Sustainable Brands Reports: State, Regional Governments Outshine National Counterparts on Climate Action
Corresponding with the kick off of the 23rd UN Climate Change Conference (COP23), CDP has released a new report finding that over 100 of the world’s state and regional governments are taking action to address climate change, particularly in the short-term.
Key findings from the updated Global States and Regions Annual Disclosure show that sub-national governments are leading the way on climate action — which is up 80 percent in 2017 — across 10 sectors, including buildings, energy, transport and land use. On average, there was an 8.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the state and regional governments’ base years. The data has been provided by the States and Regions Climate Action Tracker, developed by CDP and The Climate Group in partnership with Climate-KIC.
The report is an analysis of the annual disclosure of climate targets, GHG inventories and climate actions from states and regions around the world. It is released together with the States and Regions Climate Tracker. The tracker contains the latest climate data from disclosing states and regions and showcases their increasingly important role in driving climate action.
Six sub-national governments, including Lombardy, Italy, Carinthia, Austria and Wallonia, Belgium, have already met or exceeded their 2020 climate targets, while four governments, including Scotland and Lower Austria, are on track to meet their targets.
The report also found that on average, the ambition of the states and regions’ 2020 targets exceeds that of their national counterparts. However, while they are on course for limiting global temperature rise to below two degrees by 2020, this is not the case in 2050, which will require states and regions to set more ambitious emissions targets. Currently, only 22 of the disclosing states and regions have committed to reduction targets of 80–90 percent by 2050. Sweden’s Jämtland region has set the most ambitious goal, with a target of 100 percent emissions reductions by 2030.
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