15.03.19
Clean growth collaboration for north west launched by local government and business leaders
A collection of local government, university, and business leaders have joined forces to secure £500m of ‘game-changing’ investment into the future of clean growth in the north west of England.
Made up of council leaders and private and public partners from the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire, Warrington and Greater Manchester, the group said they have announced their collaboration in response to the government’s challenge to establish a low-carbon industrial cluster by 2030.
The partnership is led by Richard Carter, chairman of the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT), who said the collaboration represents one of the most vibrant clusters in the UK with a “wide range of energy intensive industry partners.”
He said: “We are already home to a number of existing complementary initiatives that, when brought together, represent a game-changing opportunity. We believe, with appropriate government support, that this will result in the north west meeting the challenge of becoming the UK’s first low carbon industrial cluster by 2030.”
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, commented: “Doing things differently doesn’t just mean a new set of policies – it means a new approach altogether. I want Greater Manchester to be the best place in the world to grow up, get on and grow old: clean, green and vibrant.
“At our Green Summit later this month we will publish an ambitious new plan which will make a significant impact on this city-region in the short term. We will transform our buildings, revolutionise the way we travel and restore our natural environment.”
He said that cities will make the difference on climate change and that by decarbonising the north west, the group can “create a blueprint for every other city in the world.”
Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram added: “We are rightly planning for the long term and a zero-carbon future, and we are taking urgent action now.”