Mayor 'most encouraged' by Government response to devolution plea
Andy Street says he has been "most encouraged" by the Government's response to a plea for devolved powers to tackle climate change.
The West Midlands Mayor is one of a number of local leaders to call for regions to be handed additional powers and resources to speed up the shift to net zero.
At a climate conference in Birmingham he spoke with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng MP and Alok Sharma MP, president of the UN Climate Change conference (COP26), to make the case for local powers over energy markets, decarbonised transport and tackling emissions from homes and offices.
The demands had been detailed in a communique signed by 32 cross-party mayors and local leaders, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
Following the meeting Mr Street said there was "real recognition" from ministers that local leaders "have to contribute to this global emergency".
He said: "Both ministers were very engaged about how best to do this, and I was most encouraged by the tones of their response.
"They were clearly receptive to some of our ideas, but we will have to wait and see what their formal response is to the communique."
The leaders have asked for a number of "urgent" policy changes to be considered, including a long-term plan and resources for the decarbonisation of new and existing buildings and homes.
They also want powers to set up strategic energy bodies to address market failure in energy systems, and to reduce the costs of connecting electric vehicle charging networks to the grid.
In a speech at the event, which came ahead of the COP26 later this year, Mr Sharma said that to combat climate change, local authorities need to be "on board".
