Date of the report
October 2007
Author of the report
URS Corporation Ltd prepared for Advantage West Midlands
Purpose of the report
Advantage West Midlands (AWM) has commissioned a programme of work to underpin its work on producing the UK’s first low carbon Regional Economic Strategy. This programme included, among other work streams, the development of an evidence base to support the “low carbon” components of the new West Midlands Regional Economic Strategy (WMES) and an assessment of the impacts of climate change on the economy of the West Midlands. The evidence base was intended to:
- Apply the concepts of a low carbon economy in a meaningful way to address the issues of carbon emissions, potential carbon savings, and carbon constraints and opportunities within the different current and future business sectors of the region; and
- Identify and prioritise sectors and places (in terms of economics and business) at risk from climate change impacts in the West Midlands, as well as the need to minimise potential impacts or exploit opportunities associated with projected climate changes.
Relevance to the region
The evidence base developed by URS for this report is focused on the West Midlands region and includes the following aspects: 1) A quantitative assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the West Midlands region and an analysis of their relative contribution, including a comparison of different emission inventory methodologies; 2) An estimate of the potential carbon savings achievable by the region by 2020, including a split by business sectors, and an assessment of those carbon savings that can be influenced by the WMES (influence over partners) or AWM (core functions & funding); 3) A qualitative assessment of possible constraints on economic growth resulting from carbon reduction regulations on the current and future business sectors of the region; 4) A review of current regional indicators and measures related to carbon intensity (i.e. improvement in Gross Value Added (GVA) and reduction in carbon emissions); and 5) Suggestions for the definition of regional indicators that could be used to measure how the region is diversifying into low carbon products, services and techniques. This research supported additional workstreams including:
- An assessment of the potential impacts of climate change on the economy of the West Midlands.
- An assessment during the development of the WMES against low-carbon economy, future proofing and broader sustainability criteria.
- Research examining what a future regional low-carbon economy may look like.
What SWM liked
We like that this report identifies the potential carbon savings per sector, potential economic impacts of carbon reduction policies, possible growth opportunities and a comparison of sectors at risk from carbon regulations and from climate change impacts.
Links and Contact information
For further information, please email enquiries@swm.org.uk.
