Low carbon cities in England to lead the way
Three major English cities are set to develop tailored action plans to slash their CO2 emissions under the new Low Carbon Cities Programme.
Under the new scheme, the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust will work with Bristol, Leeds and Manchester to develop individual city-wide action plans to achieve low carbon economies which are both prosperous and sustainable.
New measures and initiatives will be introduced and could include renewable energy and trigeneration (creating power, heat and cooling from a single source) along with energy saving measures such as insulation and promoting cycling to work. Key public service bodies, businesses and community leaders in each of the cities will contribute to the strategy and its implementation.
Minister for Climate Change, Joan Ruddock said:
"Our cities were once at the forefront of the industrial revolution. Now they have the opportunity to lead the way again and be the driving force behind our push to a low carbon economy. Creating targeted action plans will help them achieve this by setting a clear path for cutting emissions.
"The Low Carbon Cities Programme will illustrate that meeting the challenge of climate change and building prosperity in our cities can and should go hand in hand."
The £250,000 of funding from Defra will also benefit the other members of the Core Cities Group - Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield - by producing audits of current emissions and identifying cost effective carbon saving opportunities. The programme will establish a city-wide CO2 baseline, show emission totals and provide a detailed breakdown of where emissions come from. The data gathered will allow cities to forecast how changes to certain areas will most effectively cut emissions.
Further information
Page published: 9 November 2007