COP26 host, the City of Glasgow, has launched a £30bn investment strategy to help reach its Net Zero target by 2030. In the summer, the city announced it had already reduced carbon emissions by 41 per cent since 2006, surpassing the 30 per cent target set for 2020.
Greenprint for Investment is a portfolio of projects which aims to attract international and activist investors through a mix of decarbonising and transformative development opportunities.
The 10 Greenprint projects are:
Clyde Climate Forest: The aim is to plant 18 million trees in the region over the next decade. That is over 9,000 hectares (or 17,000 football fields) of new woodlands, increasing cover by 3% and significantly increasing atmospheric carbon sequestration through tree growth.
Glasgow City Region Home Energy Retrofit Programme: A ten-year £10 billion programme to upgrade insulation in all homes in the City Region, exploring innovative renewable technologies to deliver clean energy.
Glasgow’s District Heating Network: The focus is scaling up the achievements of the £154 million Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre to kick-start a wider district heating network. Two key projects in Polmadie and Gorbals Districts are testbeds and a proposal to harness the River Clyde for the city’s heat demands is underway.
Climate Neutral Innovation District: The University of Strathclyde is leading an ambitious project to make the Glasgow City Innovation District 100% climate neutral and climate resilient, through 100% renewable heat, power, transport, climate adaptation and wellbeing solutions.
Charing Cross M8 Green Infrastructure Cap: Plans will revitalise and re-green the city’s public realm including a cap over a major interchange of the M8, the busiest motorway in Scotland.
Glasgow Metro is a new transport initiative to provide accessible and affordable connections to over 1.8 million people.
Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland: Scotland’s new home of advanced manufacturing with ambitions to drive the wider UK’s low carbon transition. With outline planning permission, this emerging centre of excellence and innovation is crucial to national and international carbon reduction efforts and is part of Scotland’s answer to balancing manufacturing requirements while meeting net zero commitments.
Micro Park Apparel Project: Over £365 billion of waste clothing is discarded each year, with a further £220 billion in lost revenue due to product markdowns. Micro Park aims to create a new location for fashion production in the UK, embedding circularity across all areas of activity including resource use, textile and fibre reuse and packaging. It will use 100% renewable energy, generate no liquid waste and have no negative environmental impacts.
Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Expansion: Plans including an ambitious energy concept to turn the SEC into one of the world’s most sustainable campuses and includes several globally competitive and cutting-edge conference and exhibition innovations. Investment will drive organisational targets to achieve net zero by 2035 with significant reductions by 2031.
Green Regeneration and Innovation District: As Scotland’s first Green Regeneration and Innovation District, Clyde Gateway is working to decarbonise travel and energy for homes and businesses while providing the local community a place to live and work in a low carbon and resilient neighbourhood.
Council leader Susan Aitken said: “Glasgow is ready to meet the challenges of the climate emergency head on, addressing long-standing social, economic and environmental challenges around fuel poverty, poor connectivity and community blight whilst meeting our climate targets. Our Net-Zero future is about safer communities, warm and efficient homes, sustainable jobs and a prosperous economy. Transition has to be about the social and economic well-being of Glasgow and its people.
“This will require levels of investment never seen before in local government and adaptation plans which will be vital in delivering a modern, resilient and inclusive city economy. As a core element of Glasgow’s Green Deal, our ‘Greenprint’ brings together transformational, investable and shovel-ready projects. From an entire new transport system better connecting citizens to opportunities, generating renewable energy from the River Clyde and upgrading hundreds of thousands of homes across our city region, the Greenprint projects will deliver the infrastructure necessary for a low carbon, climate-resilient future.
“All cities face huge change. Glasgow’s challenges are typical of those of so many of our global peers. As cities rebuild to decarbonise, we can be the demonstrator in shaping those solutions. The success of COP26 will be measured by how cities can take the practical steps necessary to secure the future of our planet. Our Greenprint provides a major part of our roadmap to doing just that.”
The portfolio of projects outlined within the prospectus relate to four umbrella United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 8) Decent Work and Economic Growth; 11) Sustainable Cities and Communities; 13) Climate Action; and 17) Partnerships for the Goals. The SDGs are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
