Greater Manchester’s climate mission

This research project is led by the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP).
Explore all IIPP research projects here. 

Dates of the project: 2018

The Challenge 

Greater Manchester sets one of Europe’s most ambitious climate goals: to reach carbon neutrality by 2038. This bold target calls for more than environmental action – it requires rethinking how the city-region grows its economy, fosters innovation, and delivers public value in response to the climate crisis and broader societal challenges. 

Our Approach 

IIPP collaborates with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to embed a mission-oriented approach into the city-region’s clean growth strategy. Led by Professor Mariana Mazzucato, the IIPP team co-develops a technical report that informs GMCA’s 5-Year Environment Plan and Local Industrial Strategy – making Greater Manchester the first city globally to adopt mission-oriented innovation in practice. IIPP continues to support the mission by analysing governance, evaluating progress, and prototyping tools to track its dynamic development. 

Why This Matters 

This work shows how cities can lead transformative change by aligning innovation, economic development, and climate action. Greater Manchester’s mission-oriented approach offers a model for inclusive, sustainable growth – demonstrating how public purpose can drive innovation. IIPP’s ongoing involvement helps shape how governments respond to complex challenges, from decarbonisation to post-pandemic recovery. 

Resources

Funder

This project is funded by Greater Manchester Combined Authority. 

This project has been ongoing since 2018 and in collaboration with multiple partners including:

EIT Climate-KIC, a European knowledge and innovation community that identifies and supports innovation that helps society mitigate and adapt to climate change, through the PELICAN project.

Max and Jida Bittner through the Mission-Oriented City Innovation: Tackling The Climate Crisis workstream.

The UCL Grand Challenges & Environment Domain joint Green Recovery from COVID-19 fund.

This research project is led by the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP).
Explore all IIPP research projects here.