Government backs Greater Manchester’s accelerated plans for carbon neutral living by 2038

• Local Industrial Strategy confirms Greater Manchester ambitions to become UK’s leading green and digital city-region
• Launch of UK’s first ground-breaking city-region Clean Growth Mission to achieve carbon neutral living in Greater Manchester by 2038 – ahead of national 2050 target

GREATER Manchester’s ambitious and ground-breaking plans to become the UK’s leading green and digital city-region have been backed by Government in the city-region’s new Local Industrial Strategy. 

As part of the strategy, the UK’s first city-region Clean Growth Mission to achieve carbon neutral living in Greater Manchester has been launched.  The city-region’s bold 2038 target is 12 years ahead of the national ambition. 

The innovative new strategy for Greater Manchester, launched by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham with Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Deputy Mayor for the Economy Sir Richard Leese, gives further backing for Greater Manchester’s pioneering industrial and social vision. 

The Strategy sets out plans to consolidate the city-region’s leading position in the digital and creative sectors, as well as advanced materials manufacturing such as graphene and health innovation – key sectors that have fuelled recent economic growth.

Government backs our groundbreaking plans to become the UK’s leading green and digital city-region. https://t.co/bfebCFyfjd #IndustrialStrategy. @beis @beisgovuk @beisnorthwest @gmlep #industrialstrategy pic.twitter.com/KvyIqR6q7x

— Mayor Andy Burnham (@MayorofGM) June 13, 2019

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said:

“This bold and innovative joint plan between Greater Manchester and the Government puts Greater Manchester back as an industrial and social pioneer. This is a plan focused on people and ensuring we have the good quality jobs to ensure people can succeed now and in to the future.  In Greater Manchester, we led the first industrial revolution and are now in a position to lead the fourth. 

“We want to be the UK’s leading green city-region, which is why our ambition to achieve carbon neutral living by 2038 is right at the heart of these plans.  We will show that these plans are not just the right thing for people and the environment but also right for our economy.

“We’re also setting out how advanced manufacturing along with the digital and creative sectors will now help to grow our economy and help us become a wholly digitally-enabled city-region.  The Local Industrial Strategy will enable us to drive our productivity and prosperity as we create the good, green jobs and skilled workforce that will power this thriving city-region’s economy into the future. 

“This comprehensive Strategy is yet another step on our devolution journey and will help Greater Manchester to become one of the best places in the world to live, work and invest in. 

“And we are putting together the pieces of the jigsaw to reveal the big picture – a Greater Manchester where prosperity, opportunity, health, hope and happiness are widely and fairly shared across all our people and places.” 

"The Local Industrial Strategy will enable us to drive our productivity and prosperity as we create the good, green jobs and skilled workforce that will power this thriving city-region’s economy into the future."

Greater Manchester is only the second place in the country to agree a Local Industrial Strategy with Government, and its Leaders are harnessing the full power of the most advanced devolution deal of any city-region in England for the benefit of almost three million residents.

The Greater Manchester Local Industrial Strategy represents a strong partnership between local leaders and Government and is focused on addressing the findings of the Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review, which identified a set of barriers the city-region must address to improve its economic performance, including:

• Population health
• Education and skills
• Infrastructure and transport capacity

The Strategy will tackle these barriers, while also responding to global changes affecting all residents including the climate crisis, technological advancement, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and an ageing society. It sets out plans to capitalise on the city-region’s unique assets and opportunities by:

• launching the UK’s first city-region Clean Growth Mission to achieve carbon neutral living in Greater Manchester by 2038.
• establishing Greater Manchester as a global leader on health and care innovation, creating new industries and jobs, and improving population health and extending healthy life expectancy;
• positioning Greater Manchester as a world leading region for innovative firms to experiment with, develop and adopt advanced materials in manufacturing;
• building on Greater Manchester’s position as a leading European digital city region, to maximise growing assets in cyber security, enable the digitalisation of all sectors and capitalise on the links between digital and creative industries that feed internationally-significant clusters in broadcasting, content creation and media;
• ensuring that the education, skills and employment system allow everyone to reach their potential and employers have access to the skills required to deliver the Greater Manchester Local Industrial Strategy.

