York and North Yorkshire’s Routemap to Carbon Negative

York and North Yorkshire’s Routemap to Carbon Negative sets out the region’s ambitious plans to be net zero carbon by 2034 and carbon negative by 2040.

Collective action

As storms, floods and wildfires intensify across the world, there is growing urgency for collective action to tackle climate change.

In York and North Yorkshire, we have a critical contribution to make to national and global efforts. We have the potential to go beyond net zero and become England’s first carbon negative region. With 2 national parks, 3 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and over 70% of our geography being used for agriculture, we are uniquely positioned to use our natural assets to capture and store carbon.

As a leader in decarbonisation and world class innovation assets, we can harness the economic opportunities of the transition, creating jobs and attracting investment to the region. This Routemap provides an ambitious pathway for local authorities, businesses, charities, academia and communities to come together to deliver carbon reduction at the necessary pace and scale to reach net zero by 2034, and net negative by 2040.

Objectives

The objectives of the Routemap are to:

• • provide strategic direction and a coordinated approach to decarbonisation
  • catalyse collaborative action at pace and scale
  • build confidence that reaching net zero and beyond to carbon negative is feasible
  • harness the economic opportunities of net zero, leveraging public and private sector investment
  • position York and North Yorkshire at the forefront of national climate action and provide a platform to influence Government policy and funding

Routemap to Carbon Negative plan

A revised draft document for the Carbon Negative plan will be available for public consultation in early 2025, with the final version released in summer 2025.