Toronto skyscrapers
A key part of addressing climate change, of course, is measuring progress. And to measure progress, you’ve got to know where you’re starting. Leading global cities New York, Toronto, and London are taking a big step in this direction. These three cities are the first to sign up to report their carbon emissions under the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
“We know cities are the largest producers of carbon emissions, but it is vital that these outputs are quantified and in the public domain in order to track our progress in reducing them,” London Mayor Boris Johnson said. “London’s city government is already committed to disclosing a range of data, not just with regard to climate change, to help catalyse change to the benefit of residents. We are happy to continue this as part of our work with the C40.”
Last week, 56 more cities were asked to join the CDP Cities program.
“In partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Clinton Climate initiative, the scheme is asking the 59 largest cities in the world that have previously committed to tackling climate change to voluntarily measure and report on their emissions to the CDP,” Jessica Shankleman of Business Green reports.
CDP released a report last week, The Case for City Disclosure, that details “how standard disclosure from local governments can help cities share best practice, manage risk, increase operational effectiveness, save money, attract investment, foster innovation and ultimately lead to safer, more prosperous cities.”
The fact is, as I think people and businesses and governments are learning more and more these days, the more we share, the more we can grow and improve as a whole. And since we are all connected, this is what we all need. City disclosure and sharing like this is a critical piece of the pie.
“With cities at the forefront of our global response to climate change, it is critical that they have access to the same proven process which can help them to reduce carbon, improve operational efficiency, attract investment and increase clean tech innovations,” CDP’s executive chairman Paul Dickinson said.
Hopefully more cities will get on board soon.
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Photo Credit: paul (dex) via flickr (CC license)