Comment
Manchester Climate Change Framework 2020 – 25: Implications for development
In February, the Manchester Climate Change Partnership and Agency, responsible for overseeing and championing climate change action in the city, issued the Manchester Climate Change Framework 2020 – 2025[1]. The Framework was officially adopted by Manchester City Council on 11 March.
The Framework provides the city's strategy for limiting the impacts of climate change and identifies six priority areas:
- Buildings (existing and new)
- Renewable energy
- Transport and flying
- Food
- The things we buy and throw away
- Green infrastructure and nature based solutions
The Framework aims to reduce direct CO2 emissions (from homes, workplaces and ground transport) by at least 50% between 2020 – 2025, and to develop a better understanding of how to reduce indirect emissions (from material consumption, waste and construction) by 2025. It allocates aviation emissions within a separate carbon budget.
Using methodology developed by the Tyndall Centre in alignment with the Paris Agreement, the carbon budget assigned to Manchester for direct emissions over the period of 2018 to 2100 is 15 million tonnes. That budget assumes aviation will account for more than 37% of the national carbon budget over the period; in which case the 15 million tonne budget for Manchester would need to be reduced accordingly.
What does this mean for development in Manchester?
Around 80% of buildings that will exist in 2100 in the UK have already been built, which means that the majority of current stock will not meet the energy performance levels required by Manchester’s carbon targets. The approach to retrofitting will need to change if Manchester is to meet its carbon budget, with significant incentives put in place and investment in local skills and supply chain. The Framework recognises this will be a substantial challenge for local authorities, and should be led at a national level by Government.
To ensure that new buildings do not add to the retrofit challenge, they will need to be designed, built and operated to zero carbon standards as soon as possible. The Climate Change Framework implies that Manchester will follow the UK Government’s lead to establish a net zero carbon definition and methodology, which will then be incorporated into the new Manchester Local Plan (expected to be adopted by 2023).
The Climate Change Framework sets out proposals for 100% renewable electricity to be delivered to the city, ensuring that buildings with all-electric energy strategies automatically achieve zero carbon emissions during their operation. Manchester City Council is evaluating options to make up the current shortfall to net zero, once on-site opportunities including renewables have been optimised. These options may include use of market instruments such as Power Purchase Agreements.
For existing building stock connected to gas, energy efficiency must be improved and where possible natural-gas based heating systems replaced with renewable or low carbon alternatives such as heat pumps. For housing stock, concerns remain that replacing gas with electricity may potentially increase fuel poverty where not properly implemented. The proposed Future Homes Standard seeks to address those concerns by introducing a householder affordability standard.
No clear actions for transport
The Framework does not provide clear actions for reducing carbon emissions associated with transport in the city, but acknowledges the requirement to align the operation of Manchester Airport with the Paris Agreement. It is likely that this will take a ‘bottom up’ approach, with Manchester residents and organisations addressing their own travel behaviours. The Framework expresses the need to not only decarbonise private car travel, but to reduce it overall to solve congestion within the city and surrounding areas, and reduce indirect emissions associated with vehicle manufacture.
The Framework shows that a key challenge for Manchester in keeping within the proposed carbon budget is a lack of national direction and consistency across the UK. First and foremost, there needs to be a definition and methodology for net zero carbon to prevent new buildings detracting from the carbon budget when achieving net zero is technically feasible and viable now.
Using the UK Green Building Council’s Framework [2] definition and methodology, our Sustainability team offers net zero carbon strategies for new and existing buildings. For further information, or to find out how we can support with your project, please get in touch with Fiona Lomas.
12 March 2020