Welcome Findings from the Regional Growth into the Low Carbon Study

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WelcomeFindings from the Regional Growth into
the Low Carbon Study
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Agenda

• Context - the Regional Sustainability Challenges
• What would a local low carbon strategy look like?
• Discussion Break
• Research Findings
• Discussion
• Lunch

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Context what are the regional sustainability
challenges?

• Dr Simon Slater
• Executive Director
• simon.slater_at_swm.org.uk
• sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk

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The West Midlands at a glance

• 5.3 Million people 9 of UK total
• Birmingham is 2nd largest city in UK
  population of more than 1 million.
• 75 of the UK s population is within 5 hours
  drive.
• Most ethnically diverse region in the UK
  outside of London.
• Highest concentration of manufacturers in the UK
• 80 of the region is rural

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The Regional Sustainability Challenge

• The Productivity Gap - 10 billion plus
  productivity worklessness
• The Carbon Gap need to focus on transport,
  waste, decentralised energy, energy efficiency
• Quality of Life Gap health inequalities, basket
  of indicators such Index Sustainable Economic
  Welfare vary across region, externalities
• Confidence Gap poor promotion within and
  outside region of good practice
• Leadership Gap varied understanding on
  sustainability as overall framework for action,
  business often ahead of public sector, regional
  governance unfinished uncertain

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Our Vision

• By 2020 businesses and communities are thriving
  in a West Midlands that is environmentally
  sustainable and socially just.
• By 2012 our leaders are clear on what this looks
  like, have set milestones and their organisations
  are making strong progress.
• Low carbon vision begins to set out what is
  possible now in terms of energy, transport,
  construction, demographic change to reach
  2020just add leadership and next steps
•  

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The Regional Low Carbon Building Blocks

• The National Low Carbon Transition Plan Others
• The West Midlands Economic Strategy, Regional
  Spatial Strategy, Climate Change Plan
• The emerging Single Integrated Regional Strategy
  and Joint Strategy and Investment Board and 20
  impact areas
• Regional Ministers Low Carbon Task Force
• City Region Low Carbon Economy Programme
• SWM review to identify key priorities

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What would a local low carbon economic strategy
look like?

• Dr Simon Slater
• Executive Director
• simon.slater_at_swm.org.uk
• sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk

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Lessons from UK first low-carbon regional
economic strategy?

• Opportunity to address both the regional
  productivity challenge and carbon challenge.
• Connecting to Success published in January 2008
  and Delivery Framework in May 2008. Full story
  covered in Evidence of success Dec 2008
• Lessons and approach are applicable to local level

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Defining Low Carbon Economy

• There is no official government definition of a
  low-carbon economy so the region produced its
  own, definition
• An economy that produces goods and services of
  increasing value while reducing the associated
  greenhouse gases in their production, use and
  disposal
• - Connecting to Success, page 89
• Embraces the regions strengths in engineering,
  science and technology to deliver low-carbon
  solutions to national and international markets.

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The scale of the output challenge

• Gross Value Added a measure of the net total
  output or income generated by an economy.
  Essentially it is the difference between the
  value of the goods and services produced in an
  economy and the cost of raw materials and other
  inputs which were used in their production.

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The scale of the carbon challenge

• CO2(e) is an abbreviation of 'carbon dioxide
  equivalent' and is the internationally recognised
  measure of greenhouse gas emissions. The sources
  of greenhouse gas emissions include carbon
  dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide
  (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
  perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride
  (SF6).

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Developing new policies

• Developed policy areas that could be influenced
  by the new economic strategy and that would
  address the productivity and carbon challenges at
  the same time.
• Developed a benchmark of what an ideal
  low-carbon economic strategy could look like.
• Assess the extent which Connecting to Success
  supported these key policy areas during several
  stages of development as a parallel process to
  the wider sustainability appraisal.

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Improving the Strategy
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Benchmarking against other regions
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Prioritising actions and programmes

• The actions against the policy areas were
  prioritised in terms of
• Economic benefit
• Potential to reduce carbon
• Ease of implementation
• Alignment with other regional social and
  environmental policy
• Main programmes were around
• Smarter Working / ICT
• Decentralised energy waste infrastructure
• Resource Efficiency Support for Business (energy
  waste)
• Stimulation and support for diversification into
  Green Markets e.g. Procurement RD
• Our commitment to deliver our role within the
  delivery framework is outlined in our Corporate
  Plan 2008 -11 which was published in June 2008.

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Delivery - Monitoring Progress

• Delivery of the Strategy is monitored using the
  following indicators
• Tonnes of CO2e per 10,000 GVA Headline
  Indicator
• Regional Indicator of Sustainable Economic
  Wellbeing - Headline Indicator
• Total Industry and commercial energy consumption
  (GWh) per billion GVA
• Percentage of people usually working from home or
  travelling to work using sustainable means of
  transport
• Growth of companies in the region providing
  low-carbon products and services (to be
  developed)
• Industrial and commercial waste indicator (to be
  developed)
• Natural environment indicator (under development)

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Delivery progress to date
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Delivery progress to date (cont)

• Monitoring of Strategy Actions - Overall good
  progress
• AWM carbon reduction from investments on target
  of 150,000 tonnes in 2008/9
• Smarter Working launched to help flexible working
  / use of ICT
• National Centre for Low Carbon Vehicles, Science
  City, Power Academy
• Waste infrastructure programme
• Renewable Energy and Supply Chain and deployment
  programmes but more coordination required
• Business support via good practice networks e.g.
  Business Futures or Business link
• BUT more sub-regional targeting at risks and
  opportunities required

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Emerging sub-regional actions

• Improved business support and good practice in
  improving efficiency of existing business,
  supported by waste and energy infrastructure,
  smarter working/travel
• Link green space maintenance to future jobs fund
  to create immediate supported employment, and
  longer term natural assets
• Mass scale housing retrofit programme stimulate
  new products and employment
• Public Procurement to create new low carbon
  markets, drive innovation, and efficiency that
  existing business base well placed to exploit
• Pooling of resources joint agency to improve
  coordination, attraction of investment

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2. Key Lessons in producing your local low carbon
strategy

• Definition is important productivity carbon
  of overall economy
• Low Carbon does not guarantee environmental or
  social progress need SD review, including
  longer term issues.
• Identifying the scale of the challenge within
  target of 2020
• Focus on what can be influenced

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Key Lessons (cont)

• Prioritise actions on a range of investment /
  benefit criteria
• Balance of productivity verses jobs safeguarding
  / creating, tackling worklessness
• Create new markets in areas local economy has
  strengths to exploit
• Skills and investment follow longer-term demand
  and certainty created by leadership

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Local Low Carbon Economic Strategy Benchmark?

• Your Local Economic Strategy is your low carbon
  strategy
• Clear definition around increased productivity
  and reducing carbon
• Evidence base to support your strategy should
  cover
• Sectors at risk from carbon / environmental
  legislation
• Opportunities for sectors from decarbonisation
  and diversification
• Understanding of impact on productivity jobs
• Actions prioritised based on addressing market
  failure and costs, benefits.
• Monitoring productivity, jobs, efficiency,
  diversification

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What do you think a local low carbon economic
strategy would look like?

• Dr Simon Slater
• Executive Director
• simon.slater_at_swm.org.uk
• sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk