Wednesday 19 January 2022

‘Energy use must half’ for Liverpool to be net zero by 2040

Energy use in Liverpool must be halved by 2040 if the city is to achieve net zero emissions.

That’s according to a new study from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which has also revealed the cost of becoming net zero to be in the region of £45 billion.

This investment will go towards green energy, transport, low carbon buildings and industry.

It claims that fossil fuels currently provide 75% of Liverpool’s energy and this number needs to dramatically drop in the next five years for any targets to be achievable.

There are plans to triple wind power generation in Liverpool Bay and utilise carbon capture technologies far more – a project in St Helens that uses hydrogen power to produce glass is also currently underway.

Around £1 billion of investment will be needed each year in transport by 2025, with the aim to increase public transport use by 10% a year by 2030.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “At COP26 in Glasgow in November we showed to the world that we are one of the places leading the way through innovative and significant industrial projects including Mersey Tidal, Glass Futures and HyNet.

“Make no mistake, this is our moment. I want others to look to the Liverpool City Region as the exemplar when it comes to tackling climate change.”