Ambitious Plans for A Greener Future in South Yorkshire

Plans for a new sustainability centre the latest in a line of initiatives in the region aiming to create “a brighter and greener future for everyone” in South Yorkshire

Published

March 22, 2022

Oscar Pusey

Research Analyst

Business & Policy

LGA Survey Reveals trust in local authorities on climate change

In the lead up to COP26, the local government authority (LGA) conducted a survey as part of their “Residents satisfaction polling” and found that councils were most trusted to take action on climate change and make a difference in local areas on reducing carbon emissions.[i] Globally, 2,082 different public authorities, home to over a billion people in 38 countries, have declared a climate emergency. In the UK, 82% of the 409 local authorities have made public declarations, covering nearly 90% of the population.[ii] This declaration, however, needs to be followed by action. In 2020, the LGA found only 29% of councils had an agreed upon an up to date strategy on climate change.[iii] In the two years since this survey, the COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably altered priorities for local authorities and affected their ability to function, the most recent COVID-19 workforce survey (14/01/2022) found that 53% of councils were not “operating normally”.[iv] This provides a huge challenge and opportunity for local authorities to act on net zero ambitions. In the first of a series looking at local authority responses to climate change, we look at the net zero plans for South Yorkshire Combined Authority and how they are using the strengths of the region to back up their ambitious net zero by 2040 target with action.

South Yorkshire mayor announces new sustainability centre

On the 9^th of March the mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, announced the latest initiative in an ambitious strategy that aims to see the region reach net zero by 2040, 10 years ahead of national targets.[v]^,^[vi]A new sustainability centre brings together researchers, businesses and organisations from across the region and is intended to assist the national effort towards net zero with projects including the optimisation and decarbonisation of transport routes, retrofitting housing stock and decarbonising the agri-food sector and heavy industry.[vii] Having recently received £5 million from Research England, the centre will utilise the expertise of academics from UK universities in pursuit of a collaborative approach that the president of Sheffield university says will be “flexible to the region’s ever-changing environmental landscape”.[viii]

In announcing the new centre Dan Jarvis said:

“South Yorkshire is the heartland of innovation and we are harnessing these credentials to tackle the biggest challenge facing our generation: the climate emergency and the need to drastically reduce carbon emissions. I’ve made it my mission to create a stronger, greener, fairer South Yorkshire economy and our investment in the Sustainability Centre will catalyse our region’s plan to reach net zero emissions by 2040, unlock good green jobs and grow and attract new businesses and investment.”[ix]

Striving for net zero by 2040

At the heart of South Yorkshire’s net zero strategy is a sense of community, they have made it clear that environmental action is not “just about speaking to the leaders in charge” and have encouraged conversation among colleagues, neighbours and friends to drive change at a local level.[x] But it’s not just this that earned South Yorkshire’s largest city, Sheffield, the title of the UK’s most sustainable city (as per a recent University of Southampton study), regional level strategy and initiatives tackle energy and travel challenges.[xi]

Good for the climate and good for the region

South Yorkshire’s net zero strategy has a key role in the region’s Renewal Action Plan. The Renewal Action Plan is the plan for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and is designed to create a “stronger, greener & fairer” South Yorkshire.[xiii] The plan cites a cabinet office report that suggests excess delays, accidents, poor air quality, physical inactivity, greenhouse gas emissions and some of the impacts of noise resulting from motorised road transport costs English urban areas £38-£49 billion a year, encouraging active travel choices like walking and cycling could save the NHS £17 Billion over a 20 year period.[xiv] £53 million is needed for an 18-month trial of low-traffic neighbourhoods across the City Region, as well as to speed up the Active Travel Infrastructure Program to increase active travel rates.

The cost per participant is estimated to be £490.[xv] As part of the “greener” aspect of the Renewal Action Plan, there are also ambitions to create 3,500 jobs and training opportunities in the low carbon sector.[xvi]

South Yorkshire’s energy strategy policy goals by 2040 are summarised below. The strategy is estimated to require £1.7 billion per year to achieve but is projected to increase gross value added by as much as £2.8 billion which justifies and rewards South Yorkshire’s ambitious targets.[xvii]

Where South Yorkshire leads may others follow?

South Yorkshire’s vision for net zero has a broad reach but strongly aligns with the values of the region. Sheffield and the other major centres in the region, like Doncaster and Rotherham, have long traditions of innovation and industrial leadership. The region also has a strong legacy of publicly accessible green spaces and a population that has a constrained desire for better public transport and cycling provision. The strategy plays to these strengths, both through the strong collaboration with the local research university and corporate research centres and supporting the growth of low carbon innovation within the economy the region, and the development of better, more integrated and more inclusive low carbon transport infrastructure. This combination of industrial innovation and citizen engagement is a model that has proved highly successful in the past. At the scale of the South Yorkshire Combined Authority it has the opportunity to create a beacon of best practice for councils across the world.