A RADICAL new approach to making vital decisions could make York's environment the number one consideration.

City of York Council leaders are meeting to discuss a technique which will let them measure the impact of their policies on York's, and the world's, resources and climate.

It would use an ecological footprint, a study which looked at the amount of materials produced in the city during a 12-month period, and which allows councillors and officers access to information which could predict the environmental effect of decisions.

Council leader, Coun Dave Merrett said: "Too often, environmental policy is aimed at one narrow aspect of sustainability - just recycling or vehicle emissions.

"The ecological footprint approach will allow us to compare the total consumption, transportation, energy use and waste disposal impacts of different options, our actual footprint on earth.

"That should allow us to focus on how to tackle the problems in an overall manner."

York became one of the first cities in the country to develop an economic footprint following research by the Stockholm Environment Institute.

It was made as the city hosted the PlanetYork project, a year-long initiative which ended last month and aimed to make York the UK's most energy efficient city.

It follows stark warnings, published this week by the Government's Energy saving Trust, which state that one out of every 13 British homes, and 61 per cent of top grade farmland, risks being inundated by rising seas and increasing rainfalls.

The report recommends combating climate change through significant increases in energy saving, and a reduction in car use.

Dr John Barrett , of the Stockholm Environment Institute, said: "The Earth Summit in Johannesburg made clear that action must be taken now for the global environment.

"The council has a crucial role to play in this, by reducing York's ecological footprint. Our research shows that, if everyone in the world used as many resources as the average York citizen, three earths would be needed to support us all."

Officers and members will meet on Thursday.

Updated: 11:24 Friday, September 20, 2002