The North West’s two city region Mayors have announced a new partnership to cooperate on climate action and net zero innovation with the cities of Belfast and Dublin.
It was announced at the end of a two-day joint mission to Dublin by Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram to boost links between North West England and Ireland.
The cooperative partnership aims to develop practical approaches to accelerate the delivery of net zero commitments in the cities and city regions.
A joint statement between the cities said:
‘Climate change is the greatest challenge facing our nations and our planet. That is why we have developed ambitious climate agendas to become more equitable, fairer, prosperous and greener cities.
‘Each of us are committed to the protection of our economies and our people and we are firmly of the view that working together will give us the best chance of realising the benefits of transitioning to a low carbon economy.’
To achieve this, they have committed to:
- Sharing best practices, knowledge and experience.
- Connecting organisations and facilitating R&D, business and investment collaborations.
- Coordinating joint participation at events (including the Net Zero Summit in June 2022) and hosting, where necessary, incoming delegations.
During their tour, Mr Burnham and Mr Rotheram met the President of Ireland, Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Foreign Minister.
They also took part in roundtable discussions and summits focused on trade, tourism, culture and net zero innovation.
The North West delegation, led by the Department for International Trade and the UK Government’s Minister for Exports, Mike Freer, were joined by 15 businesses from the region.
In 2019, the North West exported almost £2bn worth of goods to Ireland, with almost half of this total coming from Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region.
You can watch the full PSE365 Public Sector Decarbonisation in Association with Liberty Charge virtual event on demand here.
