MUI partnering on £4million EU IGNITION project

Partners across the city-region have signed a multi-million-pound European contract for a project which looks to develop innovative ways of financing natural solutions to deliver resilience to increasingly extreme climate hazards.

The project, the first of its kind, will see Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), supported by 11 other key partners, including the Environment Agency, come together to develop the new innovative financing and delivery mechanisms that cities and urban areas need to respond to the risks posed by increasingly rapidly changing climate.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “We are serious about our green ambitions in Greater Manchester – to become carbon neutral by 2038 and one of the world’s leading green city-regions.

"However, we also need to prepare for the climate change impacts which are now unavoidable and we must do it soon; we can’t keep doing things the old way.

“This project will help us encourage widespread use of innovative, nature-based solutions such as green roofs and walls to cool our city-region down, manage water and reduce flooding, while also reducing our carbon output, and improving our air quality.

"The funding will also help us to find ways to accelerate and finance their deployment.”

The University of Manchester team is Jeremy Carter (PI), Angela Connelly, James Rothwell, Adam Barker and Vasileios Vlastaras.

Find out more on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority website.