Campaigners call on council leaders to back the Mayor’s climate plan

Manchester Friends of the Earth

Manchester Friends of the Earth are calling on the ten Greater Manchester council leaders to publicly support the Mayor's climate plan ahead of the Green Summit on Wednesday 21 March.

In 2015, world leaders signed a historic agreement in Paris to keep the rise in global temperatures to well below 2°C.

In advance of the Green Summit, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority commissioned the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research to calculate a carbon budget for the region in line with this agreement.

Details of this carbon budget will be announced at the Summit, but it is understood to mean that Greater Manchester will need to halve its greenhouse gas emissions in the next five years and become carbon neutral by 2038.

Many countries, cities and corporations around the world have already pledged to be 'zero-carbon' or 'carbon-neutral' far ahead of 2050.

Ali Abbas, Manchester Friends of the Earth joint co-ordinator, said:  “If the ten council leaders fail to back the Mayor’s climate plan, they will leave Greater Manchester's reputation as a global climate leader in tatters.

“I’m sure they’d rather be remembered for building a vibrant green economy, protecting our environment, and safeguarding our children’s health and prosperity."

Manchester Friends of the Earth has outlined 21 key actions for the Mayor's Green Charter to tackle the key social, economic and environmental challenges that the City region must meet -  from tackling cold, damp housing and the loss of nature & wildlife to reducing air pollution and tackling climate change. 

Catherine Thomson, Manchester Friends of the Earth joint co-ordinator, said: "The environment is something that affects us all.

"The Mayor's Green Charter needs to set out how Greater Manchester is going to provide clear leadership on the urgent actions needed to make rapid cuts in carbon emissions, protect our precious green spaces, reduce flooding, support renewable energy, retrofit our homes to be warmer and clean up our toxic air.

“There are major benefits of being early developers and adopters of 'green economy' solutions, not only for tackling climate emissions but also a host of other pressing social justice and environmental challenges such as air pollution, fuel poverty and ill health.”