How Doncaster and Yorkshire can lead the way in tackling climate crisis: Ros Jones and Ed Miliband

While this is undoubtedly the crisis we must face today, there is another crisis that has not gone away – the climate crisis.

This may feel like a problem for the future, but we are already seeing its devastating impact now in Yorkshire. We have seen in Doncaster the effects of climate change, with increased rainfall causing flooding and serious wildfires on Hatfield Moors earlier this year.

Scientists tell us that we only have 10 years left to avert the most damaging consequences. Last year like many councils across our area, Doncaster Council declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, and unless radical action is taken, it is likely the effects will escalate dangerously over the coming years and decades. 

To help tackle this challenge, the Doncaster Climate Commission brought together people from all sectors and all parties to create a plan of action. Crucially it explored not just how we can avoid disaster, but how we can create better lives for people through tackling the climate emergency. 

The commission concluded that we need to be ambitious to meet the challenge. That means cutting Doncaster’s carbon emissions by 85 per cent by 2030, and to net zero by 2040. This target is 10 years ahead of the Government’s national target and in line with the Sheffield City Region’s ambition.  So how do we get there? 

Firstly, the answer is not separate from our response to the economic crisis caused by coronavirus, but part of it. The pandemic has caused mass unemployment and a deep recession, with many thousands of jobs lost since March. To help our economy recover from Covid-19, we will need to create jobs to help replace those that have been lost.

So by helping create low-carbon jobs in an ambitious green recovery we can help tackle the twin crises of climate change and unemployment. Think of all the jobs that need doing – from retrofitting homes to the zero emission engines of the future.

In Yorkshire, we are particularly well placed. A decade ago, the Labour government proposed we fund carbon capture and storage projects – which capture carbon dioxide rather than letting it pollute the atmosphere. Yorkshire was poised to take the lead but the following Conservative-led government cancelled the plans.

Now we hope they will put us in the forefront of that technology, and the development of hydrogen technology too. Creating jobs and mitigating the economic effects of coronavirus only happens with a green revolution. The Government must, in partnership with local authorities, make it happen.

Secondly, plans to bring down emissions and create jobs can go hand in hand with plans to create a better quality of life for people in Doncaster and the North. Retrofitting houses and offices to make them more energy efficient means creating jobs to carry out the extra work and it means less energy is required which will help bring down emissions, but – crucially – it means warmer homes and places of work, lower energy bills, and a better quality of life. 

Planting trees and rewilding will help to tackle climate change, promote biodiversity and will also mean more green spaces what will improve the quality of life in our communities. A better public transport system and improved infrastructure for cycling and walking will create more options for getting around and will mean people in Doncaster are breathing cleaner air.  

Doncaster is already on the frontline of the climate emergency. Now it has an ambitious vision to tackle climate change and make Doncaster more prosperous, with more skilled well-paid jobs and providing a better quality of life for residents.   

For so many people across our region, this is a deeply worrying time. We all want to get back to normal as soon as possible but we have a duty not to simply return to business as usual. We can build a better economy, and a greater quality of life for people if we tackle the climate crisis.

We all have a part to play – local government, businesses and individuals. The task is a big one, but it is vital we meet it head on with radical action. We can succeed if we work together.

Ros Jones is Mayor of Doncaster and Ed Miliband is Labour MP for Doncaster North. He is also Shadow Business Secretary.

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