Last chance to register for Greater Manchester Green Summit 2021

• Fourth annual Green Summit takes place next Monday 18 October at The Lowry
• Registration closes Wednesday 13 October – book your place now at gmgreencity.com
• Summit set to showcase how organisations and communities across Greater Manchester are taking positive action to tackle climate change
• Speakers will include Mayor Andy Burnham, Environment Agency Chair Emma Howard Boyd, and actor and broadcaster Cel Spellman

RESIDENTS, businesses and community groups have just one day left to register for the Greater Manchester Green Summit, taking place next Monday 18 October at The Lowry.

Registration for the all-day event – the fourth annual Green Summit since it was launched in 2018 – will close at midnight on Wednesday 13 October.

Visit www.gmgreencity.com to find out more and register for free.

Under the theme of ‘Taking Action: Today, Tomorrow and Together’, the 2021 Green Summit will focus on some of the key actions, projects and activities that are happening across Greater Manchester to help deliver a carbon neutral, green city-region by 2038. It will also look ahead to what still needs to be done to achieve that goal.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham will be speaking at the opening session about the progress made since Greater Manchester set out its Five-Year Environment Plan, and the next steps towards meeting our ambitious carbon neutrality target – 12 years ahead of the national goal – and delivering a saving of 1 million tonnes of CO2e by 2024.

The Mayor will also speak in the afternoon session as part of a panel session looking ahead to COP26 in Glasgow, and how our city-region can lead the way in decarbonisation. Greater Manchester’s Levelling Up Deal is a crucial part of that vision, and would help our city-region move towards a zero-carbon transport system linking good quality, zero-carbon homes in our towns and cities.

The Green Summit will provide a forum to celebrate some of the successful efforts already under way across Greater Manchester in conservation, low-carbon innovation, urban farming, and environmental education.

Sessions will include:

• Greater Manchester’s Five-Year Environment Plan: The Story So Far and the Challenges Ahead
• Community Action Showcase: Delivering on the Ground to Create Change
• Natural Environment: Why Change Our Behaviour?
• Building Back Better: Green Skills and Careers
• Smart Energy: Low-Carbon Innovation

Andy Burnham said: “The climate crisis represents the single biggest challenge we face right now. It touches on every aspect of our lives, from how we power our homes to how we protect our natural environment; from how we get around our towns and cities, to how we create the jobs and skills we need. This year’s Green Summit will demonstrate how Greater Manchester’s businesses, communities, universities and public sector are rising to that challenge and working together to accelerate change.

“I believe that a low-carbon economy is a levelled-up economy – one where we can create and secure good green jobs across all sectors, and invest in carbon reduction to tackle inequality and improve the quality of life for people across Greater Manchester. It will allow us to connect our communities through a world-class integrated transport system, foster a healthier environment, and tackle issues like fuel poverty and poor-quality housing.

“Over the next decade, if we accelerate our response to the climate crisis, we can create thousands of good jobs, improve homes, overhaul our transport system, and make this an even better place to live.”

Cllr Neil Emmott, GMCA Lead for the Green City-Region, said: “Greater Manchester has always been at the centre of innovation. We are the first and the largest city-region to develop smart local energy plans focused on local energy generation, which is key to decarbonising our energy systems and securing the supply of greener energy.

"Our Metrolink already runs on renewable energy, and it’s our ambition for 50 per cent of our bus fleet to be zero-emission by 2027, rising to 100 per cent by 2032 – a significant step towards creating the country’s first zero carbon integrated network. This year’s Green Summit will celebrate the positive changes that are taking place across the city-region to enable us to realise our net zero ambition.”

Other speakers at the Green Summit will include:

• Chris Boardman, Olympic gold medallist and Cycling and Walking Commissioner
• Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency
• Zamzam Ibrahim, Vice President of the European Students’ Union and co-founder of Students Organising for Sustainability
• Cel Spellman, actor and broadcaster

The full programme and list of speakers can be found at www.gmgreencity.com.

Article Published: 13/10/2021 12:38 PM