Working towards zero carbon: How can Greater Manchester become one of Europe’s greenest cities by 2040?

Change is coming. Today the National Infrastructure Commission has published its latest National Infrastructure Assessment which emphasises the major changes in national and local infrastructure to meet our climate obligation. And back in March at the Green Summit, Andy Burnham announced he was considering bringing forward Greater Manchester’s date for achieving carbon neutrality by more than a decade to at least 2040. This commitment to truly meet our obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement would deliver on one of the world’s most ambitious carbon neutrality targets, bringing us in line with the likes of New York and Adelaide. But what does this mean in practical terms?  

Immediate action needs to be taken to achieve this – and it starts with raising awareness and education. Our community (residents and businesses alike) need to be aware of the advantages in grasping this challenge, and the potential to fuel economic growth by being a leader in this sphere.

It’s been ten years since the Climate Change Act came into force, bringing about reforms to our energy markets and significant progress in securing zero carbon supply. However, there is a long way to go to decarbonise our economy and communities. The task ahead to fully decarbonise our energy system will involve decentralised, dispersed and multi-vector solutions across transport, domestic, industrial and commercial sectors. A whole systems and place-based approach is required which means different policy areas and professions working together and breaking free of traditional silos.

Below are four priority steps to making this a reality:

1.The Power of Technology

The rise in local renewable generation means that our electric grid will need to be smarter, balancing demand between local producers and consumers. The way we buy and sell electricity is going to change dramatically.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power generation provides a clean and increasingly affordable option for Greater Manchester to harness to become a city region of energy producers – enabling households, businesses, landlords and institutions to have greater control of their energy. We should be identifying priority opportunities for PV schemes; whether this be integrated in our buildings, making use of brownfield sites, or making better use of car parks. Greater Manchester businesses or residents with photovoltaic panels on their roofs will find themselves able to buy and sell energy. Everyone could become an energy trader.

The opportunity lies in using digital technologies to facilitate a new model – leveraging smart grids, the Internet of Things and blockchain to create efficiencies and inform sensible trading; balancing variable zero carbon renewable supply and smart controlled demand. Local generation and storage needs to be managed to create transactive energy models – allowing for a much more flexible and equitable distribution of production and consumption.

2.Electrification of Transport

The use of electricity to power vehicles is on the rise, with biofuels playing a role in mobility and hydrogen set to play a key role in how we move people and goods. Over the next few years, investing in electric vehicles will be a smart choice for fleet operators, as cities look to facilitate this shift further.

The challenge lies in supporting infrastructure (where and when you charge vehicles impacts the grid) and how this impacts on surrounding areas. Many of our homes have no drives, raising questions over how these vehicles will be charged. Solutions are being developed in response to this such as ‘re charge parklets’. These are a new urban design concept – each of which occupy one conventional car parking space and feature: a charging point for electric vehicles, seating with inbuilt mobile phone charging and Wi-Fi, bicycle stands with pumps, and an opportunity for green infrastructure.

3.Tackling Fuel Poverty

Fuel poverty, having to spend so much on energy that it pushes you below the poverty line, remains a problem facing many people today. It’s not an issue specific to Greater Manchester but a zero carbon city cannot be at the expense of the most vulnerable in society. The campaign National Energy Action has identified a close link between fuel poverty, poorly insulated homes and poor health.

Many social landlords are working to reduce fuel poverty and, as our work with Salix Homes in Salford demonstrated, low carbon homes can also mean low energy costs. The pioneering Health Devolution settlement in Greater Manchester allows us to explore new solutions where the social value of reduced ill health has the potential to be used to leverage better insulated homes. It is essential that this work continues but is enhanced through the alignment of other policy areas. Reducing energy costs and improved energy efficiency is not the only issue to address; increasing employment and incomes must be part of the solution.

4.Don’t Move, Improve

National carbon emission reduction policies are becoming increasingly focussed on residential energy efficiency. In the UK, 28% of total energy consumption comes from residential energy use. Finding a way to deliver energy efficiency across the housing sector is therefore essential and, as most of the homes we will be heating in 2040 already exist, revitalising existing building stock represents an essential component of our energy savings.

A range of measures can be applied to existing buildings and homes, such as improved insulation, new energy efficient appliances, smart energy controls and installation of renewable energy technologies. This will need a regional or national programme of the type envisaged by my colleague Chris Jofeh.

Conclusion

Across all these steps, there’s the continual need to keep everyone - businesses, government bodies, and local communities - educated and informed on the shifts in our evolving energy system. This will facilitate development, inform the planning stages of future projects and safeguard their ultimate success.

To help Greater Manchester understand its future infrastructure needs, we at Arup have been selected to prepare Greater Manchester Infrastructure 2040, for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. This work will bring together a central estimate of the infrastructure we will require in 2040.

It’s an exciting time for Greater Manchester, as we work to meet the zero-carbon challenge by creating a truly modern and inclusive energy system. 

For more insights on what the future energy market will look like, please see our new report Energy Systems: A view from 2035