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Announcements prior to September 2017, including this announcement, occurred under previous ownership.
25 March 2015
The report – ‘Smarter, greener cities: ten ways to modernise and improve UK urban infrastructure’ – showcases ten innovative technologies that are already being used in at least one UK town or city and have the capability to be rolled-out immediately and at scale across the country.
Each week the global urban population grows by 1.4m people; the equivalent of a new Birmingham. In the UK, 98% of our cities and urban areas are growing in population. This growth places huge pressure on cities with greater demand on transport, telecommunications, energy, water, waste, and building infrastructure.
Investment in new, modern, green infrastructure brings a range of benefits to cities and their residents: less air pollution, less traffic congestion, improved energy efficiency, lower energy bills, strengthened resilience and improved livability.
Investing in new green energy infrastructure will also help cities and the wider UK to meet its environmental commitments by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency, cutting the amount of waste sent to landfill, recycling more, and increasing the amount of renewable energy produced by cities.
The technologies featured in the report include anaerobic digestion, district heating networks, LED streetlighting, combined heat and power schemes, low carbon transport and building energy efficiency.
UK cities already making use of some of these infrastructure solutions include Aberdeen, Birmingham, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Reading, and Sheffield.
GIB was set up to help finance this type of green infrastructure investment, helping to progress the tough projects and find innovative solutions to make sure developers have the upfront capital required to finance them.
Download the 'Smarter, greener cities' report.
Shaun Kingsbury
Chief Executive, UK Green Investment Bank
Greg Clark
Cities Minister
Peter Madden OBE
Chief Executive, Future Cities Catapult
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