Transcript - Low Carbon Liverpool

Building a successful, sustainable
and green European city
Peter North and Alex Nurse
University of Liverpool
Climate change ….still there
• Europe’s worst cold snap in quarter of
a century
• Warmest 12-month period for
continental U.S.
• Worst Drought in Northeast Brazil in 50
Years
• UK weather: Heatwave warning ahead
of hottest July weekend for SEVEN
years
• Arctic sea ice shrinks to lowest extent
ever
• Records widely seen as strong signals
of long-term climate warming.
Low Carbon Liverpool
• Funded by the ESRC 2009-13.
• University, Liverpool Chamber,
Groundwork & Liverpool Vision
• Exploring low carbon transitions
- what policies are needed to
combine economic success and
avoid dangerous climate
change?
• Support SMEs and social
enterprises, and social inclusion
• Promote partnership working
The key message
• 'The choice between going green and going for growth is a
false one. Green and growth do go together, and the statistics
back this up‘ John Cridland, CBI Director-General
• Our low carbon and environmental sector has shown that it’s
not just for the good times, but that it has continued to grow
steadily even whilst broader economic activity slows.
Green Alliance
• “Projects that not only create a more environmentally
sustainable New York, also make our City more liveable, more
attractive, more exciting, and more economically
competitive” New York Mayor, Mike Bloomberg
• In terms of competitiveness, it’s the smart thing to do;
morally, its the right thing to do; and its what we MUST do to
avoid problems in the future.
What businesses told us
“running a business is different now in the sense that
you could budget for plant and equipment to improve
your efficiency or to change a product or to just make
sure the business stays competitive and profitable, and
I don’t think anybody who’s running a business argues
with that. They're gonna do it one way or the other.
But what I think now is that most companies should
also factor in as part of their expenditure is what they
can afford to spend on reducing their impact on the
environment. Obviously some of this is down to
legislation and people have to do things, but some of it
really is up to the individuals to get off their bottoms
and do something.”
Low Carbon Liverpool – Key Findings
• Successful cities are those which combine a clear
vision with strong and focussed leadership – to
achieve this we need to be clear about ‘what we
need to do’ and ‘who is responsible for what’
• When making economic policy, we need to
understand the long term implications of climate
change and resource depletion for the economy.
• Make emissions reduction a key policy objective.
• A question of political will and institutional capacity,
which many cities lack.
• The advent of a Mayor enables us to go up a gear.
Low Carbon Liverpool – Key Findings
• Ensure the city’s local economic development
drivers (knowledge, visitors, super port, ETS
sector) are all low carbon.
• Develop a suite of economic indicators to
balance GVA: explore sustainable economic
wealth, happiness, forms of entrepreneurship.
• Develop Energy Descent Pathways for the city.
• Develop a Green Partnership to take this
forward – and explore feasibility of a bid to be
European Green Capital.
European Green Capital
• Economically successful cities are sustainable cities.
• We need the right sort of growth – that does not cost the
earth – and avoid the problems of past Indian summers
• Cities need to develop productive resilient local economies
• A high quality environment and quality of life is essential to
attract talent to visit, study and stay in the city, and to
create new jobs and businesses.
• Being seen as green, smart and sustainable is essential to
the brand of any future competitive city
• European Green Capital brand puts a city ‘on the map’
• You don’t need to be perfect – but serious in intent.
• You won’t get it first go: it’s a process …
The Audit: A Summary
• Based on 12 European Green
Capital Bid Criteria
• The good: open spaces &
biodiversity, the river Mersey
story. Our emissions are going
down
• The not so good: recycling, cycle
lanes, electric cars.
• ‘A bid would be credible’.
• Our USPs: ‘Look how far we have
come’ and ‘our communities’.
Liverpool Green Partnership
• Facilitate the transition to a low carbon
economy in support of the Mayor and LEP
• Multi agency partnership – public, private and
community sectors all crucial: it is too big a
job for any one organisation.
• Involve strategic decision takers
• Build capacity and focus political will.
• Build on changed perceptions of the city
• European Green Capital bid process as catalyst
to faster/further meaningful change
The partners
Next steps
• Do nothing: inevitable change will do it to us and our
competitors will press ahead of us.
• Business as usual: Develop the low carbon economy
sector as a new source of jobs and businesses
• Low political will, low institutional capacity: small
scale but useful projects to build confidence
• Mid range: a Green Capital bid, to build confidence.
• Game changing: A multilevel partnership to bring
coherence to the process
• A Liverpool Plan to green the economy