Manchester Climate Change Agency appoints director

Samantha Nicholson will lead the not-for-profit organisation in its mission to support the Manchester Climate Change Partnership and push for the city to pursue a sustainability agenda.

Nicholson has more than 20 years of experience in the climate sector, having previously been the zero carbon manager at Manchester City Council and the head of low carbon and manufacturing for GC Business Growth Hub.

“I’m excited to join Manchester’s Climate Change Agency and Partnership in tackling this most pressing issue,” Nicholson said. “The time for urgent action is now and I look forward to helping Manchester move further towards achieving its ambitious targets to become a zero carbon and climate-resilient city.”

She is the first director for the agency and will work closely with Manchester Climate Change Partnership chair Mike Wilton. Wilton is also a director at Arup and leads the engineering consultancy’s Manchester office.

Wilton said Nicholson’s appointment meant the partnership could grow.

“Sam’s appointment has been welcomed across the partnership. The global extreme weather events over the summer have again demonstrated the importance of climate action, and Sam’s role leading the Manchester Climate Change Agency will be critical. With a fully resourced agency we can now expand the partnership, collaborating with more organisations and businesses to make Manchester a thriving, zero carbon, climate-resilient city.”

MCCA was formed in 2015 and currently has six full-time staff. It works with its partners and the community to ensure the city has a climate change strategy that is in line with the Paris Agreement.

The agency supports the Manchester Climate Change Partnership as well, which is made up of a mixture of leaders in the city, from the city council to the universities to developers such as Bruntwood.

In August, the partnership created a task force to create a net zero carbon policy document for new builds. Led by Civic Engineers director Stephen O’Malley, the task group’s document called for all new buildings in the city to be zero carbon in themselves, instead of offsetting or using a carbon tax, from 2023 onwards.

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