Land and nature

Emissions baseline

Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF): The sector is almost balanced between emissions and removals, 0.2% resulting in net emissions of only 0.2% of the total area-wide emissions. The key sources of emissions are from peatland and settlements.

Managing land and nature

Land and nature are critical to our health, wellbeing, economy, and the fight against climate change. Restoring biodiversity, protecting natural spaces, and promoting sustainable land use are essential for a healthier, more resilient future.

Bradford District is fortunate to be home to extensive areas of beautiful countryside and green and blue spaces. This includes valuable peatland and moorland. Natural infrastructure and local restoration projects not only help land to absorb and lock up carbon, but they also play a valuable role in habitat creation to reverse biodiversity loss and reduce flood risk. However, no amount of nature-based solutions can substitute for the need to stop releasing GHGs to the atmosphere and to change the way we use the land.

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries, with 60% of priority species lost since 1970. Habitat loss and intensive agriculture have devastated ecosystems and caused biodiversity decline. Urgent action is needed to meet the government’s “30 by 30” target to protect 30% of land and sea for wildlife by 2030.

Biodiversity levels across Bradford District are broadly in line with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s State of Yorkshire’s Nature 2024 Report which states that nearly 1 in 5 species have declined by more than 25% in the last 20-30 years and that nearly 2000 species may have disappeared from Yorkshire over the last 200 years, with a further 3000 at risk of extinction.

Mitigation and adaptation actions

• Explore Habitat Bank development
• Nature Based Solutions (for example, Slow the flow)
• Sustainable landscape and building design
• White Rose Forest development
• Advocate for a sustainable food system
• Establish ‘National Nature Reserve’
• Increase number of Local Nature Reserves
• Improve community, business and infrastructure resilience to flooding and heat
• Deliver a Local Plan for Bradford District