By Zara Hakobyan
The Environment, Climate Change and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee convened for its first meeting of 2024 on May 23rd. Chaired by Councillor Shilton Godwin, the agenda featured two items: Item 1, which comprised the Manchester City Council's Climate Change Programme, Climate Change Action Plan Work Programme 2024-25 and Climate Change Action Plan 2025-30 Development for discussion in public, as well as the Item 2, a forthcoming council work review to be looked at after the public recording is closed.
During the opening questions, Councillor Richards and Councillor McCall highlighted the importance of aligning various strategies and action plans that exist in Manchester to address climate change. They emphasized that some of the most affected communities are also those that contribute the least to the problem.
Mark Duncan, the Strategic Lead for Resources and Programmes at Manchester City Council, responded by explaining that the aim of the report is to align the City Council's action plan with national initiatives and the General Elections. In addition to this, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is developing a Climate Change Action plan for the next five-year period, which will be finalised before Manchester's plan. Equally, some work is being done in partnership with the Climate Change Agency to make sure that the actions the City Council can bring forward will have an impact on the city-wide process and the city-wide framework pulled together by the Climate Change Partnership.
Notably, the Our Manchester Strategy, which serves as the city's overarching strategy, includes climate-focused elements. As a result, the strategic hierarchy can be summarized as follows: Our Manchester Strategy, Climate Change Framework, and finally, the City Council's Climate Change Action Plan.
Councillor Rawlins noted that the Zero Carbon Coordination group, which she sits on, is responsible for managing the interface between these various initiatives. The group has five workstream leads and a clear programme of work in areas such as anti-poverty, green and blue infrastructure, walking and cycling, housing/retrofitting etc.
Councillor McCall expressed concerns about targets and budget constraints, citing the risk of underperformance due to limited resources. The committee acknowledged that soft policy alone is not sufficient and that local authorities are advocating for national budget support.
To view the full meeting, please visit the provided link: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7723560/video/920522503
Reports: https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/documents/s47174/MCC%20Climate%20Ch…;
https://democracy.manchester.gov.uk/documents/s47059/MayECCNSCOverviewR…;