A quarter of urban areas to be covered with trees in green recovery plan
Up to a quarter of the region's urban areas could be covered by trees under plans unveiled by a mayoral candidate.
Liam Byrne MP wants to plant dozens of 'Commonwealth Jubilee forests' across the West Midlands in a drive to achieve 25 per cent tree canopy cover.
The move would commemorate the Commonwealth Games and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and is one a range of measures he says will create 200,000 jobs and ensure a "greener future" for the region.
Labour's candidate for West Midlands Mayor also wants to negotiate a "green devolution deal" to take control of Government budgets to retrofit the region’s 1.2 million homes.
He says he would host a climate change conference in the Black Country – pushing the West Midlands to become the first net zero carbon cities-region in the country – and also set up a network of green development zones to help industry go net zero carbon.
Mr Byrne has also backed plans for a gigafactory and pledged the rapid deployment of Very Light Rail – which is being pioneered in Dudley – across the region.
Modernisation
Speaking during a visit to the Dudley test site of the Very Light Railway, he said: "We made the first carbon based industrial revolution, now we can make the zero carbon revolution. Our challenge is to go green and create jobs."
Birmingham MP Mr Byrne said the creation of a gigafactory – which has been earmarked for land at Coventry Airport – was "critical" to his plans.
He said a "radical modernisation" of the aerospace industry could put the West Midlands in position to "supply the power and components to build the planes of the future",
And as part of vision of a "clean and green" West Midlands, he will push to cut greenhouse emissions by retrofitting homes to "make them warmer and combat fuel poverty".
"We need to put green transport at the centre of our public transport policy and encourage the use of electric vehicles for private transport," Mr Byrne added.
"We need to increase the canopy of trees, especially in our most densely urban areas. A green future is possible and we can make it here in the West Midlands."
