Cities Get Their Own Carbon Reporting Program

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) today launched a program designed to give cities a platform through which they can report their greenhouse gas emissions. 

The CDP Cities program will enable cities to report emissions inventories, reduce risks, and share best practices of strategies undertaken to reduce their carbon footprints. 

Also partnering with the program is the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which consists of 40 of the world's largest cities that have pledged to address climate change. The C40's member cities have been asked to participate in the CDP Cities initiative, in addition to its 19 member cities. London, Toronto and New York have agreed.

"Cities play an essential and leading role in accelerating solutions to climate change and C40 cities are already making a massive impact," David Miller, Mayor of Toronto and chair of C40, said in a statement Monday.  "CDP will provide a reporting platform that allows C40 cities to track their progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and share that critical data with each other and around the globe."

Eighteen U.S. cities participated in the CDP Cities initiative pilot test, revealing a broad range of opportunities for cities to reduce their emissions. It found that emissions for large cities produced emissions levels equivalent to a major multinational telecommunications company.

According to "The Case for City Disclosure," a report released in conjunction with the program's announcement, managing city-level carbon footprints can help cities become more competitive through improving operational efficiencies while also attracting investment and fostering innovation. 

Disclosure can also help cities manage risks; the City of Chicago, for example, estimated the cost impact of climate change to be $2.54 billion through the end of the century under a high-emissions scenario.

_{Skyline - CC license by Flickr user doug.siefken}