Two of the UK’s largest cities have this week moved to strengthen their decarbonisation plans, as the city councils of Manchester and Bristol both voted to bring forward their target dates for securing ‘carbon neutral; or ‘zero carbon’ status. On Tuesday, Bristol City Council unanimously backed a motion put forward by Green party councillor Carla Denyer to make the city ‘carbon neutral’ by 2030 – a full 20 years earlier than the previous target. The move came as Manchester City Council’s Executive formally adopted a new target to become a ‘zero carbon city’ by 2038, 12 years earlier than the target it replaces. Denyer hailed the vote as “a fantastic day for Bristol”, adding that it provided further evidence cities and sub-national governments can lead the response to the escalating climate risks highlighted by the recent IPCC report. Manchester City Council’s Executive backed a plan developed by the Council’s Climate Change Board with input from the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre. The plan, dubbed Playing Our Full Part, would introduce a science-based ‘carbon budget’ for the city that caps total emissions at 15 million tonnes from 2018-2100. To meet the target the city will be required to cut emissions 13 per cent year-on-year from 2018 onwards, making it a net zero carbon city by 2038. The Manchester Climate Change Board will now develop a draft action plan by March 2019, ahead of producing a final plan by 2020, detailing how the city can stay within its carbon budget.
Business Green 16th Nov 2018 read more »
Manchester promises to phase out fossil fuels in 20 years in one of the world’s toughest climate change pledges. Manchester has signed up to one of the most ambitious climate change targets in the world as the city seeks to become ‘zero carbon’ in just 20 years. In a ground-breaking pledge, the town hall now aims to ensure all energy used in Manchester is green by 2038 – a far more challenging target than other British cities and most across the globe. It would effectively mean that all transport and fuel in the city would be renewable by that point, including through widespread electrification of cars and public transport. Homes and business would need to switch to clean energy, buildings will have to be retrofitted to improve their insulation and more green space created. The pledge does not include emissions from flights at Manchester Airport, which would need to be covered by separate national agreements, it is understood.
Manchester Evening News 14th Nov 2018 read more »