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Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Green Finance Institute partner to fund energy-efficiency home improvements

15:49 Wednesday 3rd August 2022


Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Green Finance Institute (GFI) have joined forces to provide financial solutions for energy-efficiency home improvements across the region.


This is part of GCMA’s ‘Retrofit GM’ strategy, a three-year vision aiming to support upgrading the energy efficiency of around 60,000 homes per year across Greater Manchester.

According to recent research conducted by GFI, one of the major hurdles facing property owners who wish to make energy efficiency upgrades is a lack of finance available to fund improvements, such as insulation and low-carbon heating. 

The new partnership between the GFI and GMCA aims to fix this issue by enabling homeowners and landlords to access new sources of private and blended finance for home upgrades.

The two partners will work together with financial institutions, retrofit specialists and local organisations to pilot a series of funding solutions, including:

• a UK property linked finance scheme, replicating the PACE model from the US
• issuing local climate bonds to allow residents to invest in the net-zero agenda, providing funding for council decarbonisation projects in Greater Manchester
• a campaign to boost the development of green mortgages, in collaboration with local and national lenders, mortgage intermediaries and local influencers
• demand aggregation financing that embeds access to finance into retrofit demand aggregators, which can bring down the upfront costs of energy efficiency measures for consumer
• green rental agreements — the GFI will collaborate with institutional landlords to promote a new type of tenancy agreement incorporating energy efficiency
 
Cllr Martyn Cox, lead for green city region and waste, said: “It’s clear that the need for action to address the climate emergency is urgent and in Greater Manchester, we’re committed to doing everything possible to play our part.
 
“However, it’s crucial that as we become greener, we become fairer so people are not left behind.
 
“That means making sure people are less reliant on carbon-intensive energy at home, while  reducing their energy bills.
 
“This partnership will look at doing just that, and will find the funds and support that people need to help them make the changes we need to see.”
 
Emma Harvey, programme director for the GFI’s built environment programme,  added: “Local authorities have a deep understanding of their residents’ needs and increasingly recognise the opportunities to work with the private finance sector to deliver access to finance for their citizens.
 
“We are excited to collaborate with GMCA and the market to pilot a portfolio of innovative financial solutions the GFI has been developing since its inception in 2019, demonstrating a new model for local authorities across the UK.”


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