SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICY MAKERS PRIORITISE NET ZERO

Published 18 November 2022 at 3:30pm

South Yorkshire policy makers have pledged to put climate change at the centre of regional plans, following an international day of action to prioritise net zero.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has committed to achieving a Net Zero economy by 2040, following the declaration of a Climate and Environmental Emergency in South Yorkshire in 2019.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “The climate crisis and how we tackle it is the biggest challenge we will face in our lifetimes. Climate breakdown is a big, urgent problem which requires big, bold thinking. We are working every day to make South Yorkshire a better place to live, and if we want to improve health and air quality, to grow our economy and create great new jobs, then reaching net zero by 2040 is crucial.”

He adds: “Carbon Literacy Training offers us all the opportunity to not just understand the problem better, but learn how we can all overcome that problem together.”

The Carbon Literacy Action Day (CLAD) – the world’s largest mass training event on climate change - took place on 7th November, the date in which the international Conference of Parties (COP27) event began in Egypt.

Participants in the training, led by SYMCA’s Net Zero Project Director Richard Sulley, included transport planners, policy makers, business support advisors, and members of the mayoral marketing, communication, and engagement team across all seniority levels.

Chloe Shepherd, Senior Programme Manager in SYMCA’s Strategic Transport Team, said: “It really drove home the small amount of time we have to implement significant changes to the way we live and work if we are to prevent irreversible damage to the planet. Going forward I am keen to ensure the environmental aspect of projects, policies and programmes is given more discussion time and ultimately considered with the same weighting as economic issues, given the two are often interlinked.”

Gerry Masterson, Health, Safety, Quality and Environmental Officer (Light Rail) in SYMCA’s Tram Team, said: “The course, at times, featured some alarming and grim statistics. Going forward I will endeavour to hold contractors working on tramway projects accountable for their environmental performance by scrutinising their Environmental Policies, Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) and Emergency Procedures in relation to environmental incident response.”

Carbon Literacy Training covers topics including the role of Local Authorities, International policy & summary of the Paris Agreement, current UK policy, personal carbon footprints, opportunities in our area, transforming change using the levers of influence, an action pledge and Britain talks climate activity.

This training is just the beginning for the MCA’s actions on Carbon Literacy with more events planned for the near future.