Manchester's bid to get carbon zero targets back on track

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on BBC News or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Manchester is planning a £100 million pipeline of climate projects as it tries to get its 2038 net-zero target back on track
• The city has cut emissions substantially since 2005, but its latest climate report says the pace of reductions is insufficient

🔭 The context: Manchester’s emissions have fallen 23% since 2018, compared with a 55% reduction that had been targeted for that period under its carbon budget
• The city has also exceeded its 15-million-tonne carbon budget, while 2024 emissions reached 1.74 million tonnes of CO₂, nearly twice the annual target
• Planned measures include more than 50,000 heat pumps, retrofits for nearly 80,000 homes and 28,000 additional electric vehicles by 2030

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Manchester’s experience illustrates the gap between setting long-term net-zero targets and delivering the rapid emissions cuts required to meet them
• Accelerating building efficiency, electrification and low-carbon transport could reduce both urban emissions and fossil-fuel demand

⏭️ What’s next: The city has identified around £1 billion of schemes overall, combining public and private funding
• The immediate focus will be turning the project pipeline into implementation while increasing the pace of annual emissions reductions

💬 One quote: “We know we are not decarbonising at the pace that we need to,” said council cabinet member Mandie Shilton Godwin

📈 One stat: 1.74 million tonnes of CO₂ — Manchester’s emissions in 2024, nearly twice the annual level set by its carbon budget

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