The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and ICLEI-Local Governments forSustainability are joining forces with some of the United States' largestcities to help them voluntarily report their greenhouse gas emissions andother climate change-relevant data.
This project marks a significant step in advancing public disclosure andreporting on climate change related issues. Cities will be able to use theproject to learn from peers on climate change management and the projectwill shed light on the level of awareness and preparedness of the cities onthis issue. It will also demonstrate to companies, investors and the generalpublic how individual cities are dealing with the risks and opportunitiesclimate change presents.
Under the new CDP Cities program, at least 30 urban centers, including NewYork, Las Vegas, Denver, West Palm Beach, St. Paul and New Orleans, will useICLEI's Local Government Operations Protocol and software tools to assesstheir greenhouse gas emissions profile and then will disclose this inventorydata to the CDP online reporting. Twenty-one cities were announced today,with at least nine others expected to take part in the pilot project.
Each city will assemble comparable carbon emission data within theirjurisdiction's operations -- for instance, fire department, ambulance andpolice services, municipal buildings, waste transport and other services thecities provide or activities over which they exercise budgetary control.They will follow CDP systems to assess and disclose climate change-relatedrisks and opportunities relating to the whole city. Cities will use theLocal Government Operations Protocol, coauthored by ICLEI and the CaliforniaClimate Action Registry, with input from expert stakeholders across theUnited States, which details the policy framework, calculationmethodologies, and reporting guidance for quantifying GHG emissions fromlocal government operations.
Paul Dickinson, CEO of CDP commented: 'Over 70% of total global emissionsare generated from cities and if you don't measure these emissions, youcannot manage them. This is a vital step for city councils who wish to gaina better understanding of their own impact and by improving theirunderstanding of risks and opportunities associated with climate change,best prepare their cities for a carbon constrained world.'
"ICLEI's partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project underscores howcrucial standards, quantification methods and voluntary reporting are tolocal climate action," said Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of ICLEI USA."This project provides the opportunity for transparency, and is essential inthe emerging national and global policy dialogue as the priorities of localgovernments to achieve swift and deep reductions are identified and advancedby local government leaders."
Said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg: "The City of New York joins theworld's leading corporations in providing a complete, accurate accounting ofits carbon emissions, the strategies it is employing to mitigate thoseemissions, and the results of its efforts through the Carbon DisclosureProject and ICLEI. This partnership between the world's major corporationsand, increasingly, its cities, highlights the importance of the cooperativeaction needed to successfully counter climate change. Working together, andwith the best data, we can manage this problem, and leave our children andgrandchildren a healthier and more sustainable planet."
The CDP Cities program is a voluntary disclosure process. Cities will submittheir responses to CDP by October 31st 2008. All responses will be announcedand published in the first ever CDP Cities Report and ICLEI Local ActionNetwork Report in January 2009 respectively.
Source: Carbon Disclosure Project