In establishing the country’s first ever city-region Clean Growth Mission, Government is endorsing Greater Manchester’s bold ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2038, 12 years ahead of the national target, as set out in at the Green Summit event in Salford Quays in March.

And the Strategy’s commitment to drive prosperity and productivity across all 10 boroughs will be supported by the approach already outlined in the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, which will encourage and support local employers to identify and provide good jobs, deliver opportunities for people to progress and develop, and help the city-region become more productive.

.@SirRichardLeese: “Gtr #Manchester is known around the world for pioneering innovative collaboration. This plan, owned both by our city-region and Government, once again bolsters that reputation." https://t.co/E05yfVBGqj @ManCityCouncil #industrialstrategy @gmlep @beisnorthwest pic.twitter.com/98SeewNeQS

— Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) June 13, 2019

Greater Manchester’s Deputy Mayor for the Economy, Sir Richard Leese, said:

“Greater Manchester is known around the world for pioneering innovative collaboration and this plan, owned both by our city-region and Government, once again bolsters that reputation. 

“By working with Government and key partners here in Greater Manchester we’re setting out how we will ensure that everyone benefits from the growth in our economy and the quality jobs that we’re creating.

“Central to that will be cementing Greater Manchester’s place as a leader in advanced manufacturing, health innovation and within the creative and digital sectors.  These key sectors are going to fuel the growth that all of our citizens will benefit from for years to come.”

“By working with Government and key partners here in Greater Manchester we’re setting out how we will ensure that everyone benefits from the growth in our economy and the quality jobs that we’re creating."

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:“Greater Manchester has a strong and proud manufacturing heritage and this new Local Industrial Strategy, developed in partnership between Government and local leaders across the city-region, will ensure its world leading position in this field is secured and built on for the next generation.

“At the heart of this strategy is clean growth and Greater Manchester’s determination to reap the rewards of the UK’s transition to a net-zero economy reinforced by the city region’s ambition to be the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2038."

“At the heart of this strategy is clean growth and Greater Manchester’s determination to reap the rewards of the UK’s transition to a net-zero economy."

And Juergen Maier, CEO of Siemens UK and member of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “Greater Manchester was at the heart of the first industrial revolution. This Local Industrial Strategy is designed to put the city region at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution, which is now transforming manufacturing around the world. The strategy will build on the ground-breaking Made Smarter Review and pilot to help SMEs in the manufacturing sector develop and adopt digital and environmental technologies to boost productivity, revolutionise manufacturing and accelerate commercial growth.

“By investing in Greater Manchester’s global research and industrial strengths, the city region will pioneer new technologies and create new, exciting jobs in future industries such as health innovation, low carbon technologies and advanced materials.”

“The city region will pioneer new technologies and create new, exciting jobs in future industries such as health innovation, low carbon technologies and advanced materials.”

Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester, said: “The Greater Manchester Local Industrial Strategy builds on the existing strengths and great opportunities for the city-region which were validated by an expert Independent Prosperity Review. It is based on extensive discussions, consultations and inputs, and presents an exciting strategy for the future success of Greater Manchester.”

"The strategy builds on the existing strengths and great opportunities for the city-region. It presents an exciting strategy for the future success of Greater Manchester.”

Mike Blackburn, Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “The development of the Greater Manchester Local Industrial Strategy has been a genuinely collaborative effort and the views and needs of business sit right at its core.

“The Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review confirmed that our economy is the most diverse in the country, making it resilient and robust. And it’s growing –

"With over 124,000 businesses, Greater Manchester is already a great place to live and work for many."

“The Local Industrial Strategy provides the tools for us to go further and faster, enabling more business births, increasing exports and innovation and continuing to lead the development of new industries by focusing on a shared set of priorities and ambitions into the future.”

Article Published: 13/06/2019 08:37 AM