Leading cities on climate action revealed

The world’s ‘A-List’ cities on climate action and transparency have been revealed in a study by environmental non-profit CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project).

A total of 105 cities made the list, more than double the number in 2018. Mexico City, Cape Town, Los Angeles, Greater Manchester and Leicester are amongst the leaders.

The countries with the highest number of A-List cities include the USA (34 cities), Canada (seven), and Sweden (six). The number of A-List cities in Asia Pacific has more than doubled, and Latin American A-List cities have increased nine-fold.

To be graded ‘A’, a city-wide emissions inventory must be in place, as well as an emission-reduction target.

Speaking to Cities Today, Kyra Appleby, Global Director of Cities, states and regions at CDP said: “Cities have varied levels of policy levers at their disposal. They can regulate against emissions, for example with initiatives like London’s Ultra Low Emissions zone, or put in place building codes.

“If you look at our 2019 pilot–City-business climate alliance–which took place in London, this shows that businesses and cities can work closely together to drive down emissions.”

Some actions cities have taken include Greater Manchester’s plan to add at least 45 megawatts of locally-generated renewable electricity to the grid by 2024, along with retrofits to reduce heat demand to 60,000 homes each year by 2040.

“We’ve been very clear in setting out our ambitions for decarbonising our economy here in Greater Manchester, and this latest analysis shows that our city-region is one of those leading the way globally in recognising and tackling the climate emergency,” said Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is also part of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, a group of international authorities signed up to committing to reduce carbon emissions and increase resilience in their territories.

In the US city of Fayetteville, where vehicle emissions represent 30 percent of community emissions, the city is working to deliver 25 percent multi-modal transport for citizens. It has worked with the University of Arkansas, VeoRide and Experience Fayetteville to create the first station-less bike-share programme in northern Arkansas.

Together with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the CDP launched the CDP-LCLEI Unified Reporting System in April 2019 in response to local and regional governments calling for a simpler reporting process. The same year, over 850 cities disclosed compared to 43 in 2011, highlighting a trend towards more cities taking action to lead the transition to a low carbon, sustainable economy.

The full A List of cities is published here.