Today’s announcement of The English Devolution White Paper shows the commitment the government has to Combined Authorities and mayors, highlighting a real step change in the relationship between regional and central government.  

York and North Yorkshire’s Combined Authority has been in existence for just under a year, and the mayor, David Skaith, has been in office for six months. In that time, we have been able to start to shape our powers to help to overcome the barriers and develop the opportunities that are unique to our region. 

One such commitment is our commitment to becoming a net zero region by 2034, and carbon-negative by 2040 – an ambition developed through our Routemap to Carbon Negative.  

In 2023 YNYCA launched its Net Zero Fund to commit £7million in funding to Net Zero Projects across the region. The fund, which came as part of the region’s devolution deal, has enabled organisations to take climate action, from decarbonising building emissions to boosting sequestration activities across the rural areas of the region.   

Earlier this year, through devolved funding, York and North Yorkshire Mayor, David Skaith announced the £10million Carbon Negative Challenge Fund, which aims to accelerate York and North Yorkshire’s transformation to become England’s first Carbon Negative Region.  

Alongside carbon reduction, investment aims to drive economic growth, create jobs and attract investment into the region.  

Our other key area of research is around a private and public sector investment partnership model which looks to accelerate the pathway to net zero, bringing social value and long-term economic benefits to the region. This is part of DESNZ’s Local Net Zero Accelerator programme.  

Meanwhile our Local Investment in Natural Capital programme (LINC), in partnership with North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council, is using £1million in DEFRA funding to develop a pipeline of investment-ready natural capital projects and associated finance mechanisms to generate revenue and returns for investors.   

Our region is unique. We are the first rural, coastal and city area to devolve and are paving the way for successful devolution in similar areas.  

We look forward to having a more formalised and closer working relationship with national government thanks to this white paper, and supporting other areas similar to ours as they devolve. 

Published on Monday 16 December