In July 2019, Greater Manchester Combined Authority declared a Climate Emergency, the first Combined Authority to do so. A target has been set to be carbon neutral by 2038, and a five year Environment Plan has been agreed in line with this. In summer 2019, the Combined Authority agreed to invest a further £3m to retrofit 350 buses in Greater Manchester – taking to the total amount of money invested in this to £6m.
A Greater Manchester-wide Solar PV Collecting Purchasing Scheme has been established which will reduce solar installations on domestic properties by 35%. This initiative should give the Combined Authority an increase in up to 5MW in renewable energy usage across the City Region, which will be a step towards meeting target to use 45MW more of renewable energy over the five year plan period.
