Manchester, 21st March 2018-Today sees the launch of a UK city-focused low carbon pathway model, SCATTER (Setting City Area Targets and Trajectories for Emission Reduction). It provides a tool to support cities across the UK to set emission reduction targets and define appropriate pathways to achieve them. The implementation of the model has been piloted by Greater Manchester and will support their vision to develop an ambitious science based carbon reduction target as part of becoming a leading Green City.
Developed in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), The Tyndall Centre and Anthesis Group, and funded by BEIS, the model was launched today at the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham’s, Green Summit. It will be rolled-out to other UK Core Cities in the coming months.
The model recognizes the challenges that cities and regions have as they aim to report on their carbon footprint and develop carbon reduction targets. It provides city regions with the opportunity to standardize their greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting to align with internationally accepted standards and ensure consistency with the Compact of the Mayors requirements.
Combining leading and authoritative tools and data sources, SCATTER provides city administrations with a simplified platform to help them evaluate their carbon footprint and identify technical solutions to mitigate their long-term impact, including setting science based carbon budget targets in line with the Paris Agreement from COP 21. Brad Blundell, Director at the Anthesis Group said, “we are delighted to be launching SCATTER today, the model presents an exciting opportunity to cities to understand the opportunities for decarbonizing their regions. It truly is a ground breaking platform to allow cities and regions to develop and achieve carbon reduction goals in support of the Paris commitment. Its ability to provide a robust, consistent approach and user-friendly outputs will be crucial to allowing local and regional policymakers to be effective and empowered to move forward”.
The model provides, for the first time, a UK city wide GHG emissions modelling tool, with illustrative data outputs informing city level GHG reduction interventions. Interventions by city regions are broken down into four main categories namely: energy supply, energy demand from buildings, energy demand from transport and natural capital. The model gives a high level, intervention-specific indication of relative social and economic impacts, providing greater detail on the areas and interventions that have the potential to generate the most significant emissions savings. Dr Carly McLachlan, Director of Tyndall Manchester, University of Manchester said, “the Mayor’s Green Summit and the SCATTER tool offer an important opportunity for us to come together as a city to work out what we want our low carbon future to look like, how we can work together and how we can maximise the health, employment and quality of life benefits for our citizens”.
SCATTER will be a key feature of Greater Manchester’s inaugural Green Summit led by Mayor Andy Burnham. It is an event to set out a new and ambitious environmental vision for the city and its 2.7 million residents, to become one of Europe’s leading green cities and as a global leader for smart energy generation. The Summit will feed into a new Environmental charter for the city region that will accelerate the ambition for carbon reduction before 2050.
The Summit will tackle climate change, innovation through the adoption of low carbon technologies, energy efficient buildings, clean air and access to green space, and will bring together some of the brightest environmental minds in the UK on the agenda.
The Summit will also provide an opportunity for a wide group of local stakeholders to provide their comments, informed by SCATTER, on the key interventions necessary for Greater Manchester to achieve its carbon reduction ambitions.
