Glasgow's Greenprint for Investment
Glasgow wants to build on and invest in the legacy of COP26.
Barry Dalgleish
Glasgow
wants the world to invest in its green vision of the future. That’s the general message contained in a glossy online report. With COP26 almost upon us, Glasgow City Council (GCC) has gone into PR overdrive, as it announced ‘£30bn of investments and place-based development opportunities’ in September 2021.
As you would expect from an investment prospectus, this report is business orientated. But what does it mean for the people of Glasgow and will it achieve the goals it’s set out for itself?
It starts out covering Glasgow’s history and the role the city played in shaping the industrial revolution, the process that sparked off global ecological decline, with familiar comments of building ‘resilience to climate change’ and ‘creating new jobs and economic opportunities.’
The report covers some of the points from the Climate Emergency Implementation Plan and builds on the general recommendations cited in the plan. In our last post, we evaluated that plan, which still needs further refining and consolidation.
The report claims that the ‘Greenprint’:
is a new and innovative approach, designed to unlock and scale investment. In doing so, it will ensure Glasgow is well positioned to thrive and help deliver our shared ambition to respond to the climate emergency and align with global ambitions for COP26.
The main areas covered are:
1: Glasgow Metro
2: Glasgow City Region Home Energy Retrofit Programme
3: Charing Cross: M8 Green Infrastructure Cap
4: Scottish Event Campus Expansion
5: Glasgow's District Heating Network
6: Climate Neutral Innovation District
7: Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland
8: Green Regeneration and Innovation District
9: Clyde Climate Forest
Brief notes on some of the initiatives will be outlined in the next section.
Glasgow Metro
This is a plan to develop an integrated transport system within the Greater Glasgow area ‘where bus, train, metro, subway, active travel and new forms of mobility can co-exist.’ A feasibility study is currently being carried out.
Glasgow City Region Home Energy Retrofit Programme
This will increase the energy efficiency of homes across the city that has not as yet benefited from existing cladding and other initiatives that has been rolled out. The report cites around ‘428,000 properties that are currently in the Energy Performance Certificate D-G categories.’ These properties will be brought up to Energy Performance Certificate C level.
Charing Cross: M8 Green Infrastructure Cap
This will landscape the entire Charing Cross area through the building of a cap over the motorway. It will improve connections in the area, making it more pedestrian friendly.
Glasgow's District Heating Network
GCC wants to expand a district heating network in two areas in the city, Polmadie and the Gorbals. The idea is to expand from the Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre (GRREC). The heat supply from the GRREC is apparently ‘50% renewable’ with a heat capacity of 38MWth.
Clyde Climate Forest
The Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) aims to plant 18 million trees in Glasgow City Region over the next decade (over 9,000 hectares of new woodlands). This will increase the forest and woodland cover in the region by 3%.
The environmental benefits from this will certainly be positive, from increased carbon sequestration to flood control and reduced overheating impacts. However with GCC cutting down trees linked to controversial developments, this raises questions on joined up thinking.
Overall
there is much to be welcomed from this report. Equally it also raises some questions. As COP26 fades into the mists of history, FoE Glasgow will be keeping an eye on its legacy and whether Glasgow really can realise its green credentials in a sustainable manner.