One city, many voices

IN 2020, Greater Manchester set itself the target to be a zero carbon city by 2038 – 12 years ahead of the UK government’s target to be a carbon neutral nation by 2050.

This ambitious sustainability goal to make Manchester a cleaner, greener city, has been taken under the wing of several organisations who are actively promoting environmentallyconscious initiatives in and around the city.

Manchester University, which prides itself in being ranked global #1 for its collective action based on the United Nations’ 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, has recently announced its ‘50,000 Actions’ scheme, challenging students and staff to embark upon small routine actions to live more sustainably.

Common Purpose is another organisation who have taken this zero carbon by 2038 goal to heart. They recently ran a programme for young people interested in sustainability and leadership called GM100.

As a participant of the programme, my team came up with the idea of a sustainable development levy which could be introduced into construction projects around Greater Manchester, creating an incentive for development firms to invest in building more low-carbon houses, thus future-proofing them for the net zero target in 17 years.

With these initiatives chipping away at the gargantuan task of eliminating all of Manchester’s emissions by 2038 comes gradual progress in a sustainable snowball effect, gathering momentum and gaining traction city-wide.

With a new cohort of GM100 alumni out making positive change in the world, perhaps the seemingly far-fetched targets are somewhat more tangible than they first appear?