Andy Burnham unveiled the next five years of his 18-year Environment Plan to be carbon neutral by 2038 at the Greater Manchester Green Summit yesterday .
The GM Mayor took to the stage to set out his environmental goals at the region’s annual climate conference at the Lowry Theatre.
Burnham spoke at length on ‘Retrofitting’- a goal of the plan to reduce the carbon output of existing homes by making them more energy efficient.
The number of homes brought to the environmentally friendly ‘c or above’ rating of energy performance has doubled since 2020, according to the Greater Manchester combined authority website.
Speaking of the growth for the next five years Burnham said this is the north’s opportunity to re-industrialise in a good way and to introduce ‘green skills’ and capture the retrofit industry.
He said that at the moment there is a risk that the right people will not be available to carry out this ambitious goal, and serious steps need to be taken now to get young people trained. This could mean jobs for retrofitters, and lower energy bills for the public.
When asked about funding for the vast decarbonisation goal for homes, assistance for some of Manchester’s residents are less clear.
Speaking on grant funding for the public sector the mayor said: “It will be given to Greater Manchester on a much more flexible basis from next April, which means we’ll be able to move much more quickly.”
Another scheme allows for those households with an income of less than £30,000 pounds to apply for grants of up to £10,000.
For those either unable to afford or qualify for a scheme, the financial options and incentives do not yet exist. The out of pocket cost for upgrading homes in this middle tier may not equate to energy savings once the work is done for some time.
For now, the government can offer practical advice through its ‘Your Home Better’ scheme, but Burnham acknowledged that to get all homes retrofitted, there will be a point where some people will need to be given help.
“I think from April we will get more flexibility over retrofit funding. So we’ll be able to move in more creative ways. I think a lot of residents will need incentives to do this.
“We’ve got to bring down the cost of it first. At the moment we are in the early days of it, and we’ve got to build up the skills base. It may be into the 2030s when we might be able to look at those incentives.”
For now, those looking to retrofit their homes out of pocket can obtain practical advice from ‘Your Home Better’, as well as a free assessment of their home.
The mayor says people should have confidence in this new five year plan as they have shown they can do “big things”.
He added: “We can deliver at a time when the country has not felt like it’s been moving forward. We at least have managed to bring off a big change on time and on budget.”
Main image credit: Gabby Roberts
