To be moved by Councillor Martin Love

Seconded by Councillor Kevin Warnes

Council welcomes: 

(1)       the declaration of a Climate Emergency made by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) on 27 June 2019;

(2)       the Climate Emergency declarations made by councils in the WYCA region since Bradford led the way in January 2019.

Council notes that:

(1)       air travel (passengers and freight) was responsible for over 900 million tonnes of CO2 pollution in 2018;

(2)       aviation-related greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have more than doubled since 1990, according to the Climate Change Committee;

(3)       the International Council on Clean Transportation estimates that CO2 emissions from aviation will triple by 2050;

(4)       on current trends, aviation-related greenhouse gas emissions will contribute up to 15% of global warming from all human activities within 50 years;

(5)       the Climate Change Committee recommended in September that the UK should plan for “net-zero emissions by 2050” for aviation, and stated that this “means reducing actual emissions” in the aviation sector;

(6)       WYCA is planning to invest in transport links to Leeds Bradford Airport in order to facilitate its continued expansion, despite the fact that 70% of flights are taken by just 15% of the population and most people do not fly at all in the typical year;

(7)       WYCA’s growth-driven strategy is socially-exclusive, environmentally unsustainable and therefore incompatible with its own Climate Emergency declaration and those from councils across the region.

Council therefore calls on WYCA to:

(1)       withdraw funding support for transport links to Leeds Bradford Airport, including for highways projects designed in part to facilitate additional road traffic to and from the airport - such as the South East Bradford Link Road through the Tong valley;

(2)       reinvest those funds in sustainable forms of travel across West Yorkshire that will benefit all the people living in our communities;

(3)       apply the principles of their Declaration of a Climate Emergency in all the decisions they make.

A motion was moved by Councillor Love.

An amendment moved by Councillor Hinchcliffe, as set out in the resolution below, was carried.

Resolved –

Council welcomes: 

1.            the declaration of a Climate Emergency made by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) on 27 June 2019;

2.            the Climate Emergency declarations made by councils in the WYCA region since Bradford led the way in January 2019.

3.            The WYCA Clean Growth Action Plan which includes measures the authority is taking across its own operations and making sure we have information about the impact on climate change when the authority makes decisions.

WYCA has a range of projects that will contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gases. A few highlights are below:

·         By 2020, the Combined Authority, through the CityConnect programme, will have invested £60 million in cycling and walking schemes across West Yorkshire and York since 2015.

·         An estimated £69 million from the Local Growth Fund will be spent on walking and cycling improvements.

·         The Energy Accelerator programme, which provides project development support for low carbon projects, is currently supporting 13 projects and should all projects be implemented they are estimated to annually save over 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq^[1]).

·         250 businesses in the City Region to date have been supported so far through the Resource Efficiency Fund. This programme is estimated to save annually 2000 tonnes of carbon.

Council notes that:

1.            air travel (passengers and freight) was responsible for over 900 million tonnes of CO2 pollution in 2018 and makes up 2% of worldwide emissions

2.            aviation-related greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have more than doubled since 1990, according to the Climate Change Committee, making up 4% of worldwide aviation CO2 emissions

3.            the International Council on Clean Transportation estimates that CO2 emissions from aviation will triple by 2050 as aviation growth currently outpaces their rate of carbon efficiency gains;

4.            on current trends, aviation-related greenhouse gas emissions will contribute up to 15% of global warming from all human activities within 50 years as other sectors decarbonise;

5.            Bradford Council cannot draft national aviation strategy on its own.  It is absolutely essential for the Government to produce an Aviation Strategy as soon as possible to make sure carbon emissions from aircraft are substantially reduced.

6.            WYCA is planning to invest in transport links to Leeds Bradford Airport in order to facilitate its continued expansion, including significant employment land development to help create thousands of jobs, many of which will be taken by people living in Bradford who will need better transport links to this employment site.

7.            Through the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund WYCA is also investing in new infrastructure which helps to ease congestion and improve air quality, increase public transport reliability and give people more options for walking and cycling.   And through the Connecting Leeds programme there are plans to build a new rail station to serve Leeds Bradford Airport so that people can travel there by public transport.

Council therefore

1.            Expects WYCA to apply the principles of their Declaration of a Climate Emergency in all the decisions they make.

2.            Welcomes the commitment from WYCA to introduce carbon emission assessments of all major infrastructure projects.

3.            Will lobby government for a devolution deal that will unlock additional funding for sustainable transport projects such as a regional mass transit scheme to encourage modal shift

4.            Calls on Government to accelerate the production of the national Aviation Strategy which according to the Committee on Climate Change should also include the need for Greenhouse Gas Removals.

ACTION:       WYCA