£4m green infrastructure project launched in Greater Manchester

11 partner organisations in Greater Manchester have signed a £4m EU contract for a project which looks to develop innovative ways of financing natural solutions that deliver resilience to the effects of climate change.

Ignition, which is supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the University of Manchester and City of Trees, amongst others, will run for three years with partners identifying sites within the region where natural capital climate adaptation projects can manage urban flood and overheating risks.

The Combined Authority said they believe solutions lie in ‘substantial’ retrofit programmes of urban green infrastructure as well as slowing the flow of excess water caused by extreme weather events.

It’s hoped these nature-based solutions will also help to improve air quality, the visibility of the region, increase the level of biodiversity within an urban environment and help to improve the health and well-being of citizens.

Greater Manchester has faced more extreme weather in recent years and in December 2015, the region experienced significant flooding, damaging homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Heat stress incidents are also on the rise as a result of increasing temperatures and storms are becoming more common, as is flooding from intense rainfall.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, 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.’

For more information on the project visit here.