Report of the Manchester Climate Change Agency

The Manchester Climate Change Partnership Framework 2022 Update (2020-25) presents the findings of detailed modelling done to identify granular targets for reducing the city’s direct emissions by 50%, to help us stay within our carbon budget.

The Committee considered the report of the Manchester Climate Change Agency

 that described that the 2022 Update to Manchester’s Climate Change Framework (2020-25) and presented the findings of the detailed modelling done to identify granular targets for reducing the city’s direct emissions by 50%, that would be necessary for the whole city to stay within its carbon budget.

The Committee had been invited to comment on the report prior to it being considered by the Executive.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background, noting that the Manchester Climate Change Partnership (MCCP) and Agency (MCCA) had been given the responsibility to set the city’s strategy for tackling the climate emergency;

·         Articulating the purpose and rationale for the 2022 Update;

·         Providing an overview of the ongoing work on the Framework’s other headline objectives;

·         The Update incorporated over 150 recommended actions organised into four categories according to where there was direct control to deliver, affect or influence the required change or outcome;

·         Noting that the Council’s delivery of the Climate Change Action Plan would make a substantial contribution to the implementation of the 2022 Update to Manchester’s Climate Change Framework (2020-25); and

·         Key messages and next steps.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Recognising the amount of work that had gone into producing the report and noting that the views of the Committee had been taken into consideration;

·         What methodology was used to produce the carbon budget figures reported throughout the report;

·         Recognising the scale of funding and resources required to deliver retrofitting and the need to access private sources of funding;

·         The complexity of the sources of funding that were made available to support retrofitting activity;

·         Planning policy should be developed to ensure all new developments were energy efficient so that they would not require retrofitting in future years;

·         Planning policy needed to consider carbon emissions at all stages of a buildings life, including the construction stage;

·         The need to promote and encourage sustainable travel policies for staff;

·         The need to use this report to communicate to all residents and promote this regionally and nationally;

·         The need to consider the use of appropriate language when engaging with residents on the subject of carbon budgets;

·         The need to develop the action points with those responsible for delivering them identified so this could be reported on and progress monitored;

·         Noting that in future update reports the Committee would seek reports on specific key areas of activity;

·         Welcoming consideration being given to introducing a Work Place Levy and Ultra Low Emissions Zones; and

·         Recommending that the Climate Change Partnership engage with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to encourage them to divest from fossil fuels.

In response to the comments and questions from Members, the Director, Manchester Climate Change Agency advised that the SCATTER tool was used to model the scale of action needed for the city to reduce its emissions by 50%. She advised that there was information on this tool available on the Agencies’ website.

The Director, Manchester Climate Change Agency further recognised the comment in relation to the need to access private finance to support the scale of retrofit work required. She added that it was an action to track and report progress on this activity. In terms of reporting funding streams, she advised that the financial modelling provided had informed the business case to Government to support this activity. She also advised that analysis of some of the investment into housing retrofit in Manchester should be possible via schemes like the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Green Home Grant and Your Home Better scheme and therefore could be reported to the Committee in future updates.

The Director, Manchester Climate Change Agency stated that the need to consider all carbon emissions related to the construction industry was understood and conversations with the industry that included all relevant stakeholders across Greater Manchester were ongoing to understand and address barriers to delivering on this.

The Director, Manchester Climate Change Agency acknowledged the comment made regarding the use of the term carbon budget and advised that consideration would be given as to how this message was communicated to residents to ensure it was meaningful. She advised that a targeted communications strategy would be used to promote this Framework.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport commented that the Local Plan was a lever for the Council to drive change across the construction industry, noting that a report on planning policy and climate change was scheduled for the Committee’s February 2023 meeting. She further commented that the Council’s staff travel policy had been updated and communicated to all staff, adding that it was everyone’s responsibility to make informed decisions in relation to their travel choices. She advised that there were a number of positive examples of other organisations developing staff active travel policies that included lease schemes for bikes and subsidised travel passes and she further referenced the recent capping of bus fares.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport further advised that consideration continued to be given to introducing Ultra Low Emissions Zones. She noted the comments regarding the need for appropriate language in all messaging on this important issue and advised that all communications on this would be sense checked with Members to ensure they were appropriate for their residents.

The Chair concluded the item by reiterating the urgency of responding to the climate change crisis, noting this also needed to be considered in the context of the cost-of-living crisis and social justice.

Decision

The Committee

1.    Recommend that the Climate Change Partnership engage with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund to encourage them to divest from fossil fuels;

2.    Recommend that the 2022 Update to Manchester’s Climate Change Framework is circulated to all Members of the Council.

The Committee further endorse the recommendations that the Executive:

1.    Formally adopt the 2022 Update to the Manchester Climate Change Framework’s aim, vision, objectives, and targets as the definition of what

Manchester needs to achieve to ‘play its full part in limiting the

impacts of climate change’;

2.    On behalf of the city, endorse the 2022 Update to the Manchester Climate

Change Framework (2020 – 25) as Manchester’s high-level strategy for

achieving the aim, vision, objectives, and targets; and

3.    Support the delivery of the refreshed 2020-25 Manchester City Council

Climate Change Action Plan to contribute towards the successful

implementation of the citywide Framework.