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Climate Commission shows moving to net-zero emissions can help Leeds’ post-Covid recovery

7th January, 2021 - 19:00

Taking action on climate change could save Leeds £651m per year and create 1,500 jobs for the next decade, a new report has revealed. 

These social and economic benefits could be a central part of the city’s post-Covid recovery plans says the Leeds Climate Commission, which has produced a Net-Zero Carbon Roadmap for Leeds. It shows how the city can achieve its ambition of net-zero emissions by 2030 with many positive benefits for health, equality, travel, housing and the environment.

Climate Action Readiness Assessment to inform new directions for Leeds Commission

17th November, 2020 - 17:42

A Climate Action Readiness Assessment devised by PCAN researchers for Leeds Climate Commission has identified opportunities for unlocking climate action at the local level. The methodology, which uses participatory stakeholder workshops to determine states of readiness, was presented at a webinar for the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2020 on Tuesday 10 November.

Leeds’ Clean Air Zone has achieved its aims early and is no longer required, joint review finds

13th October, 2020 - 16:36

Leeds’ planned Clean Air Zone is no longer required because of businesses switching to cleaner vehicles faster than expected, a joint review by Leeds City Council and central government has concluded.
Senior councillors will discuss the conclusions and proposals to voluntarily introduce new air quality targets that go further than the national standards at a meeting of the council’s Executive Board next week.

Citizens urged to collect tree seeds for Leeds woodland

29th September, 2020 - 17:40

Leeds City Council is encouraging people within their household groups or support bubbles to collect tree seeds in their local parks and green spaces to help support the growing of future woodlands across Leeds.

Running until November, residents can collect acorns, beech nuts, chestnuts and conkers, and leave them in seed collection boxes across the city for use as part of the council's Woodland Creation initiative.

Yorkshire-wide approach to carbon reduction needed

17th September, 2020 - 16:38

Carbon emissions from Yorkshire and Humber have fallen by well over a third and are projected to halve by 2050, a new report from the Place-Based Climate Action Network (PCAN) reveals. 
 
A summary carbon roadmap report for Yorkshire and the Humber, published today, shows that despite the reductions – brought about largely by national decarbonisation of electricity – the region still has much to do to stay within its share of the global carbon budget and reduce dangerous climate change. 
 

Leeds groups win 2.5m for climate emergency action

18th August, 2020 - 17:01

A partnership of local organisations in Leeds has been successful in a £2.5m award from The National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund. The partnership includes Our Future Leeds, Voluntary Action Leeds, Together for Peace and Leeds Tidal, and is supported by a host of other Leeds community organisations. It has a goal of creating a ‘zero carbon, socially-just and liveable city by 2030’, and the funding will go towards supercharging climate and social justice action across the city.

Leeds team pioneers readiness assessment for local climate action

30th July, 2020 - 19:18

So your area has declared a climate emergency – what next? Broad declarations should become specific targets that need to be supported by action plans, but the readiness of places to deliver them is rarely clear-cut.

This has been the challenge faced by Leeds Climate Commission, which has pioneered a methodology to address levels of readiness across sectors.

COP26 Fellowship for Leeds researcher

29th July, 2020 - 17:23

A researcher from the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds has been awarded a Fellowship to engage with the international climate negotiations in the run up to the 26th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26).

Harriet Thew, a postgraduate researcher and graduate teaching associate in the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds, is one of four UK researchers to receive the Fellowship.

25-year green initiative to create woodlands across Leeds launched

3rd July, 2020 - 17:26

A large-scale new tree planting initiative, which forms part of Leeds’ ambitious programme to make the city carbon neutral by 2030, has been launched today with the first potential sites identified. The first saplings will be planted this winter, with the woodland creation programme set to see 5.8 million trees planted across the city in the next 25 years. To demonstrate the type of woodlands that will be planted in the future, one planted two years ago on King Alfred’s Field was visited earlier today by Councillor Lisa Mulherin and Councillor Mohammed Rafique.