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Rio City Hall receives, for the third time, recognition as a global leader in transparency and climate action
Published on 17/11/2022 - 15:38 | Updated on 18/11/2022 - 08:41
Several actions in favor of the environment were implemented by the City of Rio - Disclosure With over two decades of work in action planning and data management to combat climate change, Rio de Janeiro City Hall received recognition this Thursday (17/11) for the third year as a global leader in climate action and transparency, earning an A rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-profit organization based in England. The organization evaluates policies implemented by cities and companies around the world. With this recognition, Rio joins 121 other global cities on the CDP's so-called A List, and is the only Brazilian city in the group. Among the projects that helped the city maintain its A List are the Low Emissions District, part of the Reviver Centro urban plan, the creation of new Conservation Units in the city, and the Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA Rio) model, which monitors the risks of landslides.
To be included in the CDP ranking, a city must have publicly disclosed its data and have a community-wide emissions inventory, have set a renewable energy target for the future and have published a climate action plan. Cities on the A List are leading the way in climate action, adopting twice as many mitigation and adaptation measures as cities not included. In Rio, the Pereira Passos Institute compiles, manages and reports the city’s data to the CDP.
The Carbon Disclosure Project, responsible for the awards, operates a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The global economy considers the CDP to be the richest and most comprehensive data set on corporate and urban actions. For the first time, more than a thousand cities around the world received a score for their performance on climate issues. Of the 122 cities chosen for the A List, only eight are in Latin America. Rio de Janeiro is the only city in Brazil to receive the recognition this year. The A List was implemented in 2018.
– One of the factors that helped put Rio on List A and remain in this group of cities is our goal of neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 2050. The goal is part of the City Hall's Sustainable Development and Climate Action Plan, which indicates the city's commitments to climate issues and other critical development agendas over the next 30 years – said Mayor Eduardo Paes.
The president of the Pereira Passos Institute, Carlos Alberto Peres Krykhtine, highlighted the importance of commitment and integrity of information in the preparation of the report that led the city to List A:
– It is a source of pride for the City Hall and the Pereira Passos Institute to receive an A grade from such a reputable international audit as the CDP, especially on a subject that is as important to us as the Environment. This demonstrates the effort and seriousness of the technicians committed to the integrity of the information.
Among the projects that helped Rio maintain global recognition is the Low Emission District, provided for in the Reviver Centro Urban Plan, which consists of a delimited area in the city center with the objective of implementing actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
– The Low Emission District project, a highlight of this year, reinforces the city’s commitment to C40 in promoting green and healthy streets. It is a large project, which will run until 2030, and in which different City Hall departments are mobilized to work on reducing greenhouse gases in the city center – said Daniel Mancebo, general coordinator of the Planning Office, of the Municipal Department of Finance and Planning.
The implementation of the District is aligned with the Sustainable Development and Climate Action Plan of the City of Rio de Janeiro (PDS) and the 2021-2024 Strategic Plan. The initiative is also part of the Reviver Centro Program, which aims to improve public spaces and promote residential use in downtown Rio.
– It is important to emphasize that the city of Rio is concerned with defining objective goals in relation to the climate agenda. This allows for the promotion of good projects in the area and for monitoring to be assertive – added Mancebo.
The recognition reiterates the City Hall's efforts to make the city more sustainable and resilient to climate change. In this context, the Municipal Secretariat for the Environment and Climate (SMAC) has been contributing with important programs and actions, such as the creation, in the last two years, of 900 hectares of Full Protection Conservation Units and 5.900 hectares of Sustainable Use Conservation Units; the Refloresta Rio program, which in 36 years has planted more than 10 million seedlings, contributing to the increase in the city's green coverage and to improving the population's quality of life; and the Guardiões dos Rios program, which worked on removing more than 7 thousand cubic meters of solid waste from 44 watercourses, which represents more than 90 km of rivers benefited, mobilizing more than 280 volunteers throughout 2021.
– Maintaining this rating only reinforces Rio’s commitment to complying with international climate goals. And this culture began at SMAC in the 2000s, when the city’s first greenhouse gas emission data was generated. Over the past 20 years, it has been generating climate change mitigation and adaptation data, including Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories and the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the City of Rio de Janeiro, the first study of its kind published in Brazil. This is a source of great satisfaction – highlighted the vice-mayor and Secretary of Environment and Climate, Nilton Caldeira.
Another initiative that influenced the city’s A rating was the Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA Rio) model, carried out by IPP in partnership with NASA, which monitors the risk of landslides in the city. The model is an example of climate adaptation action to deal with hazards already encountered.
The Luz Maravilha program was also considered, the result of the implementation of the Public Private Partnership, through Rioluz, with the concessionaire Smart Luz, which foresees the replacement of 450 thousand luminaires with LEDs in the entire public lighting park of the municipality by the end of 2022.
The entity also assessed the quality and transparency of the reported data. In this regard, the IPP's leading role in managing the city's information, compiling data in partnership with municipal agencies, was a highlight that helped put Rio on List A for the third year in a row.
– The recognition by the CDP shows the relevance of Rio de Janeiro City Hall’s work in tackling climate change. It also shows the importance of Rio de Janeiro City Hall having a municipal agency like the IPP, focused on managing information and knowledge about the city, and monitoring and evaluating public policies – a profile that fits the role of reporting on climate change to the CDP, as the IPP has been doing since 2016 – explained the City’s Information Coordinator, Felipe Mandarino.
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