As mayor, Andy Burnham’s climate record was strong – this city knowledge is key to decarbonising the UK

Andy Burnham took office as UK Prime Minister on July twentieth—the first to come straight from running a major city. As mayor of Greater Manchester, he brought buses back under public control with a commitment to zero-emission by twenty-thirty, and backed the city's carbon-neutrality target of twenty-thirty-eight, twelve years ahead of Britain's national goal. Research by the C40 cities network and engineering consultancy Arup now suggests his city experience could reshape the UK's climate response. The pattern across leading cities is clear: national governments make clean technology affordable through grants and tax breaks, while cities make it accessible—building charging networks, streamlining permits, and electrifying their own fleets. Modeling of truck electrification in London and forty-four other world cities found that regulation, like zero-emission zones, has far greater impact than pricing alone on spurring adoption. Coordinated action by UK cities could bring forward the point at which electric trucks become cheaper than diesel by up to two and a half years. Burnham called his new government a circuit-breaker for Britain, but with his city background, he now has the chance to tip these dominoes across the whole country.

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