Carbon emissions

EPIKS activities around action on climate change are currently mainly focussed on transport and active travel. Domestic transport contributes 30% of all UK carbon emissions and it’s an area where EPIKS’ expertise, history and partnerships makes us well placed to help people learn about the personal transport choices that can really make a difference.

Active Travel

Nobody wants to “be traffic”. At the same time, for many people – the EPIKS team included- sometimes use of a car is part of their household travel mix, either in our own car, lifts from friends and family or a taxi. But by exploring and enabling active travel options we can do more of those journeys in a low carbon way and in a way that enhances our health and wellbeing. Our active travel hubs in Huddersfield, Holme Valley and Batley & Spen Valley and our Walk Wheel Ride online hub are great resources for exploring how you can reduce carbon emissions, make new connections and look after your health.

We’re always exploring new ways to help people reduce their carbon emissions from transport – not just the emissions from the journeys themselves but also from the processes that are involved in manufacture of vehicles- even bikes. That’s why we work with local partners like Streetbikes to help make sure unwanted bikes get refurbished and offered for re sale at low cost. And in 2025 we’re piloting “Dr. Bike” – professional bike mechanics who will be out and about at events with us. They’ll check and make sure your bike is road ready, carry out minor repairs and give some handy pointers and tips to look after your trusty steed and make sure you won’t need to replace it for many years to come.

Find out more about our work to cut transport carbon emissions on our Active Travel page.

Habitat management

Our team at EPIKS have a long and deep understanding of the connection between how land is managed and its impact on wildlife and the carbon that is held in soil and plants- sometimes called carbon sequestration.

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing carbon. It is part of the natural carbon cycle. Good habitat management practices can lock up carbon in the soil and prevent loss of carbon.

Remaining fragments of ancient woodland store lots of carbon in their soils and are important places for biodiversity. We need to conserve them. Creating new woodland has the greatest potential to sequester carbon and, if well designed and managed, can increase biodiversity. All woodland can also contribute to reducing flood risk and soil erosion, as well as provide new recreational opportunities.

However, many woodlands are poorly managed. Where trees are too close together a dense canopy of even aged trees can ensue, allowing little light to the forest floor which can limit ground cover, carbon sequestration and biodiversity. We need to manage woodlands if we are to realise their potential benefits for everyone. This can be carried out in a naturalistic way, increasingly using domesticated cattle breeds with similar habits to the extinct wild cattle, or through human intervention. The latter can be very expensive.

As part of our Landscape Recovery Project for the Colne and Calder catchment above Cooper Bridge, EPIKS is now assessing some of our woodlands where management and new planting would be beneficial, especially along the Riverside Nature Park Network. The work to produce this plan will take a couple of years to complete, following which, there will be a twenty year implementation phase. This will help sequester carbon and improve biodiversity.

Other partners in this project will also be restoring upland peatland habitats. Peatlands are the largest natural stores of carbon in the UK. When in a healthy condition they accumulate carbon from the atmosphere. Our peatlands, however, having been drained and modified for agriculture, forestry, and peat extraction. As the peat dries out when drained and vegetation cover removed, it degrades in the air and is now the largest source of carbon emissions from land in England. Also, exposed peat is being washed into our rivers, harming wildlife and increasing the cost of water treatment, resulting in higher bills. Restoring upland and lowland peatlands to a natural condition is a top priority for Landscape Recovery.