Climate Action Transparency Key To Trustworthiness
New carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) report reveals that global voluntary reporting of local climate action triggers trustworthiness, access to finance and citizen engagement.
Four hundred twenty-two [422] local and subnational governments from 44 countries serving 12% of the world’s urban population are on track to trustworthiness, according to the carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) 2013 Annual Report released today at the ongoing UN Bonn Climate Change conference in Bonn, Germany.
The cCCR is the world’s largest public database of local climate action. It contains 3870 mitigation and adaptation actions, 870 climate and energy commitments, and 771 inventories covering around 2.25 Gigatons Co2e of annual GHG emissions. The cCCR catalyzes the trustworthiness of local and subnational governments by improving transparency, accountability and comparability of local climate actions.
“Global transparency builds trust in local and subnational governments and facilitates their access to finance and engagement of citizens”, says Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. ICLEI, the worldwide association of more than 1000 cities working on sustainability, operates the cCCR.
Trustworthiness is a key step in ensuring that local and subnational governments can finance local climate actions that could bring down global green house gas emissions and build resilience against climate change. An estimated US$ 200-210 billion per annum in 2030 is required to finance mitigation actions worldwide. Billions more are needed to fund adaptation actions.
According to the cCCR data, local and subnational governments have reported about US$ 145 billion worth of climate investments. 57% of these investments have been driven by local governments themselves. A funding gap of approximately US$ 341 million still needs to be filled to finance the 188 climate mitigation and adaptation actions on the cCCR. This figure is expected to rise as local and subnational governments gain more responsibility in the global efforts on climate change.
Worldwide, funding for climate actions is increasing with major financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, the Interamerican Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Global Environment Facility, the Global Energy Basel launching financial assistance programs specifically for local and subnational governments. Eligibility requirements are however still rigid, costly, and time consuming. According to the World Bank estimates, only a small percentage of the 500 largest cities in the developing countries are deemed creditworthy – about 4% in international financial markets and 20% in local markets. Further capacity development on this topic is currently being explored.
Lima, Peru, the host of the upcoming UN Climate Conference, is one of the few developing cities that has already achieved a credit-worthy status. Lima is a pioneer reporting city of the cCCR and has reported a total of six completed climate actions.
“Trustworthiness, good governance and transparency are key to credit worthiness. By voluntarily reporting to the cCCR, cities and regions not only create momentum for accelerating local climate action, they also demonstrate trustworthiness, accountability, and eligibility for receiving the much needed funds for climate mitigation and adaptation actions”, adds Gino Van Begin.
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Download the complete report
Visit the citiesclimateregistry.org for more information
About the cCCR
The carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) is the leading global reporting platform of local climate action (mitigation and adaptation), enabling cities and Local Governments to demonstrate their power and potential to reduce climate risks and move towards global low-emission and climate resilient development.
The 2013 Annual Report of the carbonn Cities Climate Registry reflects the growing number of local and subnational governments worldwide committed to pursuing climate policies and actions with transparency and accountability. Below are some of the facts and figures highlighted in the report:
12% of the world’s urban population is on track to trustworthiness through global transparency and accountability.
The cCCR collates data from 422 local & subnational governments from 44 countries. Of these, 178 cities are from Asia, 105 from North America, 65 from South America, 11 from Africa, 5 from Oceania and 58 from Europe.
256 (61%) of the reporting cities have actors have a population lower than 0.5 million 153 million people live in 83 cities and regions with population between 1 and 5 million.
As of March 2014, reported emissions amount to 2.25 Gigatons of CO2 equivalent per year (GtCO2e/year). 137 cities and subnational governments with a population of less than half a million reported emissions of 310 MtCO2e. Most GHG emissions were reported by 59 entities with population between 1 to 5 million for a total of 973 MtCO2e.
10 cities reported 100% emission reduction commitments. These cities include Antwerp (BEL) Copenhagen (DNK) Province of Siena (ITA) Kristianstad (NOR) Eskilstuna, Oslo, Östersund, Vaxjö (SWE) and Palmerston North, Seattle (USA).
13 cities reported 100% renewable energy targets. These cities include the Province of Siena (ITA) Copenhagen (DNK) Kristianstad, Oslo (NOR) Malmö, Saffle, Stockholm (SWE) and Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Hillsboro Oregon, Palmerston North, San Francisco, Santa Cruz County (USA)
80% of all reported actions focus on mitigation. A significant share of adaptation actions were reported as policy/strategies and action plans while technical and infrastructure investments were identified as main types of mitigation actions.
The city of Vancouver (Canada) and the city of Benicia (USA) have the largest number of reported climate actions, with 108 and 98 actions respectively.
cCCR drivers of reporting
A number of partnerships are driving the reporting process of the cCCR. These include the Mexico City Pact, the Durban Adaptation Charter, the Earth Hour City Challenge, the R20 regions, the EcoMobility Alliance, the PACMUN, the Japan Registry and Urban-LEDS.
About ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is the world’s leading association of more than 1000 metropolises, cities, urban regions and towns representing over 660 million people in 85 countries. ICLEI promotes local action for global sustainability and supports cities to become sustainable, resilient, resource-efficient, biodiverse, low-carbon; to build a smart infrastructure; and to develop an inclusive, green urban economy with the ultimate aim of achieving healthy and happy communities. ICLEI operates the cCCR.