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Plans for Europe's largest tidal power project and a massive increase in offshore wind farms are among the things our region's Metro Mayor hopes will help tackle a climate emergency.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram , who declared a climate emergency earlier this year, told a combined authority meeting today that a raft of projects in coming decades would move the city closer to becoming zero carbon by 2040.

He said: “As a city region we were the first in the country to adopt a target to be Zero Carbon by 2040, ten years earlier than the national target.

“We have launched a £10m Green Investment Fund, we are pioneering the use of hydrogen for transport, and we already have one of the biggest wind farm clusters in Europe in Liverpool Bay.

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“But what makes us unique is our Mersey Tidal Power project , which has the potential to be truly transformative, generating enough power for up to a million homes and creating thousands of local jobs.”

A full Climate Action Plan is set to be developed by the end of this year.

As well as plans to develop tidal power and triple the amount that comes from offshore wind power, there are also hopes the region can roll out hydrogen as a major source of energy in the next 15 to 20 years.

Councillor Gillian Wood, Deputy Portfolio Holder for Low Carbon and Renewable Energy, said the region was becoming 'one of the leading areas in the country for the low carbon sector'.

She said: “We understand the urgency of the climate change threat which is why we are determined to continue to lead on developing alternative, green, renewable energy sources.”

A speech was also given at today's meeting by a representative from Youth Strike for Climate Change Liverpool.

The organisation has carried out a number of demonstrations across the city in recent months.