Climate change projects worth £100m are being planned in Manchester as part of the city's bid to slash emissions and become a 'carbon zero' city by 2038. The plans could bring significant changes across the city over the next decade as it takes steps to cut carbon and boost its green credentials.
Making Manchester a net zero city is expected to cost billions overall, with investment needed from both public and private organisations. Hitting the 2038 target would put Manchester well ahead of the UK national goal of 2050.
£100m project pipeline
The '£100m project pipeline' in the MCR Plan 2025-30 would be a series of milestone projects from a mix of funding sources, including cash from the government and GB Energy.
However, there are concerns about how much progress has been made in Manchester so far. The latest Manchester Climate Ready report for 2026 stated that the 'pace and scale of activity must increase' for the city to stay on track with its goal and that emissions are 'not reducing fast enough'.
Emissions 'not reducing fast enough'
The report added: “Manchester’s emissions have fallen by 50 per cent since 2005. In 2018 a goal was set to reach zero carbon by 2038. Since then, the city’s emissions have fallen by 23pc. Though positive, this is far below the 55pc reduction that was targeted for that period to stay within the city’s carbon budget.”
A group of councillors met on Tuesday (October 6) to discuss the situation. Labour Councillor Mandie Shilton Godwin, the council’s cabinet member for clean air and environment issues, said: “We know that we are not decarbonising at the pace that we need to.”
Carbon budget exceeded
The Manchester Climate Ready report revealed that the city has 'exceeded' its total carbon budget - a figure of 15 million tonnes that was set in 2018. Data showed that in 2024 Manchester emitted 1.74 million tonnes of CO2, which is 'nearly twice' the target set by the carbon budget for that year.
Lib Dem Councillor Alan Good described the situation over the city’s carbon budget as 'depressing'. Labour Councillor Angeliki Stogia, chairing Tuesday’s meeting, said: “Manchester is moving in the right direction in terms of reducing our emissions, but I think it’s clear that we are not at the base we want to be, the reports are clear that there are significant challenges that remain.”
Net zero target still possible
Sam Nicholson, director at Manchester Climate Ready, said the net zero target is still possible despite the situation. A council report set out some of the changes being planned in the near future to cut carbon. Schemes worth around £1bn have been identified overall, and these are being assessed for those which are most likely to bring major benefits and attract investment.
The plan aims to install more than 50,000 heat pumps by 2030, and retrofit nearly 80,000 homes to better energy performance standards. There are also plans to increase the number of journeys being made in Manchester by public transport and active travel, such as walking or cycling. As for car travel, it is hoped to switch 28,000 more vehicles to electric by 2030.
