- Mumbai is first ever Indian city among reporting South Asian cities to receive top score on climate action from environmental impact non-profit, CDP
- New wave of Global South countries on A-List for the first time - including Cameroon, Peru, Ecuador and Jordan
- First time over 1000 cities is scored for climate action by CDP. And close to half of the cities (42%) are new to the A list.
- Only 12% of cities that were scored in 2022 received an A score
- A List city report more than 3x as many mitigation and adaptation actions as non-A Listers
Delhi, 21st November 2022: As Egypt hosted COP27, Mumbai has become the first Indian city to be added to the A-list in the 5th Annual Cities Report published by CDP. CDP - the non-profit which runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states, and regions - recognizes the important role that cities play in taking bold actions to mitigate and adopt to climate change. Something which Mumbai has shown despite the challenging global economic situation.
Designed to encourage and support cities to ramp up their climate action and ambition, CDP’s Cities A-List is based on environmental data disclosed by cities to CDP-ICLEI Track. In fact, 122 cities across the globe have been named as leaders in environmental action and transparency in 2022 by CDP. For the first time, this includes cities from several countries in the Global South, including Mumbai; cities that are often among those most affected by the impacts of climate change.
Mumbai - climate leadership in action
Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and, globally, the 7th largest in terms of population. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, Mumbai is separated from the mainland by Thane Creek and Harbour Bay. The city is vulnerable to climate change-induced hazards, such as sea level rise, heavy rainfall, storm surges, increasing heat, and tropical cyclones. It is also susceptible to landslides, due to heavy rain that causes many fatalities and physical damage each monsoon season.
Mumbai has recently released its first-ever Climate Action Plan in 2022, ‘Towards a Climate Resilient Mumbai’. It outlines the city’s aims to reach net-zero carbon neutrality by 2050 - the most significant step taken in its climate journey thus far. The Climate Action Plan has laid down a 30-year roadmap for the city to tackle the challenges of climate change, by adopting inclusive and robust mitigation and adaptation strategies. The action plan sets short, medium, and long-term climate goals aimed at achieving zero emission of greenhouse gases or a net-zero target for 2050.
Recent CDP data shows that 80% of cities face climate hazards, from drought to floods, which are expected to be more intense and frequent by 2025 for 25% of cities. Hence the need for strong climate action is urgent. A-List cities are demonstrating their climate leadership through concerted and effective action; just as national governments have been asked to do at COP27. They are taking more than three times as many mitigation and adaptation measures as non-A List cities.
For the first time, over 1,000 cities (1,002 in total) received a rating for their climate action from CDP in, a rise on the 965 cities scored in 2021. In 2022, just over one in ten cities scored by CDP (12% of such cities) received an A. What is clear is that a momentum in city climate disclosure and action is gradually building up. In this context, Mumbai is setting an example in India by showing how emission reduction targets and adaptation plans can change the face of the city.
Other cities from other Global South that have also made it onto the A-List for the first time are: Lima (Peru), Quito (Ecuador) and Yaoundé IVth Commune (Cameroon. The Middle East also sees its first A-List cities, including Amman (Jordan) and Kadiköy in (Turkey). Brazil, Chile, and the Philippines have returned to the cities A-List for the first time since 2020.
While we celebrate these cities for their ambitious emission reduction targets and approach to building resilience against climate change, the road ahead is still long. Action needs to go further and faster. Against the context of rapid urbanization, more cities need to step up their commitments, as well as start reporting their environmental data.
CDP India Director, Prarthana Borah elaborates on how as cities urbanize, the choices made today will shape the future impacts of climate change and the capacity to respond to them. The focus should be on improving our understanding of what is working and what is not, so that we can move from an alarmist storyline to a “what-we-must-do” story. A coordinated approach at national, state & local levels is required to get success. Mumbai has hereby set a great example. To gain momentum, climate action and adaptation at local levels should go parallel with mitigation at global and national levels.
Cities from every corner of the world are stepping up to lead in the fight against climate change through meaningful, tangible, and effective action. This new wave of climate leaders includes a growing number of Global South cities in countries that are on the front line of climate change - many of which, from India to Cameroon, are on the A-List for the first time.
“The world, and its cities, need to go much further and faster in stepping up that action. Reporting environmental data is the first, crucial step to acting, as what gets measured, gets managed. This year's A-List shows the growing momentum in cities reporting their data and we hope that many more will join them in protecting our planet for future generations.”
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Notes to Editors:
View the full 2022 CDP Cities A List here
About CDP
CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 680 investors with over $130 trillion in assets, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests.
Nearly 20,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2022, including more than 18,700 companies worth 50% of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and regions. CDP is a founding member of the Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.