£7m to support Bristol as Europe’s Green Capital 2015
Bristol will receive £7m of additional funding to support it as European Green Capital, chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, announced during a visit to the city today.
The funding will deliver a range of projects which will help Bristol remain at the centre of green investment and urban sustainability. Some of the projects which will be funded following today’s announcement include:
– The Bristol Prize a new annual award for the best new clean technology. This will help deliver solutions for cities to deal with and alleviate climate change.
– A sustainable living programme in UK schools to educate up to 4.5 million children about climate change and how cities can contribute to tackling this issue.
– An international festival for Clean Technology Business, in Bristol, for a number of high profile sectors which have the greatest scope for boosting growth.
– The Grass Roots Catalyst Fund, to incubate and develop sustainable urban living initiatives which can be scaled up and applied to cities across the world.
– A series of international high profile summits on Climate Change. Attendees will include the Prime Minister, other leading politicians and top-level global climate change stakeholders.
– Expand a volunteer programme to SMEs and frontline businesses to help Bristol prepare and deal with the influx of visitors during its tenure as the European Green Capital in 2015.
The private sector will also match funding from government to enable Bristol to deliver this ambitious and exciting series of projects. A report, commissioned by Bristol city, found the initial investment is expected to generate around £215m of additional economic activity for the UK, through inward investment, additional business turnover, higher exports and tourism.
This will also be an opportunity to explore new ideas on environmental sustainability and to set the agenda in the run up to the UN Climate Change discussions in Paris in 2015.
Danny Alexander said: “I am delighted to be supporting the UK’s first European Green Capital with extra funding that will enable Bristol to fulfil its full potential. It will also help build a stronger economy by boosting growth across key high-tech sectors and generate millions of pounds of new green investment.”
The extra government investment follows last year’s announcement of Bristol as the European Green Capital for 2015. This prestigious award, the first made to a UK city, was made by the European Commission following Bristol’s success at creating a green and environmentally friendly city.
