Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit 2025: Event returning to Leeds at new venue with hundreds expected to attend
An annual climate change conference organised by The Yorkshire Post is returning to Leeds later this year at a new venue, with hundreds of guests expected to be in attendance to hear from a range of expert speakers.
The Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit will take place on October 16 and be held at Leeds Conservatoire as it moves from its previous location of The Royal Armouries.
Leeds-based vehicle leasing company Zenith is returning as the event’s headline sponsor, with First Bus among the returning sponsors.
Ian Hughes, CEO of Zenith’s Corporate and Consumer divisions, said: “We’re excited to be headline sponsor of the Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit for the third consecutive year.
"As one of Yorkshire’s largest employers with a vision of driving sustainability, the event is a staple in our calendar, and we look forward to joining like-minded businesses and individuals from across the region to highlight the importance of climate change as we work together to move towards a greener future.”
Kayleigh Ingham, Commercial Director of First Bus North & West Yorkshire, said: “Transport is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and the challenge of how to reduce these quickly and sustainably is one that faces businesses and individuals.
“The Climate Summit enables us to showcase the progress we are making, with our York depot among the first in the country to be verified as net zero and the largest zero-emission bus fleet in West Yorkshire operating from our Bramley depot.
"It is an ideal event to share information and learn from other organisations.”
The conference aims to unite the likes of businesses, academics and media spanning various sectors through lively debates and networking, as participants confront the region’s climate challenges and strategise about solutions to those problems.
Among the topics for discussion at this year’s event will be how digital technology and AI can assist climate solutions; education for a greener tomorrow; reimagining public transport; renewable energy and the future of sustainable transport, as well as engaging communities in climate action
More information can be found by visiting www.yorkshireclimatechange.co.uk, with an early bird ticket offer currently running.
Last year’s Climate Change conference saw Yorkshire’s status as a “leading light” in the race to net zero highlighted by a variety of different speakers.
The audience heard about Zenith’s £475m green bond to source and finance electric vehicles, which has helped the Leeds-based car leasing giant grow its electric funded fleet to around 25,000 vehicles.
The conference was also told about E.ON’s £500m expansion to its existing district heating network in Sheffield, while energy-from-waste operator enfinium is looking at investing £800m into carbon capture plans at its Ferrybridge site. It also intends to introduce the process at its new £500m Skelton Grange facility in Leeds.
SSE Renewables is working on the building of a huge battery energy storage system in the village of Monk Fryston, with similar proposals being considered for Eggborough.
Their facilities will store renewable energy and release it into the National Grid at points of high demand. The firm is making capital investments of £500m in the Yorkshire region as it is building a similar site in Ferrybridge.
The event also heard that First Bus has fully electrified its fleet serving York, while £29m has been invested in its Bramley bus depot in Leeds to enable it to operate a fully-electrified fleet across the city.
Last year’s event was hosted by Steve Frampton MBE, founder of Sustainability Support for Further Education and patron of the Off the Record mental health charity.
Mr Frampton said while there are plenty of challenges, there are also huge opportunities ahead.
"There’s a real significant need for cultural shift from Government and other agencies but all of us as well,” he reflected.
"It is not technology that is going to be the problem, it is going to be the commitment and consistency of the application of that technology.
"There’s a tremendous amount of wonderful things happening in this local area.
"There are challenges – 33 per cent of all the engineering labour workforce are going to retire in the next five years. That is a massive hole to fill.
"If we asked what young people would say, what I heard was ‘You are doing pretty well, there’s a lot of positive news out there but it is not going to be quite enough’. 2050 for net zero is too late and it is us and our agency that has got to support that enthusiasm of young people."