York council chiefs to reaffirm city's pledge to net-zero

Cllr Kate Ravilious and Cllr Jenny Kent, joint executive members for environment on the Labour-run City of York Council administration, are expected to sign a ‘climate action pledge’ launched by the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission (YHCC).

This will “demonstrate leadership in tackling the climate and nature emergency and reaffirm the council’s commitment for York to be carbon neutral,” according to council papers.

There is no cost commitment or savings associated with becoming a signatory to the pledge, so the council’s overspending and inevitable cuts will not affect the decision.

The council is forecasted to overspend by £11.4 million if action isn’t taken.

But Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Cllr Paula Widdowson thinks other environmental measures may have damaging effects.

This includes a potential charge for domestic garden waste collections, which officers said could raise between £720,000 and £1.5 million a year.

“If they try to introduce a garden waste tax, what are people going to do?” said Cllr Widdowson.

Cllr Paula Widdowson

“Put it in the wrong bin, set fire to it?

“There’s an impact on the cost-of-living and there’s an impact on the environment.”

But co-executive member for environment Cllr Katie Ravilious: “To be honest, we don’t know the answer yet, so we’ve asked the officers to go look at other councils who are already charging for green waste and look at the effects that they have noticed.

“For example, does it generate more car trips to the tip?

“Does it generate more people burning waste?

“We need answers to understand the likely impact and then when we know that, that will come up very high in our decision making.

“It’s not just about the money, it’s about what the impact will be.”

READ MORE:

• York council set to charge for garden waste collections
• Councillor Katie Lomas says York council must cut services
• Net zero energy plan in York will require £4 billion of investment

Cllr Jenny Kent, who shares the environment brief, said: “I understand that the Lib Dems may want to make political points out of this but the climate isn’t a political football.”

She added: “We’ve got to make spending decisions but the environment is not one of them.”

Denise Craghill, York Green Party’s spokesperson on climate action, said: “We need urgent action to change course, and York needs to play its part.

“The City of York Council has reviewed the emissions from the city and set out clear policy goals and targets for carbon reductions.

“The council budget has been desperately difficult for many years due to government funding failures and it is crucial that the council supports our most vulnerable residents as much as possible.

“What we need to see now is creative thinking to make the most of the wealth that does exist in York and actions that benefit residents directly as well as reducing carbon emissions.

“These include improving home insulation, shifting towards active travel and better public transport, and decarbonising our heating.

“Every day we delay taking action, the problem gets bigger and the eventual costs go up.

“This new administration must protect and continue the good progress that has been made so far on these issues.”