We want to leave our environment in a better state than we found it, not just locally, but nationally and internationally.
We want to ensure that our city region will be at the forefront of innovation in sustainable technology and be a zero-carbon city region by 2040.
The UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties – better known as COP26 – has to be a rallying call for climate action.
We know we are in the midst of a climate emergency and the conference is a chance for the nations of the world to redouble their efforts to hit the targets agreed in Paris and limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
But it also puts the focus on the United Kingdom and, more locally, us, here in the Liverpool City Region.
Find out more about how we will showcase the great work we are doing to tackle the climate emergency and reach net zero carbon by 2040 at COP26.
The challenge of becoming a zero-carbon city region by 2040 is not an easy one. It involves substantial changes to how we generate and consume energy, and to our infrastructure and transport networks. The benefits are far reaching for everyone who lives and works in the city region and for generations to come.
We are already doing a huge amount to make this a reality.
We want to lead by example and have conducted a comprehensive examination of our own carbon emissions. It will be a useful tool for cutting our own outputs and leading the way to net zero by 2040 or sooner.
Just one of the ways we are helping to achieve this is by working with our partners to improve energy efficiency in homes across the city region. We will work to ensure that all new buildings are zero-carbon enabled from the very beginning.
Transport has a huge impact on our environment. That’s why we are working with bus operators and other partners to provide cleaner public transport. Already, seven out of 10 buses in the city are low emission, running on cleaner fuels like electricity, naturally occurring biomethane gas, or a mix of the two.
We know there is a lot more to do, so we’re working to improve facilities to encourage cycling and walking, especially for shorter journeys, and to make our rail services the best they can be, including the £460 million investment in new, state-of-the-art Merseyrail trains.
We are also well on our way to becoming the UK’s renewable energy coast, with one of the largest concentrations of off-shore wind turbines in the world in Liverpool Bay. And we are working in partnership with government and industry to develop the use of other cleaner fuels, like hydrogen power.
Looking to the longer-term, we have established the Mersey Tidal Commission to look into ways of harnessing the power of the River Mersey as a source of clean, renewable, predictable energy for generations to come.
At the 2019 Year of the Environment Summit, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram announced the creation of a Climate Partnership to support the Liverpool City Region in reaching our goal of Net Zero Carbon by 2040 or sooner. The Partnership is made up of a diverse range of stakeholders from across the city region, with representatives from public, private & third sector organisations, as well as environmental groups and young people. Whilst the Partnership has no statutory authority, it is able to advise the Combined Authority on its climate agenda as a ‘critical friend’. The Partnership’s first meeting took place in May 2020, and subsequently meets once a month. It has had crucial input into the development of our two strategy documents, the Year One Climate Action Plan & Pathway to Net Zero, as well as contributing to the hugely successful Community Environment Fund project.
Find out MOREIn November 2018, we established a new Air Quality Task Force. Made up of elected representatives from the city region’s six local authorities, as well as representatives from organisations across the city region, the Air Quality Task Force is working to raise awareness of the issue of air quality and make recommendations on how to tackle it.
The work of the task force will also help to deliver Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram’s broader environmental pledge to make the Liverpool City Region the greenest in the UK.
Solar Together Liverpool City Region is a new scheme offering high-quality solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, and battery storage.
Solar panels will help residents save on energy bills and be less reliant on energy suppliers, and even have the potential to earn money by exporting unused solar power generated to the grid.
Solar Together is a group-buying scheme which brings households together to get high-quality solar panels at a competitive price, supporting and informing those participating in the scheme at each stage.
If you would like to learn more about our energy and environment policy or are looking for guidance and procedures to get involved with our energy and environment schemes then please visit our policy documents page. Our policy documents offer detailed information on the various policies.
