11 Latin American Cities of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy awarded by CDP for their environmental data transparency in 2023
São Paulo, March 14, 2023 – Last Thursday (March 14, 2024), in São Paulo (Brazil), 11 Latin American cities belonging to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) were awarded at the CDP Latin America Awards 2023 in the A-List category, an award that recognizes and celebrates transparency in sustainability data from cities and companies.
The cities of Buenos Aires (Argentina); Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Salvador (Brazil); Peñalolén (Chile); Bogotá and Medellín (Colombia); Metropolitan District of Quito (Ecuador); Metropolitan Region of Guadalajara and Mexico City (Mexico); and the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (Peru) received this top score due to their commitment to the global challenges of the climate and environmental agenda and their role as climate leaders in Latin America.
All of them are local governments that have reached all or the vast majority of the stages in the development of their mitigation and adaptation plans, also being recognized in the methodology of the Global Covenant of Mayors for climate action through medals. Within the GCoM, cities report through the same CDP-ICLEI platform, where the GCoM and CDP have a great partnership to support cities in reporting and transparency.
CDP Latin America Awards 2023
Rebeca Lima, executive director of CDP in Latin America, hosted the event, where she highlighted: “COP 30 and the G20 in Brazil emphasize the growing importance of the region, and this is reflected in the efforts of cities, where the Latin American region is advancing on the climate agenda with increasingly ambition.” Hélinah Cardoso, director of GCoM in the Americas, who also participated in the event, declared: “The cities’ reporting on the platform is a turning point for improving decision-making and managing related environmental processes. We live in a world where data is power, and power is making decisions with information and knowledge. The prioritization of climate actions in cities depends heavily on knowledge and systematized information, to generate relevant impact. Cities that have already organized for this are ahead in their resilience and in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.”
At the event in São Paulo, three cities sent representatives to receive the award from Hélinah Cardoso: Luciana Feldman, representative of the Executive Secretariat for Climate Change of the city of São Paulo; Carlos Krykhtine, President of the Municipal Institute of Urbanism Pereira Passos of the city of Rio de Janeiro; and Carolina Theler, Director of Policy and Environmental Strategy of the city of Buenos Aires.
GCoM cities stand out in climate reporting in Latin America
Some of these cities have also begun their transition processes to expand the use of sustainable and accessible energy, combating energy poverty. The cities of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Peñalolén, and Mexico City are also part of the “Flagship Cities” initiative, an initiative of the GCoM that provides technical support in the development of projects to facilitate access to financing for climate action.
The cities of Rosario and Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz (Argentina); Curitiba and Fortaleza (Brazil), Portoviejo (Ecuador), and Sabaneta (Colombia), Hermosillo (Mexico), and Santa Ana (Costa Rica) are engaged with the GCoM and were also honored at the awards for their climate progress.
About CDP
CDP, the event organizer and a strategic partner of the Global Covenant of Mayors, assesses the climate performance of cities and publishes the results to encourage concrete actions in favor of sustainability. The organization, together with ICLEI, is responsible for the platform where the climate plans, actions, and results of Latin American cities and local governments are reported. The CDP-ICLEI reporting platform offers a comprehensive and reliable approach to monitor and report progress towards a more sustainable future.
About the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy is the largest global alliance of mayors and local authorities, with more than 13,200 cities committed in more than 144 countries worldwide, with Latin America being one of its 13 regions. In this region, the GCoM is funded by the European Union.
Commitment to this alliance means not only adopting bold measures at the local level but also collaborating closely with partners around the world, sharing innovative solutions that allow for faster and more efficient action. Cities and local governments committed to the Global Covenant of Mayors connect, exchange experiences, learn, and share with each other.
