05 February 2025
Commission team talks climate action with MPs and Peers

Parliamentarians demonstrated an appetite for regional climate action at an event in London attended by Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission.
Core team members Kate Lock, Andrew Wood, Muriel Bonjean Stanton and Amelia Duncan travelled to Westminster on 21 January to present findings and recommendations from the Commission’s work for Evidence Week, organised by Sense About Science, with the support of Policy Leeds.
The team shared research demonstrating how place-based interventions and schemes can help deliver regional (and ultimately national) climate targets and consolidate and co-ordinate climate adaptation planning for local authorities.
As well as a policy brief (Regional Climate Actions That Make a Real Difference), the team shared the Commission’s two flagship publications, Our Carbon Story, which sets out a pathway for the region to achieve net zero emissions by 2038, and the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Action Plan.
The team spoke with 12 Members of Parliament and their representatives, as well as three Peers (Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Baroness Freeman of Steventon, and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle), two Whitehall staff members (Andy Russell, thematic lead for climate and environment, and Lords Librarian Patrick Vollmer) and two media professionals (Ulrika Bjorksten, Swedish science writer/producer and trustee of Sense About Science, and Nick Ross, journalist and TV presenter, best known for Crimewatch.)
Eight of the MPs the team met with were from the Yorkshire & Humber region: Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes), Richard Burgon (Leeds East), Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield), Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme), Kate Dearden (Halifax), and Rachael Maskell (York Central) and representatives for Kim Leadbeater (Spen Valley) and Sarah Champion (Rotherham).
The other four MPs and their representatives were Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen), Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall), Tom Collins (Worcester) and Tim Brewer (for Alistair Strathern, Hitchin).
Kate Lock, Policy and Communications Manager for Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission, said: “It was an intense morning, meeting so many MPs and talking about our work, but a fruitful one. MPs wanted to know what the Commission does – and, crucially, how they can support our work – and we came away with lots of leads and actions to follow up on.
“Evidence Week has been a fantastic opportunity to commence our regional, national, and international advocacy. The research we presented informs our Climate Action Plan for Yorkshire and the Humber, and we think the Commission, and the Action Plan, are models that other regions can use.
“Our message to government is that we can help the UK to become a climate leader, and the interest we had in our work – from MPs from outside the region too – shows the potential for us to increase momentum on national climate action.”
The policy brief forms part of Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission’s wider campaign, highlighting how decarbonisation and adaptation challenges urgently require mission-driven action. The brief is complemented by a short video summary of the briefing with policy recommendations.