NORTH Craven candidates hoping to be elected today (Thursday) to the new unitary authority - North Yorkshire Council - have been quizzed in a questionnaire sent out to them by Action on Climate Emergency (ACE) Settle.

ACE wrote to the three standing candidates for election in the Settle and Penyghent Division to seek their views on what they would do about the climate emergency if elected.

The Settle group is part of an ensemble of environmental groups which has created an online showcase of election candidates’ views surrounding climate change, in an attempt to provide clarity to voters over key issues facing the county such as fracking and pollution.

The successful candidate will serve the final year of the county council and will then be the representative for the first four years of the new single council - the new unitary authority North Yorkshire Council.

ACE Co-ordinator Sarah Wiltshire said: “This is a crucial decade for action on the climate emergency. As the successful candidate will be representing us through until 2027 it is essential that we know what their policy commitments and actions will be to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis."

Four questions were put to the three candidates whose responses can be seen at: http://acesettleandarea.org/

The questions included such topics as climate emergency, net zero planning to create greater environmental sustainability and better connectivity in North Yorkshire to encourage better use of public transport.

By Tuesday, May 3, responses by one of the candidates were still not received.

The questionnaire was believed to be the first pre-election survey of its kind in the county with up to ten questions set by North Yorkshire Climate Coalition and aimed at all incoming 90 councillors across the county.

The coalition represents a wide range of community-based interest associations. Candidates are also being challenged to state how the new council should tackle the county’s biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions – transport, agriculture and domestic energy.

The move follows experts highlighting how climate change has already started to impact on the county’s communities, economy, wildlife and landscapes, with incidents such as increasingly frequent severe flooding.

An independent commission set up to examine levelling up for rural communities in the county last year found tackling climate change should be a priority, backing an ambition for North Yorkshire to become a ‘green lung’ and to lead on employment in the green economy and a revolutionary energy transition.