Burlington reports on its carbon emissions

The City of Burlington is one of a handful of prominent cities around the country and the world participating in the 2011 Carbon Disclosure Project’s ‘Global Report on C40 Cities.’ The report, issued in June, summarizes carbon emissions from ‘C40’ cities ‘ large cities around the world which have joined together with a commitment to tackling climate change ‘as well as 6 additional cities, including Burlington, which voluntarily disclosed information on their carbon footprint. Burlington joins cities such as New York, Chicago, Berlin, Dhaka, Hong King, London, Lagos, Taipei, and San Francisco in participating in the report, among others.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg chairs the C40 Climate Leadership Group (C40). In Mayor Bloomberg’s introduction to the report, he states that ‘This candid report establishes an invaluable baseline of information for future actions that can be taken locally, but have a global impact. This transparency will give people everywhere confidence that cities ‘ the level of government closest to the majority of people on the earth ‘ have the foresight and courage to confront the greatest challenge that humanity has ever created for itself.’
Paul Dickinson, Executive Chairman of the Carbon Disclosure Project, emphasized the value of documenting the carbon footprint of businesses, organizations, and cities, and praised the transparency of local governments willing to publicly self-report such data:
‘[This report is] unique ‘ all of the data is these pages is self-reported by city governmentsâ ¦.The connection between measurement and management is...clear for city governments. As concentrations of people, businesses, and wealth, cities are both large emitters of greenhouse gas emissions and highly vulnerable to the potential physical effects of climate change. With the right processes in place, local governments, just like corporations, can gain strategic insight into their operations and reduce their exposure to climate change through assessment of climate risk. Through public disclosure, cities share their methodologies and insights as they create transparent, climate-safe places in which to live and work.
The report comes as Burlington has announced the development of thirty-six high priority climate action strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help meet the City’s emissions reduction target. The City has released a new website devoted to the City’s Climate Action Plan, www.ci.burlington.vt.us/cap/, which includes an analysis of how waste, transportation, and energy use in Burlington impact green house gas emissions. Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss kicked off an initiative to involve the public in greenhouse gas and waste reduction at a community meeting on July 20.
A full copy of the CDP’s Global Report on C40 cities can be found at https://www.cdproject.net/Documents/CDP-Cities-2011-Report.pdf. Burlington’s carbon emission report can be found on the Carbon Disclosure website (www.cdproject.net) as well as the Climate Action Plan website (www.ci.burlington.vt.us/cap/plan/ghg/). The Carbon Disclosure Project ‘is an independent not-for-profit organization holding the largest database of primary corporate climate change information in the world’ (from www.cdproject.net). More information about the C40 group of cities is available at: http://www.c40cities.org/.
Members of the public interested in getting involved in the City’s climate action efforts can go to www.ci.burlington.vt.us/cap/ for more information.