Making farming more environmentally sustainable and exploring geothermal power are among the ways York and North Yorkshire could lead the way on tackling climate change, the region’s mayor has said.
Mayor David Skaith said the region’s geography and economic makeup meant it was uniquely placed to take opportunities presented by efforts to become carbon neutral.
Speaking at a York Climate Commission meeting, the Labour mayor added the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority was already working with farmers to help them be more environmentally-friendly.
The mayor’s comments come as local politicians, academics, business figures, volunteers and environmental campaigners met to discuss the work of the Commission a year on from its re-launch in York.
Attendees discussed their work on issues ranging from food, housing and buildings, the health of local rivers and waterways, transport and waste and their aims going forward.
Mayor Skaith said he saw the climate agenda as one of the region’s key strengths and its more rural offering had been received with interest at a Government level.
He added work with local farmers and the exploration of geothermal power including at a site at Kirby Misperton, near Malton, were examples of local climate work.
The mayor also said there could be potential to use geothermal power, which uses heat from the Earth’s core to generate energy, at the York Central development.
The mayor said: “This is a unique opportunity for York and North Yorkshire, I see the climate agenda as a real strength of ours.
“We have a goal to get to net zero by 2034 and we have the ability to move towards that goal a lot quicker than more heavily urban areas.
“Whenever the Government has spoken to mayors about this I’ve been the first to stand up and say that this is an opportunity and we can lead the way.
“One of our priorities for economic growth is our agricultural sector and working with manufacturers to produce better quality, nutritional food.
“We’ve already helped about 30 farmers build resilience and improve biodiversity so they can be much more environmentally friendly.
“Dairy farmers are getting a lot of pressure from the top to move in a more environmentally-friendly direction, we’re helping them become more sustainable.
“There’s also huge potential for geothermal power in our region, we already have a demonstrator site at Kirby Misperton.
“That’s unique for us and there’s huge scope for it here, we’re already a few steps down the road with these things and that’s before we even start with things like retrofitting homes and changing transport.
“So we have a route map to becoming neutral by 2034 and that goal runs through everything we do.”
Attendees also heard the combined authority has launched a £7m Net Zero Fund and a further £10m is set to be available from February to help support efforts to cut carbon emissions.
York schemes already supported by the £7m Net Zero Fund include the Electric Cow project at Askham Bryan College.
The Electric Cow is the name given to the 22kw anaerobic digester installed at the college to generate energy from farm waste.
Converting street and commercial building lights to LED and a renewable heating upgrade at Alex Lyon House are also among the York projects that have received funding.
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