carbon dioxide emissions that are responsible for the over-heating of the planet.

Data exclusively revealed to The Yorkshire Post by the IPPR North think tank ahead of the publication of a major report on Monday has highlighted the dramatic rise in the green energy sector in the region.

However, researchers have maintained that the North is not benefiting fairly from its national contribution to the Government’s net zero target by 2050, and has not been empowered to reduce its own emissions.

Studies by IPPR North have shown that Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest level of emissions per capita in England.

Emissions in the region equate to 6.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita, compared to a figure of five tonnes nationally.

The interim director at IPPR North, Arianna Giovannini, who is one of the authors of the State of the North report, said: “Regional and local institutions currently play a limited role in shaping policy.

“This needs to change: only empowering local leaders will allow communities across Yorkshire and the North to enjoy the wider benefits of a just transition to a green economy that is designed and delivered from the bottom up.

“Giving mayors, local leaders, and communities a greater say in what policy looks like would not only help reduce carbon emissions - it would also provide a better future for Yorkshire and the North as whole.

“Yorkshire is already leading the way on renewable energy contribution, and places across the region have bold proposals for how they can create happier, healthier communities, ensuring that local people feel its benefits.

“Shifting power away from Whitehall and into our Town Halls is essential to achieve this.”

The research has shown that Yorkshire and the Humber is already powering the country’s transition to net zero, and has seen a 4,206 per cent increase in its renewable energy contribution since 2003.

Energy generated from renewable sources in the region increased from 651 gigawatt hours in 2003 to 28,044 gigawatt hours by 2020.

That figure is almost three times as much as the contribution which has been made by the South-East of England, and almost as much as the whole of Scotland.

A senior research fellow at IPPR North, Jonathan Webb, who is another author of the report, said: “Despite the huge contribution that it makes to our net zero ambitions, the promise of widespread green jobs for people in Yorkshire, to power the North and the country, feels too distant a prospect.

“This is a problem because our research shows that the North as the engine behind our transition to net zero, is essential to the success of levelling up.”

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities stressed the Government is committed to promoting the green energy sector, and highlighted more than £33m of investment to support industrial decarbonisation plans in the Humber.

A spokeswoman said: “Empowering local leaders is integral to levelling up and the work has already begun - in 2020, we finalised a devolution deal with South Yorkshire, unlocking £900m of additional funding, and agreed a devolution deal with West Yorkshire which will provide £1.1bn.

“The Net Zero Strategy sets out our commitments to enable local areas to deliver net zero and the forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper will build on the actions which the Government is already taking to both deliver net zero and level up the UK.”