COP 26 should be postponed says Greta Thunberg

The Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg says she does not plan to attend the UN climate conference due to be held in Glasgow this November. She is concerned about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on attendance at COP26 and believes the summit should be postponed. Greta says the UK government, which is hosting the summit, should wait until global vaccination rates have risen.

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Government puts Leeds Bradford airport plans on hold

Plans for a new terminal at Leeds Bradford airport have been put on hold amid widespread criticism from local MPs, residents and environmental groups. The plans were given conditional approval by Leeds city council in February, but yesterday the government issued a direction preventing the council from granting planning permission without special authorisation. The block will give communities secretary Robert Jenrick time to consider whether to call in the application.

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Regional Climate Commission is launched

Richard Boothman

The Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission has been in development for some months but at an online meeting during the evening of Wednesday 17 March the Commission was formally launched and the 25 Commissioners introduced to an audience of around 400 people.

This regional body is intended to bring together public, private and third sector actors to support, guide and track the delivery of ambitious climate actions across the region.  The outputs that the Commission is striving for include:

  • Preparing a climate action plan for Yorkshire and Humber, to be submitted to COP26
  • Publish an annual report offering a progress review on the main issues, the challenge and the activities in the region to feed into local and combined authorities.
  • Prepare and publish position papers on key topics and policy briefs that enable the region to speak more clearly to Westminster on the policy changes needed for it to become a net-zero, climate resilient region.

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Government under increasing pressure to ‘call in’ airport application

Bary White

The government is under growing pressure to delay the proposed £150m expansion of Leeds Bradford airport, which critics say would wreck efforts to tackle the ecological crisis and undermine the government’s credibility ahead of a key climate conference later this year.

It has been recently reported that the same lawyers who are taking on the government over the Whitehaven coalmine in Cumbria have written to the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Robert Jenrick, on behalf of campaigners asking him to “call in” the decision so that the climate impact of expansion can be assessed in a national context.

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