In mid-2023 the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission appointed independent academics to complete a technical assessment of Yorkshire and the Humber’s carbon reduction pathways, identifying how to achieve net zero by 2038.
Their report, 'A Carbon Reduction Assessment for Yorkshire and the Humber', underpins analysis on the region's emissions in the Commission's publication, Our Carbon Story (published 1 August 2024).
The 'technical assessment' - as it is referred to throughout Our Carbon Story - is based on the methodology previously developed for A Net Zero Carbon Roadmap for Leeds and a series of ‘Mini Stern Reviews’ conducted for other places around the UK led by Professor Andy Gouldson of the University of Leeds. The research models a suite of hundreds of potential interventions, both for their carbon effectiveness and their cost effectiveness, and examines how combinations of these measures can contribute to meeting decarbonisation targets.
It aims to provide an objective basis for comparing different measures to inform policy analysis, decision-making, and communications and engagement.
In addition to previous, similar studies, the technical assessment includes modelling of land-use interventions, such as conversion of some livestock farmland to forestry, and provides analysis of the co-benefits of decarbonisation measures, for example the health benefits of increased physical activity and better air quality arising from non-motorised transport.
A Carbon Reduction Assessment for Yorkshire and the Humber acknowledges that it has only considered the technical and economic aspects of the measures it has modelled and not, for example, any political or ethical obstacles.
The assessment is based on analysis of the region’s territorial emissions, meaning those produced within Yorkshire and the Humber's borders. This is because the UK’s target of net zero by 2050 is based on territorial emissions and the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero publishes progress biannually.
Exclusions from this data are aviation and shipping, imported goods and services, and biomass. In Our Carbon Story we address this gap by drawing on other research from the University of Leeds that uses consumption-based data.
Download A Carbon Reduction Assessment for Yorkshire and the Humber below.
You can also download the full methodology for assessment, as well as the co-benefits methodology, as separate files.
Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash
