Climate change is an issue that the majority of people care deeply about. No one wants to put the planet's future at risk. In Yorkshire, we see the shifts in climate right before our eyes.

Periods of extreme weather from droughts to flooding are becoming alarmingly common in the region. The net zero transition promised utopia. However, the reality is beginning to look very much dystopian for many communities.

Wave after wave of developments are being thrown at the region’s rural communities. Green belt land is being given up to developers of solar farms.

What’s galling is that dozens of applications are bypassing scrutiny of local authorities and communities and are being decided in London.

Solar panels at a solar farm. PIC: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire

placeholder image — Solar panels at a solar farm. PIC: Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire

Labour is at risk of losing hearts and minds on net zero. It sets the country on a very dangerous path. Two things are vital for tackling climate change - a just transition and developments that work with communities and brings them on the journey with it. Net zero cannot become a zero sum game. It is frightening, even to those who are convinced of the need for net zero transition at pace, that vital agricultural land is being sacrificed at the altar of solar developments.

Running roughshod over food security is not only dangerous but also counterproductive to tackling climate change. The airmiles attached to imported food is just as damaging to the planet as our reliance on fossil fuels.

Infrastructure already exists that can be tapped into for solar power. Car parks, rooftops, brownfield sites should all be the primary target for such developments. Instead it seems the Government is allowing foreign-owned developers to take the path of least resistance. This approach risks undermining trust in not only the Government but also the net zero agenda.