REDUCING carbon output, managing flooding and improving air quality are all part of a £4m plan to tackle regional green issues.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) launched its IGNITION project this week backed by funding from the EU’s Urban Innovation Actions initiative.

The project could include the development of green roofs and walls to help cool down rising temperatures and the development of nature areas to battle increasingly extreme weather conditions.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “We are serious about our green ambitions in Greater Manchester – to become carbon neutral by 2038 and one of the world’s leading green city-regions.

"However, we also need to prepare for the climate change impacts which are now unavoidable and we must do it soon; we can’t keep doing things the old way."

The project will identify development sites across the region which will then be developed into other schemes - expected to cost around £10m each - in a bid to attract private investment.