Attending the York and North Yorkshire Carbon Negative Conference: A Selby Perspective
On Friday, 13th June, Our Zero Selby attended the inaugural York and North Yorkshire Carbon Negative Conference. This event was a crucial opportunity to understand the region's ambitious plans for achieving carbon negativity and to consider what this means for Selby and its residents.
The conference was opened by Mayor David Skaith, who set a compelling vision for the region. He underscored the escalating impacts of climate change, citing examples such as the intense summer storms of 2019 overwhelming areas like Swaledale and the River Ouse, damaging floods in historic towns like York and Tadcaster, and relentless coastal erosion.
Mayor Skaith emphasised that climate action is not merely an environmental exercise but a fundamental necessity for protecting people, buildings, and ensuring a liveable future for all residents. It's about reducing our impact by cutting carbon emissions, investing in low-carbon technologies, and adapting to the changing climate we are already experiencing. This creates new job opportunities, makes our homes cheaper to run, and builds stronger, safer communities. He called for collective action from councils, farmers, businesses, and communities to meet the carbon negative target by 2040, aiming to demonstrate the best of the UK's leadership in climate action and deliver prosperity.
Key Themes and What They Mean for Selby
The conference talked about several big ideas for making our region carbon negative – meaning we take out more carbon from the atmosphere than we put in. Here’s what those ideas mean for people living in Selby:
1. Our Big Carbon Negative Goal: York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority wants to be the first region in England to actually remove more carbon than it produces. This is a very ambitious goal, meaning aiming to be "net zero" by 2034 and "carbon negative" by 2040. Katie Thomas, Senior Strategy Manager for Low Carbon and Environment at the Combined Authority showed the three largest contributors to carbon emissions in York and North Yorkshire are existing buildings, transport, and agriculture. For Selby, this means our everyday actions, from how we heat our homes to how we travel, and how our local farms operate, all contribute to this huge regional effort. It's about everyone doing their part to make a difference.
Slides from Katie Thomas's presentation on the region's carbon negative goals and main emission sources.
2. Making Our Buildings Better and Cheaper to Run: A major focus was on making our homes and buildings more energy-efficient and healthier places to live. Lucy Allis, Local Authorities Climate Action Coordinator, talked about the region's "Retrofit Strategy." "Retrofit" simply means making improvements to existing buildings, making them more energy efficient and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. It's about upgrading them with better insulation, changing to energy efficient lighting, modern heating systems like heat pumps (which use electricity, often from renewable sources, instead of burning gas), and other improvements that stop heat from escaping. This strategy aims to "build a template for the country's retrofit challenge," showing how York and North Yorkshire can lead the way in making our existing buildings fit for the future. For Selby residents, this could mean:
Warmer Homes, Lower Bills: Your home could be much cosier and cheaper to heat. The presentations emphasised that enhancing our buildings not only provides environmental benefits but also creates comfortable living spaces.
Local Jobs: This work creates new job opportunities right here in Selby for people skilled in installing new heating systems, insulation, and other green technologies.
For More Information: To learn more about the retrofit strategy or get involved, you can generally contact the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority via their general enquiries email: enquiries@yorknorthyorks-ca.gov.uk. You can also look into the York Retrofit Network for local opportunities and connections.
Deputy Mayor Jo Coles also spoke on sustainability efforts within emergency services, including Fire and Police service buildings and vehicles.
3. Smarter Food and Farming: The conference highlighted how our local farms can play a big role in reducing carbon. George Richmond, Grow Yorkshire Partnership Officer, spoke about practices such as low-carbon and regenerative farming. The panel discussion explored "opportunities and challenges of transitioning to a low carbon food and farming sector," with insights from experts from FERA, Fix our Food, 3Keel and AHDB/farmer. This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fertilisers and livestock, focusing on soil health, and sequestering carbon. For Selby, a town with strong farming roots, this means:
Supporting Local Farmers: Helping our farmers adopt new ways of growing food that are better for the environment, like improving soil health, which can also make their businesses more resilient.
Sustainable Food: Ultimately, these changes lead to a more sustainable food supply for our tables.
For More Information on Soil Health for Farmers:
Yorkshire Agricultural Society's Farmer Scientist Network: This network aims to bring science and farming together, developing research and educational programs. They offer various projects and even "Soil Doctor" sessions for soil health checks. You can find more at their website: Farmer Scientist Network - Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
Ousewem Project (Natural England): This project works with farmers and landowners across the Swale, Ure, Nidd and Ouse (SUNO) catchments, including the River Ouse, using nature-based solutions to benefit agriculture and wildlife while reducing flood risk.
4. Funding Green Projects (Green Finance): James Farrar, Chief Executive of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, and Michael Leah, Assistant Director Environment and Transport Services at North Yorkshire Council, discussed how "green finance" is about getting private money to help fund environmental projects. The region wants to be a leader in attracting investment in our natural areas, which they call "natural capital." The discussion highlighted that while public sector funding is crucial for convening and providing confidence, there isn’t enough money from Government and Councils, and private sector investment is essential for scale and delivery. A panel discussion explored "how private investment can be the key to accelerating the region's net zero delivery." This could include programs like the "Local Investment in Natural Capital (LINC)" program, aiming to make the region "the most attractive region in the UK for natural capital investment." For Selby, this could mean:
Funding for Local Projects: Investment could come into the Selby area for projects that protect and enhance our local environment, like improving riverbanks to prevent flooding or creating new green spaces.
Community Investment: There's even talk of "community climate bonds," which would allow local people to invest their own money into projects that benefit their community directly, like funding solar panels on public buildings. Imagine telling your neighbour you helped fund something like that in Selby!
5. Dealing with Extreme Weather (Mitigation and Adaptation): Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Julia King, Chair of the Adaptation Committee of the Climate Change Committee, gave a powerful keynote speech which emphasised both "mitigation" (reducing carbon emissions to slow down climate change) and "adaptation" (preparing for the climate changes that are already happening). She highlighted how extreme weather events, like very hot summers, droughts, and heavy rainfall leading to flooding, are becoming more common, citing examples like the River Ouse being overwhelmed.
She spoke about "Impacts and Risks for the UK," including threats to food supply, water supply, and the natural environment, as well as the need to "plan for climate change." Her message underscored that addressing climate change is about making towns and cities better, healthier, and more pleasant places to live. For the Selby area, this is especially important because of our history with flooding. This means:
Better Flood Protection: More investment in flood defenses and natural ways to manage water runoff will help protect homes and businesses in Selby from future floods.
Safer Communities: Preparing for these changes means Selby will be a safer and more resilient place to live, even as the climate shifts.
Why Selby's Voice Matters
Attending this conference as Project Lead for Our Zero Selby was vital. Our town, with its agricultural heritage and susceptibility to climate impacts like flooding, stands to gain significantly from these initiatives. By being present, Our Zero Selby can advocate for local needs, connect with regional leaders and experts, and bring back valuable insights to help our community actively participate in and benefit from the transition to a carbon-negative future.
The conference clearly showed that achieving carbon negativity isn't just about environmental targets; it's about creating jobs, fostering innovation, strengthening the economy, and building a fair, inclusive, and prosperous future. It's about delivering benefits to communities and businesses now, through solutions like community energy and sustainable farming, not just for in the future. Our Zero Selby is committed to translating these regional ambitions into tangible, positive changes for Selby residents.