The City of Cape Town emerged as Africa's foremost city for climate action, securing a coveted A-rating for climate action and transparency in the 2023 Cities A-List by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). The city's dedication to effective environmental management and disclosure places it at the forefront of global sustainability efforts.
According to a City of Cape Town press release, in 2023, a mere 13% of the over 930 cities evaluated received an A-rating from the CDP. The annual scoring system assesses cities on their climate change response disclosure, reflecting their adeptness in managing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate risks.
Cape Town's exclusive A-list status not only reaffirms its role as Africa's climate champion but also signals its commitment to international investors and financial institutions.
Investor confidence plays a pivotal role in realising Cape Town's ambitious R120 billion ten-year infrastructure portfolio, featuring substantial climate action projects aimed at enhancing energy and water security.
The city has taken significant strides in the global energy transition, moving away from unreliable and fossil fuel-based energy towards reliable, cost-effective, and carbon-neutral alternatives.
With plans to add up to 650MW to its grid by 2026, the city aims to safeguard against four Eskom load shedding stages. Plans are also under way to introduce new alternatives to water sources, totalling approximately 300 million litres per day by 2030.
According to the CDP, A-list cities are implementing four times as many mitigation and adaptation measures compared to non-A List cities. Achieving an A-rating involves disclosing climate actions through CDP-ICLEI Track, maintaining a city-wide emissions inventory, publishing a climate action plan, conducting a climate risk assessment, and establishing a climate adaptation goal.
Cape Town celebrates retaining its A-list status every year since the rating system's inception in 2019. The city's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 is embedded in its Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, outlining the pathway towards this ambitious goal.
Some of the risks facing Cape Town and the most western regions of South Africa include decreasing rainfall and heightened risk of drought, escalating temperatures leading to more frequent and intense heatwaves, rising sea levels, increased coastal erosion, and elevated risk of flooding due to intense rainfall events and hot, dry, and windy conditions intensifying wildfire risk.
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