City recognised for leadership and bold action on climate

Brighton & Hove has been identified as one of the world’s leading cities on climate leadership and action.

The Carbon Disclosure Project, a global non-profit that assesses companies, cities and governments for how they manage environmental impacts, has scored the city an A grade for the second year running.

To score an A, councils must demonstrate best practice and ambitious goals on adapting to climate change, reducing its effects, improving the environment and enhancing the economy. This includes having strategic plans in place to ensure actions will reduce climate impacts on people, businesses and organisations.

Brighton & Hove is one of 48 cities in Europe, and only 25 in the UK, to achieve the score.

Improving our data and evidence 

Tim Rowkins, Deputy Leader of the council and Cabinet lead for Net Zero, said: “We’ve been working hard to improve our data and create evidence-based plans to address our biggest climate challenges, from decarbonising our energy system and improving air quality to adapting our infrastructure to severe weather and creating more green space to restore nature and biodiversity.

“As well as giving us local insight for decision making, our evidence base is also crucial for establishing the investment and delivery models required to decarbonise at scale. By having a clear plan based on evidence, we have a much better insight into what needs to be done to achieve the greatest impact, not only for the council but the whole city.

“It’s incredibly valuable to be recognised by an organisation like CDP, which undertakes independent assessments of what public authorities are doing and can point the way forward for us to achieve more for our city’s environment and the people who live and work here.”

The score was awarded for 2024, when the council published the city’s first Decarbonisation Pathways Study. This sets out how Brighton & Hove can fully decarbonise its energy system, with energy-efficient and low-carbon homes, businesses and transport.

Working with partners on climate challenges

During the year, the council worked with partners from Greater Brighton on the creation of Sussex Energy and with the National Wealth Fund to identify investment models for net zero projects.

Looking ahead, Brighton & Hove is developing plans for a solar farm, introducing food waste collections, publishing a refreshed circular economy action plan, decarbonising schools and other public buildings, and improving the energy performance of council homes.

Other achievements in 2024 included:

• Winning £2.8 million to dramatically increase electric vehicle charging points – Brighton & Hove was named as the council with the most EV charging coverage in the UK outside London
• Delivering our largest rollout of rooftop solar to date
• Starting work on the Wild Park rainscape – our largest sustainable drainage system to protect the city’s drinking water and help reduce flooding
• Publishing new air quality monitoring data to provide better information for residents and support improvements 
• Undertaking a major new project to repair and install climate-resilient sea defences
• Unlocking £10 million investment for new zero-emission buses
• Reporting on what we’re doing on climate adaptation to make the city more resilient to extreme weather events.

More information

The A List, which was started by CDP in 2018, recognises cities that have received the highest score for transparency and bold climate action, and celebrates their achievements, vision and commitment.

Explore our Decarbonisation Pathways Study.

More information on the Carbon Disclosure Project and its A list scores for cities, states and regions.