31. Local action is key to delivering net zero in the cheapest and most effective way possible. Taking a more locally led, place-based approach can deliver a net zero transition with more local support, better tailoring to local needs, and bring economic and social benefits. Research coordinated by UKRI suggested that adopting a place-specific approach could save £137 billion of investment and return an additional £431 billion of financial and social benefits.70 This is because each community will have a different path to net zero, which local leaders are best placed to understand and shape. But there are also many commonalities on these paths that places can take advantage of to increase economies of scale, build regional supply chains and skills expertise, and attract green investment.
32. There is huge ambition in local government and in all four nations of the UK. For example, more than 300 local authorities have set their own net zero target and/or declared a climate emergency. Many of these targets are ahead of the UK's 2050 date, such as Greater Manchester by 2038, West Midlands by 2041, and Scotland by 2045. Crucially, places are not just setting ambition, but acting as well, demonstrating in practice how growth and net zero can go hand-in-hand for communities across the country. The Review heard first hand from the leaders of local and devolved governments about their net zero ambitions and what drives them.
"For both Manchester and Greater Manchester, reaching a net zero target (we both have set a science-based net zero target of 2038) is essential for both protecting the existing local economy and transitioning to a new, dynamic green economy driving local economic growth." - Manchester City Council and the Manchester Climate Change Agency71
33. The economic opportunities of net zero across the country are clear. In the past year, we have also seen major (multi-annual) investment commitments announced:
• Zero emission vehicles (ZEVs): Drawing billions of pounds of investment, and will support thousands of high-quality jobs across the UK, e.g. in North East England (Nissan, £1 billion investment and 6,000 jobs72);
• Offshore wind: Pipeline of fixed-bottom wind farm projects mainly off the East coasts of England and Scotland, with scope for development of floating windfarms in the Celtic Sea and Scotland;
• CCUS & Hydrogen: Proposals from industry cover the length and breadth of the Union, including in the Humber, Teesside, the North West, the South East, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland;
• Clean heat: Benefits from investment and deployment of clean heat technologies - such as manufacturing and installer jobs or product cost reductions - will be UK-wide. Current and potential UK heat pump manufacturing facilities are predominantly outside the South East.
34. Every part of the country has different decarbonisation needs and opportunities. The Review has considered what can be done at a national level to help local areas respond to their particular requirements. This also includes supporting places that currently rely on high-carbon industries to adapt or decarbonise - and maximising the work of countless community and neighbourhood schemes all over the country in support of reaching net zero.