Decisions made by England’s metro mayors will be critical to accelerating the UK’s progress towards the Government’s mission of a cleaner power sector by 2030 and its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Centre for Cities says in its new report, ‘Accelerating net zero delivery: What can UK cities learn from around the world?’.

UK cities are major emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs), accounting for 41 per cent of total emissions in 2022, although they are more efficient, with GHG emissions on a per capita basis 41 per cent lower than the rest of the country.

Urban emissions have fallen by 53 per cent in the last 17 years (2005-2022), compared with 43 per cent in non-urban areas but there is still work to be done and cities will have a leading role in future efforts at hitting UK net zero targets.

Evidence from international case studies shows cities across the world with powers over key areas of transport policy – such as public transport network integration – and planning use these powers to encourage and enable their citizens to live more environmentally friendly lives.

They do this by building homes at higher density and retrofitting existing homes, by encouraging people to use low-carbon modes of transport, and by providing heating networks and district energy supply to heat and cool buildings.

The report identifies spatial planning as the key policy lever for achieving the UK’s climate targets. Cities with greater density are at an advantage because this provides public transport and heating networks with the scale to operate efficiently.

Bringing the density of cities in line with European counterparts will speed up decarbonisation in terms of how we build, power and move. Large UK cities are currently less dense than their European peers – for example, Liverpool (with a population density of 4,422 people per km) is just over half as dense as Naples (8,222 people per square kilometre).

The report also shows that in many countries across the globe, cities are leading the national efforts to reach net zero – for example, Melbourne and Montreal’s higher energy efficiency standards and Tokyo’s city-level legislation requiring new developments to be fitted with solar panels.

UK cities have the potential to do the same if they were given equal powers and resources. Not doing so is likely to make it harder for the UK to meet its net zero ambitions.

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, said:

“Metro mayors in England are already taking advantage of powers at their disposal to help the UK make the transition to net zero.

“Two good examples are Greater Manchester’s Bee Network which has boosted public transport use and Liverpool City Region is setting the benchmark for other combined authorities with its upcoming spatial plan, designed to better connect new homes to public transport routes.

“But mayors’ powers are still pretty limited. There are many more good ideas from around the world for these places to draw on – they just need the powers and resources to implement them. The more power cities have, the more they will be able to achieve.

“Metro mayors should use their spatial plans to build more housing in locations near transport stops, so that they can enhance the rewards from some of the transport upgrades they have already committed to.”

Neil Kirkby, Managing Director of Enterprise, SSE, said:

“The Government has recognised the role of mayors and local leaders in achieving clean economic growth, but there is potential to go further and faster. Today’s report outlines several key opportunities for the Government to do so, from rolling out city-wide district heat networks to encouraging local energy generation in cities.

“By working in partnership, national and local government and industry can accelerate progress to decarbonise heat, power and energy systems, drive local economic growth and bring long-term skills and employment opportunities to local communities.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire and Chair of the UK Mayors’ Forum, said:

“Mayors are making huge steps to tackle the climate emergency with the powers and resources we have, but we urgently need to go further and faster if we are to achieve our and the country’s ambitions on this agenda. 

“As we work to deliver net zero by 2038 in West Yorkshire, we’re investing in electric buses and bikes, installing insulation and renewable energy measures in homes, supporting businesses to be more competitive and resource efficient, and ensuring people have the skills they need to secure the good, well-paid, green jobs of the future. 

“Greater devolution for Mayors would enable us to accelerate our plans for net zero, build on our successes and leadership, and deliver at scale for our businesses, communities and residents.”