A task group of private, public and third sector representatives brought together by the city council is urging the radical target for all building projects, without the use of carbon offsetting or a carbon tax.

All new development should also be required to deliver a significant reduction in embodied carbon in construction from 2023, with more stringent requirements introduced in future, recommends the Manchester Climate Change Partnership.

Contractor Laing O’Rourke, developers Muse, Bruntwood, Urban Splash and consultants Aecom, Arup, BDP, Buro Happold and WSP make up the high-level council task force.

The city council has cautiously welcomed the ambitious plan to make the city an exemplar for climate change action ahead of an autumn-winter consultation on the refreshed local plan.

Luthfur Rahman , Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester is committed to becoming a zero carbon city.

“The Partnership’s Roadmap, including the proposed Manchester New Build Standard, is a welcome contribution to the important discussion about how we will achieve this goal.

“The issue of climate change will be at the heart of the forthcoming refresh of Manchester’s Local Plan.

“We will look at how our planning and development system can support zero carbon objectives, and we will consider the Partnership’s proposals as part of this process.”

In the task force’s report it was acknowledged the viability of developments will be impacted by the building cost of achieving the Manchester Standard.

For net zero carbon in operation, this is estimated to increase by 4-6% for office developments and 8-10% for residential developments.

For the reductions proposed for 2023 in embodied carbon, this is estimated to be 20-30% across offices and residential assets.