Sheffield named ‘greenest council in Yorkshire’

Migrate, a comparison site, ranked each local authority based on CO2 emissions per capita and how much they had reduced their carbon footprint over the past 10 years, using data from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Although Sheffield came out top in Yorkshire and Humber, the region was 11th nationally.

But Coun Douglas Johnson, speaker for the Green Party, said he did not think the figures were reliable.

He added: “CO2 emissions come from many sources and the trend may show the improvements in industry, especially in Sheffield’s engineering businesses.

“We would expect Sheffield to have lower emissions per person, compared to smaller towns like Rotherham, because of the savings from the number of people living and working in more compact spaces. This is why the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that the world’s cities have a very important role to play in tackling the climate crisis.

“The areas with the lowest net emissions are those with large areas of forests, which show the big benefits of planting more trees. This could be done both in the city but also in the large rural areas within the city boundary.”

Liberal Democrat Coun Tim Huggan said: “We welcome any drop in emissions but Sheffield has a long way to go to reach its target of zero net emissions with its declaration of a Climate Emergency.

“The city council should be avoiding schemes that increase emissions of greenhouse gases.

“The Lib Dems plans for a Citizens Assembly rejected then adopted by Labour would help bring forward long term plans that focussed on a sustained reduction in Co2 emissions.”

Sheffield Council were contacted for a comment.