Greater Manchester, Low Carbon Area for Built Environment

This has been in the (ho-ho) pipeline for a while. Now maybe the Manchester Climate Change Agency could get on and, you know, be an agent of change?

Manchester city region confirmed as low carbon area
By Simon Binns
Greater Manchester has been designated the UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA) for the Built Environment by the government....

Environment Commission meeting #4: Resource wars

Four months after the Environment Commission (EC) first met, there is growing impatience amongst the commissioners to just get on with the job and start setting targets. While aware of the need to carefully select an agenda, many commissioners are concerned over the lack of progress made. One pointed out that 'not one house has been retrofitted, not one tonne or even one pound of C02 has been reduced due to the meeting s, in fact probably more has been produced due to all this paper printed.' Given the hefty agenda set for the latest two-hour meeting, and the numerous presentations, commissioners were also keen to streamline the meetings in future.

The main agenda item at the Sept 10 meeting was the work programme for the EC. Commissioners were being asked to take the lead on a certain number of projects around 10 themes, including capacity building, policy, management and resource procurement, housing retrofit, climate resilience, sustainable consumption and production and so on.

A major stumbling block with the proposed work plan was the obvious lack of resources available. In addition the delivery body- the Manchester Climate Change Agency- is not yet ready, and certain items such as the airport were also side-lined as basically too hard to resolve. Whilst certain commissioners were eager that they all put forward staff and resources, many of the appointed commissioners explained that they were working under tight budgets for this suggestion to be realistic. This resources issue needs resolving soon, otherwise a cyclical and boring debate of what comes first - the plan or the money - will ensue. Across the 7 AGMA commissions there is a huge imbalance in resources, with only the New Economy Commission having anything approaching a big enough staff team.

It is clearly early days for the EC, and the issues of a work programme and resources were bound to be difficult ones to resolve. Even so, there does seem to be a lack of urgency and some of the eager (and important) faces that were at the first meeting do need to reappear if this Commission is serious about fulfilling its aims.

MCFly 032- Manchester Climate Change Agency

With the Environment Commission pushing into its fourth meeting this month, its 'delivery body' the Manchester Climate Change Agency (MCCA), is now beginning to take shape. Steve Turner, the head of carbon economy, revealed that the MCCA's powers have been delegated from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities to Oldham Council and that day-to-day running will be undertaken by himself.

Financial resources were highlighted as a major issue alongside governance, although Turner admitted a lot of learning had occurred between Manchester and London's own failed Climate Change Agency. The MCCA will soon be acquiring its first member of staff (a project officer), of an eventual ten, and it is looking to put in place smart metering for the business district. A geothermal heating project in a sports centre in East Manchester is also in the pipeline. MCCA is hoping to become a one-stop-shop for advice on climate change matters to businesses across the city-region. see www.manchesterclimatefortnightly.info/mcca.html for more info

Scoop! Environment Commissioners not being appointed yet

The Environment Commission for Greater Manchester will have to wait a little longer for its first meeting as a full body. Six members of the 11 commissioner group have been appointed, and have already met once, but five others are still being sought.

The initial plan was that a recruitment consultancy would deliver five preferred candidates to the AGMA Executive for their meeting on March 27th. MCFly has been told this will now not happen. It is not clear whether the Environment Commission will press ahead with its planned Tuesday April 7th meeting, or what this delay (not the first to hit the body) will mean for Greater Manchester climate action by local government, or the pace of development of the Manchester Climate Change Agency.

The idea, as reported in MCFly 17, is that 11 "Environment Commissioners"- 6 elected politicians from various local authorities and 5 people from business/ construction/media/ voluntary sector/academia- will meet regularly and help co-ordinate activities.

The Environment Commission is one of 7 Greater Manchester-wide bodies being set up - the others are Economic Development, Employment and Skills, Health, Improvement and Efficiency, Planning and Housing, Transport and Public Protection.

The selection of non-local authority members for the Planning and Housing Commission is agenda item 6 on the AGMA executive meeting for March 27th. There will be "a report from the Head of AGMA Policy & Research Unit" presented. It is not clear if this to offer names for approval or whether it is merely 'how the search for them should be conducted'.

You can see more information here
MCFly 19 blog post
Bluffer's Guide to the Environment Commission

MCFly 019- Environment Commission update

The Environment Commission is one of 7 Greater Manchester-wide bodies being set up - others include Health, Transport, Economic Development etc. (www.manchesterclimatefortnightly.info/bluffersguide.html). The idea, as reported in MCFly 17, is that 11 "Environment Commissioners"- 6 elected politicians from various local authorities and 5 people from business/ construction/media/ voluntary sector/academia- will meet regularly and help co-ordinate activities.

