CDP has released its first Cities A-list, recognising 43 global cities for their efforts in addressing climate change. Four Australian cities have made it unto the A-list – Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide.

The A-list was created by assessing the 596 cities reporting to the CDP at present, assessing how effectively they are managing, measuring and tackling greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate-related risks including water security.

Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney were among 14 cities around the world which were recognised for setting carbon neutral targets.

Melbourne was singled out for setting a target of having net zero emissions by 2020. While Canberra is one of only four A-listers to have a target to have all energy used in the city coming from renewables (the others being Paris, Minneapolis and San Francisco).

Reykjavik was the only city claiming to be a 100 per cent renewables (70 per cent hydro, 30 per cent geothermal).

Many cities participating in the Global Covenant of Mayor (GCoM) were not included in this process as they reported their climate change plans through another platform. However in 2019, GCoM is collaborating with CDP using the unified reporting platform.  As such, we can expect the efforts of many more cities in the region to be recognised on the CDP Cities A list in 2020.