City of York Council: Climate Change Action Update 

City of York Council declared a climate emergency in March 2019. Since then, the council has been delivering a range of activity to reduce carbon emissions and make sure the city is resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The York Climate Change Strategy: A City Fit for the Future (October 2022) will set the framework, objectives, pathways, targets/benchmarks and overall approach  for achieving our ambition for York to be net zero carbon and a climate resilient city by 2030. 

This Climate Action Update demonstrates the progress already made, the actions that are being taken and will evolve to include more actions and more citywide involvement to deliver our ambition.   

The actions identified cover the eight priority themes of the draft Climate Change Strategy and will form the basis for the developing Action Plan, which will sit alongside the Climate Change Strategy to deliver on its goals and targets. 

Where the level of investment is known, this has been included. Sources of investment vary and include the council budget, external grant funding and private sector finance and background reports are included to provide more information. 

In total, almost £345m of investment has been committed to deliver actions that are responding to the climate emergency, although more funding will be required.

Quantifying the impacts of actions can be challenging. Where we have been able to quantify impact, this is provided in the table of actions so far. In total, the actions listed are reducing annual carbon emissions by 24,099t/yr – although this figure is anticipated to be much higher.

The actions detailed here are led by the City of York Council; however, delivering the objectives in the draft Climate Change Strategy will require citywide action.  The developing Action Plan will expanded to include partner and citywide actions. We know many organisations and individuals are taking positive action to tackle climate change.  These will be captured in future versions of the developing Action Plan. 

We envisage that the developing Action Plan will be a live document that will change over time in response to the reporting and feedback mechanisms and progress against our ambitions and targets. This is not a definitive list of actions to deliver our ambition, but lists the work already underway to reduce emissions and build climate resilience across York.

The developing Action Plan will be also be considered by scrutiny and part of the forthcoming consultation process on the strategy that it sits alongside. We envisage that by producing, reviewing, updating and publishing the subsequent Action Plan annually, we will demonstrate transparency and accountability in tackling the climate emergency. 

For more information: www.york.gov.uk/ClimateChange

City of York Council Climate Change Action Update

Theme 1: Governance

Action	Description	Investment (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e/yr)
Climate Change Strategy	A City of York Climate Change Strategy that sets the vision and outline for a net-zero carbon and climate resilient city by 2030; providing a clear route map of the changes required	0.03	In progress	Oct-22	NA
Climate Change Action Plan	Live Climate Change Action Plan that includes required/actual level of investment and delivery dates	NA	In Progress	Oct-22	NA
Corporate Emissions Reporting	Annual report on the council's corporate emissions and recommended actions for decarbonisation. Published on the York Open Data Platform https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=870&MID=12719	NA	Ongoing (last published September 2021)	Annual (September)	NA
Citywide Emissions Reporting	Annual citywide emissions inventory. Used for stakeholder engagement, partnership working and reporting to the Carbon Disclosure Project and Global Covenant of Mayors	NA	Ongoing	Annual (September)	NA
Finance & Investment	Identify new financing and investment mechanisms for delivering on our climate change ambition; including, lobbying central government, accessing grant funding, exploring green bonds, and attracting inward private investment.	NA	Ongoing	Ongoing	NA
Decision Making Framework	Exploring incorporating Carbon Emissions as part of the decision making framework and screening process for council projects and policies	NA	Feasibility	Dec-22	NA

Theme 2: Buildings

Action	Description	Investment  (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e/yr)
Energy Audits & decarbonisation plans for council buildings	Complete energy audits for our highest emitting corporate buildings, providing a comprehensive plan of reducing carbon emissions associated with heat and power consumption. Plans will provide a technical options appraisal of suitable low carbon technologies, providing a comparison of quantified energy savings, carbon savings, annual cost savings, capital costs and maintenance costs https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=65919&PlanId=0&Opt=3#AI61499	0.05	In progress	Sep-22	TBC
Energy Audits & decarbonisation plans for non-council buildings	Expanding decarbonisation plans to non-corporate assets and supporting city institutions to produce their own decarbonisation plans	0.1	Feasibility	June-23	TBC
Deliver emission reduction projects to council estate	Subject to funding from Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, deliver capital projects identified in the plans at our corporate sites to deliver energy, carbon and cost savings https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme	TBC	Concept	May-23	TBC
Building Retrofit Strategy	Produce a strategy that sets out our approach to domestic retrofit across the city https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=66244&PlanId=0&Opt=3#AI61666	NA	In progress	Nov-22	NA
Council Housing Energy Retrofit Programme	Improve the energy efficiency of council housing stock. Utilising Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget to deliver energy saving measures within our council housing stock and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund for focusing on the worst performing council archetypes.  https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=932&MID=13137#AI59780	2.63	In progress	Mar-26	TBC
Owner occupier retrofit support	Accessing Local Authority Delivery Scheme funding to provide insulation for low income households through our Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=932&MID=13137#AI59779	5	In progress	Mar-26	TBC
Improve energy efficiency in PRS	Support and enforcement of minimum energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector	0.06	In progress	Mar-26	TBC
Housing Delivery Programme	Deliver 600 new homes across the city on council-owned land to Passivhaus standards in accordance with the council Design Manual https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MID=12801#AI61970	157	In progress	TBC	1,000
Reduce emissions of new buildings	Providing climate change advice and sign-off of planning conditions. Issuing guidance to developers on sustainability measures in a conservation context	NA	Ongoing	Ongoing	TBC
Sustainability & Climate Change SPD	Produce a Supplementary Planning Guide to raise overall sustainability standards of new developments across the city https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s137313/Sustainable%20Development%20Local%20Plan%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf	0.05	In progress	Nov-22	NA
Heat Mapping & Network Zoning	Identification of opportunities for decarbonised heating solutions across the city, using the proposed heat network zoning policy as a potential tool for delivery	TBC	Concept	TBC	TBC
Guildhall Refurbishment	Low carbon measures including water source heat-pump and triple-glazing as part of wider renovation work https://www.york.gov.uk/news/article/904/guildhall-restoration-unlocks-carbon-savings	0.38	Completed	Mar-22	40

