The London borough of Richmond upon Thames has been recognised as one of the 123 'cities' across the globe for taking bold environmental action despite the challenges of the current economic climate.

The cities A list was pulled together by the not-for-profit global charity, CDP, which monitors environmental impacts and reports on climate action and is designed to encourage cities to ramp up their climate action and ambitions.

The list was based on environmental data disclosed by cities to CDP. In 2022, just over one in ten cities received an A.

Cllr Julia Neden-Watts, Chair of the Environment, Sustainability, Culture & Sports Committee, said: "We are thrilled to be included in CDP's Cities A List for 2022. By reporting climate data through CDP each year, Richmond Council is being transparent about its climate action, tracking progress, monitoring risks and benchmarking against other cities facing similar challenges. 

"By measuring, understanding and disclosing environmental impact, cities and boroughs like Richmond upon Thames are able to take the urgent action needed to build a sustainable, thriving and resilient environment for people to live and work in."

To score an A, among other actions, a city or borough must disclose data publicly through CDP-ICLEI Track, have a city- or borough-wide emissions inventory and a published climate action plan.

The scoring criteria for emissions reduction targets have been strengthened in line with science-based climate targets to include a long-term net-zero target (by 2050) or a mid-term target that is aligned with a fair share of limiting global warming to 1.5˚C.

Cities and boroughs must also complete a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and have a climate adaptation plan to demonstrate how they will tackle climate hazards. Like Richmond, many are also taking a variety of other leadership actions, including commitment from the political administration to tackle climate change.

Key achievements that Richmond has delivered as part of its Climate Emergency Action Plan include:

• Purchasing renewable electricity for all Council operations, eliminating the carbon footprint for electricity purchasing
• Improving air quality monitoring to identify hotspots of air pollution and sources of emissions
• Expanding food waste and textiles collections, helping residents to recycle more
• Delivering energy efficiency retrofits for over 50 low energy efficiency and low-income homes
• Installing electric vehicle charge points, with 431 now available on the borough's public highways
• Planting more trees, with 1247 trees planted since 2019
• Engaging with residents and communities on climate change, including Richmond Climate Week in 2021 and Clean and Green Week in 2022.

A List cities and boroughs are demonstrating climate leadership through concerted and effective action, just as national governments have been asked to do at COP27. They are taking twice as many mitigation and adaptation measures as non-A Listers.

To view the full CDP list for 2022, visit the link HERE