Wednesday, 30 November 2022

Across the globe there’s growing momentum to protect our environment and take action to tackle climate change across cities and councils, all around the world.

That’s why in 2022, Northern Beaches Council is proud to have scored within the Leadership Band for the second year running through the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

CDP is a not-for-profit charity, that monitors global disclosure for companies, cities, states and regions, helping them to map environmental impact and ramp up their climate action.

Our submission showed that Council is committed to recording and reducing our carbon emissions - a proven way to reduce the impact humans have on the health of the planet.

Receiving an A minus (A-) score within the Leadership Band, means that CDP has confirmed our Council is showing a clear understanding of emissions breakdown, has a strong mitigation plan, and is demonstrating progress towards climate targets.

Northern Beaches has been awarded its leadership rating for taking proactive steps to reduce emissions.

Some of our positive actions include supporting 100% renewable energy entering the electricity grid from wind farms via our Power Purchase Agreement, continually increasing the amount of solar power installed on Council owned facilities, installing LED’s in street lights and installing electric charging infrastructure to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. 

Growing momentum in carbon disclosure isn’t just happening at home, climate change action is unfolding in diverse cities across the world.

In Peru, the city of Lima regularly turns one of its main streets, Avenida Arequipa, into a cycleway and public space to promote healthy living and active transport. 

In Belfast, the city is going green by implementing its One Million Trees Programme, having planted 40,000 trees in just 12 months. And in Athens, a city traditionally slow to take up recycling, biowaste collection points have been installed across the city, meaning many more people can compost their home waste from the kitchen. In just one year, compost collection in the Greek capital has risen by 55% which will lead to an estimated reduction of 185,000 MtCO2e in the long-term.

While climate action looks different in each country, the positive outcomes on the planet are the same. Growing momentum and awareness, means climate action is suddenly ballooning. This year, for the first time, over 1,000 cities were scored by CDP, with less than 200 (<20%) scoring in the leadership band.

To receive a score in the leadership band, cities and areas must have set a renewable energy target for the future and have published a climate action plan. They must have completed a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and have a climate adaptation plan to demonstrate how it will tackle climate hazards.

For more information visit this page.