Climate Change is one of the most important challenges facing the region and addressing it will be a major theme of the new Integrated Regional Strategy (IRS). The research was commissioned by Yorkshire Futures with funding from Yorkshire Forward to help inform regional policy, strategy development and priority setting and was produced by SQW Energy.

The Top Ten Interventions identified were:

• Standard insulation (in residential buildings)
• Lifestyle change (of households) e.g. reducing room temperature by 1 degree C which will not impact on lifestyle but will bring financial and carbon gains
• Efficient heating (in residential buildings)
• Efficient lights and appliances (in residential buildings)
• Double rail passenger kilometres (shift from car)
• Smarter travel choices (reducing road traffic)
• Building energy efficiency and management (non-residential)
• Energy and resource efficiency in industry
• Biomass heating
• Onshore wind

All of the top ten interventions could be put in place by 2020 and most of them can be deployed now. However, some interventions would require a certain development time in terms of technology, planning and finance in order to be deployable en masse across the region. These are:

• Doubling rail passenger kilometres (which requires a campaign and infrastructure upgrades)
• Biomass heating (which requires fuel supply to be secured and boiler supply/installation to mature in UK)

Bea Jefferson, Programme Manager at Yorkshire Futures, commented, “All the Top Ten interventions are cost effective over their life time, recovering the full investment and operation cost and, in many cases, generating net financial gains either through reduced energy bills or from energy supply revenue. We can make a major difference to the region’s carbon emissions with some relatively cheap and simple actions such as improving insulation in homes, installing efficient heating and appliances, and turning down thermostats by 1 degree C. Alongside these, we need to invest for the future in improved public transport and energy production from renewables such as biomass and wind.”

Talking about the research, Les Newby, Assistant Director of Integrated Strategy at Yorkshire Forward, said “Yorkshire Forward is committed to cutting carbon emissions. Doing so can help people cut their fuel bills and offer new market opportunities for business. This report will be valuable in guiding how we invest to help the region become a world leader in the low carbon economy of the future.”

The ‘Top Ten Interventions to Cut Regional Carbon Emissions’ report and its summary are available to download below:

• Top Ten Interventions to Cut Regional Carbon Emissions Report

• Top Ten Interventions to Cut Regional Carbon Emissions Summary