Theme 3: Transport

Action	Description	Investment (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e/yr)
Updating the Local Transport Plan	Update the Local Transport Plan, which will be required to deliver carbon savings from transport and will set targets for reductions through behaviour change, modal shift, investing in sustainable transport.	NA	Feasibility	Oct-22	NA
Active Travel Programme	Various infrastructure and access improvements to increase pedestrian and cycling provision across the city https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=738&MID=12729#AI59844 https://modgov.york.gov.uk/documents/s155539/Capital%20Programme%20M2%20Report%20Annex%203.pdf  https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s156487/EMDS Report - Active Travel Programme Project Scopes.pdf	3.30	Feasibility	Dec-23	TBC
Decarbonise Public Transport	Various actions delivering improvements to the city's bus network through an enhanced partnership with providers and increased fleet electrification https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=12511 https://www.york.gov.uk/news/article/965/-8-4-millon-secured-for-more-electric-buses-in-york	36	Feasibility	TBC	2,300
Business Travel Plans	Support businesses to develop travel plans that promote active and zero carbon transport solutions	TBC	In progress	Ongoing	TBC
Decarbonise council fleet	Four year fleet electrification programme for all our vehicles under 3.5t and replacement of HGVs to Euro 6 standard engines https://modgov.york.gov.uk/documents/s139554/Fleet%20Report%20Post%20CMTPH%20pl%20amends%20v2.pdf	10.8	In progress	Dec-25	TBC
Trial e-mobility solutions	Working with the Department for Transport and Tier, trial the introduction of e-scooter and e-bikes in the city https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=738&MID=12734#AI61258	TBC	In progress	Nov-22	6
Increase access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure	Deliver the rollout of new charging points across York to provide 184 Fast charging spaces and 7 Rapid chargers. Create new EV hyperhubs at Park & Ride locations across the city (first sites are Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar) https://www.york.gov.uk/EVChargingStrategy	2	In progress	Dec-22	166
Trial low-carbon last mile logistics	Feasibility study and subsequent pilot scheme to reduce emissions relating to deliveries travelling in to and out of York	0.3	In progress	Sep-23	TBC
York Car Club	Work with Enterprise to decarbonise and expand the city’s car club https://www.itravelyork.info/car-sharing/why-use-a-car-club/	TBC	Ongoing	Ongoing	TBC
Improve monitoring and understanding of transport related emissions	Smart Travel Evolution Programme (STEP) monitoring and analysing real-time journey information to improve transport planning and traffic management in the city. STEP is improving the connectivity and data collection of York’s transport technology assets in order to future-proof how the City deals with changing levels of demand https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=738&MID=12726#AI59161	2.85	In progress	Ongoing	TBC
York Outer Ring Road	Produce a Carbon Impact Assessment for York Outer Ring Road expansion. Identify mitigation measures during the construction phase and maximising the sustainable transport opportunities during design and delivery https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MID=12795#AI59 842	£1.2	Feasibility	Dec-25	TBC

Theme 4: Waste

Action	Description	Investment (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e/yr)
Decarbonise refuse vehicles	Acquisition of 2 fully electric refuse vehicles	0.88	Completed	Dec-20	TBC
Support growth in the circular economy	Develop a circular economy roadmap for the city, which maps material flows to identify opportunities for circularity and co-location. Bring stakeholders together and create the conditions for a circular economy to flourish	TBC	In progress	Jun-23	TBC
Various waste reduction, reuse and recycling initiatives	Reuse of household goods; Removal of organic waste from household waste collection; Trial collection of bikes from HWRCs in New Earswick for refurbishment and reuse; Recycle old bin stock.	TBC	In progress	TBC	TBC
Corporate waste audits	Understand the causes and quantities of waste generated by corporate activity. Develop and deliver actions to reduce waste and increase recycling	NA	Concept	Jan-23	TBC
Pilot recycled road surfaces	Trial a new lower carbon solution of ‘crumb’ recycled rubber tyres for resurfacing roads in Wheldrake.	TBC	Completed	Oct-21	TBC

