Archived News Release: November 22, 2021 - Ann Arbor has been recognized by CDP as one of 95 cities across the globe that is taking bold leadership on environmental action and transparency, despite the continued pressures of tackling the coronavirus pandemic on local and national economies and societies.
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 the CDP-ICLEI Unified Reporting System. Over 1,000 cities reported their environmental impact through CDP in 2021 with 965 cities receiving a rating for their climate action, a substantial rise from the 591 cities scored in 2020.
To score an A, a city must disclose publicly and have a city-wide emissions inventory, have set an emissions reduction target and a renewable energy target for the future and have published a climate action plan. It must also complete a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and have a climate adaptation plan to demonstrate how it will tackle climate hazards. Many A List cities are also taking a variety of other leadership actions, including political commitment from a city's Mayor to tackle climate change.
To reflect the level of ambition needed to achieve 1.5°C targets, the bar for entry to the A List has been raised. As a result, in 2021, less than one in ten cities scored by CDP (9.8% of such cities) received an A.
A List cities are demonstrating their climate leadership through concerted and effective action, just as national governments were asked to do at COP26. Ann Arbor, and the other 94 cities on this year's A List, are celebrated for showing that urgent and impactful climate action - from ambitious emissions reduction targets to building resilience against climate change - is achievable at a global level, and in cities with different climate realities and priorities. However, this action needs to go further and faster to meet the new targets agreed at COP26.
“I'm so delighted that the people of Ann Arbor are committed to being climate action leaders," said Mayor Christopher Taylor. “We have a plan to transform our community to carbon neutrality in a way that is equitable, urgent, and effective. We recognize that it is our moral obligation to do our part."
Ann Arbor has set an aggressive goal, aligned with science-based targets, to achieve community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030. Ann Arbor adopted A2ZERO, a living plan that outlines a comprehensive suite of actions for a just transition to carbon neutrality, including securing renewable energy, electrifying and decarbonizing our buildings and vehicles, improving energy efficiency, changing how we travel and use materials, and strengthening our community's resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The full 2021 A List of cities can be found here.
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Ann Arbor has 119,000 residents, spans 28.9 square miles and is frequently recognized as a foremost place to live, learn, work, thrive and visit. To keep up with City of Ann Arbor information, subscribe for email updates, follow us on Twitter or become a city fan on Facebook. The city's mission is to deliver exceptional services that sustain and enhance a vibrant, safe and diverse community.
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 590 investors with over $110 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.
Over 14,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2021, including more than 13,000 companies worth over 64% 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.