They will not be paid, and indeed there is only a minimal budget for operating costs. MCFly has been told that the EC is supposed to be task-orientated and help deliver objectives. If it wants to achieve discrete projects then it will apply for funding separately .

The timetable for the Environment Commission has been pushed back slightly. On March 20 the recruitment consultants (we don't know who they are) will give a list of recommended candidates for the 5 non-elected commissioners to the AGMA Executive.

All being well, the Environment Commission will meet on Tuesday April 6 for its first full meeting. At this, they will discuss the action they want to take, how they will achieve it and how to set-up support infrastructures to do it.

According to Steve Turner of the Manchester Climate Change Agency, one of the delivery bodies underneath the Environment Commission, the delay is not having an impact on the MCCA's progress, and it still plans to open its doors later this summer.

MCFly will keep you informed...

Brussels Sprouts and the End of the World

News reaches MCFly Towers of a film premiere the climat-istas will be dying to pack their low-energy popcorn for.

No, not the Sunday 15th March eagerly-awaited launch of the "Age of Stupid", which is coming soon to a cinema near you, no matter where you live it seems.

No, this is about the "Manchester Mini-Stern," a report released last year which spelt out the (21 billion quid) costs of not acting quickly enough of smart enough to climate change. It used the methodology of the Stern Review and applied it to Greater Manchester. This was a first, for a sub-national approach, and the report has picked up a few awards (recently a Sustainable Communities gong, according to the MEN.)
Read more about it all in the updated 3rd Manchester Climate Change Agency bulletin.

Here's the poster for this launch. One last thing, this poster can be seen at the following address:

http://users.skynet.be/phelge/manchesterweek/Thursday_invite.html

Skynet??

MCFly 017- Manchester Climate Change Agency

One of the key components of the Environment Commission will be the “Manchester Climate Change Agency,” due to open its doors later this year. The Agency, which is not modelled on the London Climate Change Agency (which reliable sources say is due to be drowned in a bathtub by Boris Johnson), will be a “delivery body”. It hopes to learn from the LCCA's mistakes, with “much closer links with the local authorities as well as improved private sector input.”

The budget is “likely to be in the region of £500,000 [in] year one, rising to £5million Year 3.” Staffing levels are not yet confirmed, but by its third year, it is expected it will employ as many as 10 people, including secondments from private and public sectors. A draft business plan will be available for consultation in March, and as we speak, an international law firm, Eversheds LLP, is putting together a report on proposed “governance structures.”

You can see more information here: http://tinyurl.com/683v2s.

Manchester Climate Fortnightly will be be following developments closely.

In the meantime, for basic info about the Environment Commission, AGMA, MCCA, the Council etc, see: www.manchesterclimatefortnightly.info/bluffersguide.html

Roads 1, Climate Sanity 0

Last week two unrelated but very related stories crossed our desk.

Firstly, the Northwest Development Agency (based in Warrington, one of seven English “development agencies”) had released £1.6 million for a charity called Groundwork to provide financing for local carbon emission-reducing projects. The catch is that Groundwork must find 3 million over the next three years from other sources.

Secondly, on February 5^th, the Department for (new runways and) Transport has ponied up “an extra £13m to improve local roads in the North West.” On top of £285 million already allocated for highways maintenance in the region.

So, £13 million right now to encourage more transport-related carbon emissions, but charities have will have to scramble and hustle like mad to support climate change mitigation.... That thud you hear is satirists' bodies hitting the ground.

PS And you have to wonder, will Groundwork be chasing the same finite pot of private-sector money that the Manchester Climate Change Agency wants to get hold of?

Manchester Climate Change Agency news

Manchester Climate Fortnightly has reported in the past on the upcoming “Manchester Climate Change Agency.” It will cover Greater Manchester (all ten local authorities). It had initially been due to open in March, but this has been pushed back to “late summer.”
Its third bulletin has just come out, and is well worth a read. (it's only 3 and a bit pages). Ah, doesn't seem to be online just yet...

They've agreed a mission statement:

The Greater Manchester Climate Change Agency (working title) is the city region's business, public and third sector partnership, contributing towards economic advantage and prosperity by:
(i) delivering carbon reductions, and
(ii)responding to the impacts of climate change

The MCCA will be overseen by the “Environment Commission”. [no website yet]
This will next meet in February/March. The six elected members of the Environment Commission have been announced (all councillors from various local authorities). Five more will be chosen, from “business; the third sector; academia; property and development; and communications. They will be recognised figureheads within their respective sectors and have significant decision making powers and influence over environmental performance across the city region. Wherever possible, they will have strong links into other Commissions and work streams to promote inter-Commission working.”

The other commissions mentioned here are AGMA bodies, including the Economic Development, Employment and Skills Commission.

MCFly will keep you posted...