Hull’s carbon dioxide emissions have dropped in the last year, as the city looks to position itself at the heart of the Humber’s net-zero ambitions.
In a UK Powerhouse report released by Irwin Mitchell on Monday, Hull was found to produce 4.1 kilotons of CO2 per person – down four per cent in just 12 months.
The figure meant Hull fared better than places including Leeds (5.1kt), Doncaster (6.7kt) and Newcastle (4.4kt).
Hull also triumphed when it comes to waste recycling, ranking fifth of anywhere in the UK, but performed badly for low emission transport and solar power generation.
It comes as the UK has been tasked with becoming net-zero for carbon emissions by 2050.
Vicky Brackett, CEO of Irwin Mitchell’s Business Legal Services division, said: “In June, the UK has announced its ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the first major economy to do so.
“The ever-more urgent topic of climate change and sustainability has reached the highest level of government and it’s important that business recognise not only the important role they have to play, but also the opportunities that exist.
“In the case of Hull, it performs well in some indicators of environmental sustainability but poorly in others.
“If it can improve its share of low-and zero-emission transport, carbon emissions can decrease even further making it possible for Hull to significantly improve its ranking position.”
Hull and the wider Humber region is at the forefront of the UK’s net-zero ambitions.
The Humber is marketing itself as being the UK’s ‘Energy Estuary,’ as the challenge of converting the region’s traditional big emitters into renewable businesses heats up.
Offshore wind regularly hits the headlines when it comes to clean energy in the Humber, but the new report by Irwin Mitchell has shown there is still much work to be done.
Hull ranked just 19th in the UK for the number of people travelling to work using either bus or rail, at seven per cent.
The city’s solar power generation also fared badly, ranking 28 nationally.
In better news though, out of all the English Powerhouse cities in the report, Hull ranked fifth for waste recycling – the highest level in Yorkshire.
According to UK Powerhouse, a report by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economic & Business Research (Cebr), cities in the south have the strongest economies in terms of GVA.
The report predicted Hull will have the 17th strongest economy in terms of employment growth by the start of 2021 - the quarter when the transition period in the UK’s current Withdrawal Agreement is set to have ended.
