News | Tuesday, 22nd November 2022
Manchester awarded ‘A grade’ for leadership in climate action
University projects contribute to city-region being named in global top 12% of climate action leaders
Greater Manchester has been named as one of only 12% of cities globally to receive an A score from a leading environmental charity thanks to a range of projects and research led by Manchester Metropolitan University and its partners.
CDP - a not-for-profit charity that helps companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impact - has identified Greater Manchester as a place taking bold leadership on environmental action and transparency, proving that the city is establishing itself as a trailblazer in climate action.
The charity’s work is seen as the gold standard of environmental reporting with the richest, most comprehensive dataset, which has highlighted the collaborative efforts from across Greater Manchester that are lowering carbon emissions and creating a greener, fairer city-region.
As part of a wider list of initiatives, the A-list rating identified Manchester Metropolitan’s work in:
- The Bee Net Zero initiative, which is a collaborative programme supporting organisations on their journey to becoming net zero, aiming to make Greater Manchester the easiest place for businesses to be net zero carbon.
- The Trafford Green Hydrogen Park, which has received planning permission and will potentially be the largest green hydrogen production facility in the UK.
- Green Innovation, research and development through the University’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Innovation Centre.
- The launch of an Energy Innovation Agency, which sees innovators across the city-region collaborating to accelerate new inventions and ideas to create green energy.
Professor Liz Price, Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Sustainability at Manchester Met, said: “It is fantastic to see the University’s work recognised in contributing to the positive environmental impact across the city-region.
“Through our new Sustainability Strategy, we have outlined our continuing commitment to working in partnership to tackle the environmental and societal challenges facing the world today.”
To achieve a CDP A List rating, cities must demonstrate their climate leadership through concerted and effective action, taking twice as many adaptation and mitigation methods as other cities.
As one of the first places in the UK to set a science-based target, Greater Manchester hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2038, 12 years ahead of the UK Government goal and the city-region is currently accelerating action to ensure this target is met.
Steve Connor, CEO of Creative Concern and Green Lead for GMLEP said, “Manchester spearheaded the industrial revolution and this accolade from CDP proves that the city-region is now ready to lead the green revolution.
“As an A List City, Greater Manchester is recognised for its ambition, leadership and transparency on climate action. Through collaboration, Greater Manchester has come together to develop creative solutions to the climate crisis and with our history of innovation and entrepreneurship, I’m confident we can scale up these solutions and put them into action to generate impactful results.
“Greater Manchester is now recognised as a leader in climate action, but this is just the beginning. We must acknowledge that there is more to be done if we are to meet our 2038 target and become a net-zero city.”
