24 cities in North America score an A grade in new cities climate change ranking

• 43 (7%) of cities score an ‘A’ in CDP’s first ranking of 596 cities’ action to cut emissions and set climate strategies
• North American cities represent more than half (56%) of all cities worldwide to receive an A score
• New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Toronto among those to receive CDP’s top score
• 9 cities in the San Francisco Bay Area receive A rating—reflecting 21% of all cities on the A List globally
• 5 cities in North America aim to be climate or carbon neutral by 2050
• 2 cities in North America have 100% renewable energy targets

May 13, 2019, New York, NY: CDP, the non-profit environmental disclosure platform, released its first ever cities climate change ranking featuring 43 cities from across the globe—including 24 North American cities—that are taking bold action to curb climate change. North American cities demonstrated strong climate leadership, reflecting more than half (56%) of all cities worldwide to receive an ‘A’ score, with the San Francisco Bay Area alone representing nine cities and 21% of the A List.

“Our A List celebrates cities that are stepping up to act on climate change in their respective communities and beyond,” said Katie Walsh, Head of Cities, States and Regions at CDP North America. “The overwhelming representation of U.S. cities on this list is especially significant given the U.S. announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. U.S. cities represent a growing trend we have seen across the country, with alliances of states, cities and businesses—like We Are Still In—driving climate action. Environmental disclosure represents a crucial step on the path toward a low-carbon future, since cities cannot manage what they don’t measure.”

625 cities worldwide—including 186 in North America—reported through CDP’s environmental disclosure platform in 2018 (of which 596 were scored). Each city was awarded an ‘A’ to ‘D-’ score based on how effectively they are managing, measuring and tackling greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate risks. Just 7% of cities—43 worldwide including 24 in North America—received an A for climate leadership and action.

“Calgary has been a leader on climate action for over a decade now,” said Warren Brooke, Business Strategist at Calgary’s Climate Change Program. “We’ve been at the forefront across the province and the country, piloting strategies to reduce our emissions and increase our resilience. Making CDP’s A List in 2018 has been a great recognition of our work to date.”

All A List cities demonstrate strong climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, in addition to consistent tracking of city emissions. The 2018 A List reflects cities that are working toward ambitious targets to cut emissions—13 cities worldwide including five in North America aim to be climate neutral or carbon neutral by 2050, including Boston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Washington, D.C. and West Palm Beach. Further, city-wide 100% renewable energy targets have been set by four cities across the globe, including Minneapolis and San Francisco.

“San Francisco is proud to have received an A score from CDP for the aggressive actions we have taken to address the climate crisis and the progress we have made to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 36% from 1990 levels," said London Breed, Mayor of San Francisco. “The science is clear. We need to continue to take bold action today if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change tomorrow. San Francisco, along with cities throughout the Bay Area, is committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy.”

This is the first time CDP has released the A List cities in a bid to drive up ambition in the face of the growing urgency of the climate challenge. The latest climate science from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows the global economy needs to cut global emissions in half by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050 to have a good chance of keeping global temperature within 1.5°C of warming.

Current action plans at the national and global level are not on track for a 1.5°C pathway and would result in 3°C of warming, according to research by Carbon Tracker. This means the contribution of cities is more important than ever. Cities are responsible for over 70% of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions, so could make or break efforts to tackle climate change.

Every year, hundreds of cities report their climate data through CDP’s environmental disclosure platform and gain data-driven insights into gaps and opportunities for climate policy-development, resource and risk management and signal projects in need of investment. In doing so they demonstrate ambition, transparency and good governance. All publicly disclosed data is made available for free public use on CDP’s Open Data Portal.

“Across the world and the United States, cities are stepping up their ambition to reduce emissions, embrace renewables and adapt to risks exacerbated by climate change,” said Kelly Shultz, Director of the American Cities Climate Challenge at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “We are proud that six winners of Bloomberg’s American Cities Climate Challenge made CDP’s cities A List, demonstrating climate progress. The success of climate action relies on bold action from global cities and CDP’s cities A List highlights replicable actions already taking place in cities worldwide.”

ENDS

Note to Editors

• A description of the scoring methodology for the Cities A List will available on CDP’s website at: https://www.cdp.net/en/cities/cities-scores
• View the full CDP A List: https://www.cdp.net/en/cities/cities-scores
• Case studies on how four A List cities from different regions—Buenos Aires, Calgary, The Hague and Taipei—are transitioning to a sustainable economy are available here: https://www.cdp.net/en/cities/cities-scores
• For guidance on how to download the city’s full response to CDP’s questionnaires, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]
  

CDP’s Corporate Scoring
CDP has been releasing its Climate A List since 2011 and its Water and Forests A Lists since 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Carbon neutral vs. climate neutral
CDP’s take on carbon neutrality and climate neutrality follows the definitions in the IPCC SR1.5. Carbon neutrality and climate neutrality are similar but distinct concepts. Carbon neutrality focuses on anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases) all forms, not only CO2) to the atmosphere being balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period. Climate neutrality is a wider, more encompassing concept covering not only all GHG’s but also other climate impacts of human activity such as changes in surface albedo.

City Affiliations
Many of the cities on CDP’s A List are also members of C40, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Energy and Climate and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. For more detail each city’s affiliations, please see the data provided in the media pack.

For more information or interview requests please contact:

Liz Posner, Communications Manager at CDP North America
Tel: 1 (646) 585-8832 | Email: [email protected]

Anna Clark, Senior Communications Manager at CDP North America
Tel: 1 (646) 668-4184 | Email: [email protected]

About CDP
CDP is an international non-profit that drives companies and local and regional governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Over 750 cities, states and regions disclosed data through CDP in 2018. This is in addition to the 7,000 companies who disclosed, making CDP’s platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how cities, subnational governments and companies are driving environmental change. Visit cdp.net/cities or follow us @CDP to find out more.

The A List

Cities with carbon neutral, climate neutral or net zero emissions targets

Cities with 100% renewable energy targets or 100% renewable energy already