Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham delivers keynote speech at LowCVP’s ‘Moving North’ conference
Fri 20 April 2018
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The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, together with leading speakers from the Northern Powerhouse, the automotive industry and related sectors, came together in Manchester on 12 April to discuss the future of greener transport in the North and resulting business opportunities.
‘Moving North’ was organised by LowCVP in association with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, the Northern Automotive Alliance (NAA) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). It was supported by Manchester Metropolitan University – the host for the event – and sponsored by GEFCO and Uber.
Andy Burnham’s passion for his key themes of decarbonisation and digitisation set the scene for a busy and productive day, with all speakers and participants demonstrating a drive and commitment to take forward initiatives in low emission transport within the Northern Powerhouse region.
Burnham told the conference “If we are to tackle the challenges involved in reducing transport emissions in the region, and support growing demand for greener travel, it is vital that we bring all sectors together and move as one. We must be bold in our ambitions and keep our eyes on the significant long-term benefits, not just the short-term challenges. Greater Manchester wants to move to an emissions-free bus fleet and we will look at whether new bus powers for Mayors of combined authorities can help us to achieve this faster.”
He added “The automotive industry is hugely important for jobs in the UK, and the next generation of ultra-low emission vehicles will provide huge opportunities for our digital and manufacturing sectors.”
Other high profile speakers included:
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Henri Murison, Director, Northern Powerhouse Partnership
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Bob Moran, Deputy Head, Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV)
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Mike Hawes, Chief Executive, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)
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Ian Constance, Chief Executive, Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)
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Lawrence Davies MBE, Chief Executive, Automotive Investment Organisation (AIO)
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Jon Lamonte, Chief Executive, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)
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Peter Molyneux, Major Roads Director, Transport for the North (TfN)
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Carol Holden OBE, Chief Executive, Northern Automotive Alliance (NAA)
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Dave Roberts, Director, Smart Interventions, EA Technology.
Chair for the event, Andy Eastlake, Managing Director, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, commented:
“I’m delighted that the LowCVP has been able to bring together a number of different sectors, including the automotive and energy industries, governmental/public sector organisations, ‘new mobility’ companies and other stakeholders, to look at the future of transport in the Northern Powerhouse region – and beyond.
“This future will be driven by ever-tighter regulation of carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions, coupled with growing demand from users for cleaner and more efficient vehicles and the energy to power them. This transition offers huge opportunities for businesses in the automotive, fuels and related sectors.”
Carol Holden OBE, Chief Executive of NAA added: “I hope this event will have played a key role in moving us towards a local, joined-up approach for a Northern low carbon vehicle industry vision and strategy, and raise the profile of our regional assets and research. It has started the debate about funding and support mechanisms that make sense for a diverse, geographically spread community.”
In follow-up to the conference, over the coming months the LowCVP will be working with various stakeholders to maintain the momentum and to help develop practical solutions across a number of different sectors. It has contacted all of the speakers to ask for their thoughts on how to work together and as the next stage, is planning a workshop on freight transport issues and potential solutions in the North West for later in the year.
Read GreenCarGuide.com's event review here.
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