Theme 5: Commercial & Industrial

Action	Description	Investment (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e/yr)
Support business decarbonisation	Promote ReBIZ: a resource efficient business support programme for SMEs, offering a free energy audits and potential grant funding https://www.the-lep.com/business-support/sustainability/resource-efficiency/	TBC	In progress	Jan-21	TBC
Skills & Training	Increase green jobs and green skills across the city and region; providing new employment, training and increasing capacity in the supply chain https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=735&MID=12757#AI60003	TBC	Feasibility	Ongoing	NA

Theme 6: Natural Environment

Action	Description	Investment (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e/yr)
York Community Woodland	New 78 hectare community woodland providing outdoor leisure opportunities, areas for physical activity, walking and cycling, new educational opportunities and biodiversity. Consisting of over 210,000 trees and sequestering 29,000 tonnes of carbon over its lifetime https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=870&MID=12717#AI59721	2.8	In progress	Dec-23	580
Tree Canopy Expansion	Set an ambition for increasing York's tree canopy cover from 10.76% to 13% by 2050, equating to around 22-27 ha per annum. This target would result in an annual carbon sequestration rate at 2050 of circa 9,000tCO2 per year	NA	Completed	Mar-21	NA
Urban Tree Planting	Opportunity mapping to assess urban and rural areas of the city which could be converted to small-scale woodland or are available for tree planting https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=870&MID=12542#AI58772	0.03	In progress	Jun-22	TBC
Tree giveaway	Free tree giveaway to 500 households across the city	NA	Completed	Feb-22	TBC
Castle Mills	Riverside Park and new pedestrian riverside bridge, increasing biodiversity and active travel	4.00	Feasibility	TBC	TBC
Flood Alleviation	Upgrade and renewal of the cities flood defences to better protect more than 2000 homes and businesses	110.00	In Progress	Dec-23	NA
Flood Risk Resilience	Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme - incentivise the uptake of natural flood risk management measures across the River Swale, Ure and Nidd catchments	5.00	In Progress	Mar-27	TBC
Pollinator Strategy	Conserving the UK’s pollinators by ensuring the council will consider the needs of pollinators in the delivery of its duties and work https://democracy.york.gov.uk/%28S%28er5fig3cbkjmjx55ekdxrgfc%29%29/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?Id=6114	NA	Completed	Mar-21	NA
Biodiversity Net Gain	Carry out a mapping exercise to assess which areas of the city could be designated, protected and enhanced as green space for biodiversity net gain.	TBC	Concept	Nov-23	NA
Green & Blue Infrastructure Strategy	Assess the carbon sequestration potential of current council land and identify opportunities to increase sequestration, looking into different natural carbon capture options	TBC	Concept	Dec-23	NA
Insetting/ Offsetting Strategy	A further piece of work on local off-setting (in-setting) to determine its role in our overall strategy with respect to residual emissions and natural carbon sequestration	TBC	Concept	Mar-23	NA
Weed Control Pilot	Pilot heat treatment as an alternative weed control method to glyphosate	NA	Feasibility	Dec-23	NA

Theme 7: Energy

Action	Description	Investment (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e)
Local Area Energy Plan	A whole system approach,  integrating heat, power and transport, with local stakeholder knowledge to deliver a comprehensive, data-driven and cost-effective plan for decarbonising York's energy system https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=870&MID=12723#AI61497	0.1	In progress	Oct-22	TBC
Solar for Schools (SfS)	Supporting SfS and York Community Energy to increase solar capacity on schools across York. Carbon Reduction Team will promote the scheme, support schools to provide energy data and act as council point of contact for queries	NA	Concept	Nov-21	TBC
Increase Solar Capacity	Installation of PV at locations across the city, including Union Terrace	0.03	In progress	Dec-22	7
Green Energy Park	Opportunity assessment for future Green Energy Park in York	TBC	Feasibility	Jan-23	20,000
Renewable Energy Supply	100% of electricity purchased by the council is from renewable generation	NA	Completed	Mar-20	3,800

Theme 8: Engagement & Behaviour Change

Action	Description	Investment (£m)	Progress	Completion	Impact (tCO2e/yr)
Increase climate change communication	Provision of climate change information for residents and city partners through the council website, press releases, social media and monthly e-newsletter https://www.york.gov.uk/ClimateChange	TBC	Ongoing	Mar-21	NA
Create stakeholder networks	Manage existing stakeholder networks, developing new relationships with city partners and provide forums for the exchange of ideas	NA	Ongoing	Sep-21	NA
Engage on the Climate Change Strategy	Deliver the Climate Change Engagement plan, consisting of consultation, focus groups, round-tables, public attitude surveys, 'climate corner' and other events https://modgov.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=969&MID=13043#AI59576	TBC	Ongoing	Aug-22	NA
Sustainable Procurement	Update the council procurement policy to include consideration of carbon emissions	TBC	In progress	Nov-22	TBC
Carbon Reduction Training	Ensure all staff receive sufficient training to understand the carbon impact of their work and are confident to identify ways to reduce emissions	TBC	In progress	May-22	TBC