TRACKING TRANSFORMATION: How African Cities Are Driving Global Climate Action Through Local Data

Since 2011, 115 African subnational governments have measured and managed their environmental data through CDP’s annual reporting cycle. In 2019, CDP and ICLEI partnered and launched their Unified Reporting System, later renamed CDP-ICLEI Track. The data reported by cities forms the foundation of this report. The dominant narrative often casts African cities as lagging responders, held back by resource constraints, institutional fragility, and under-reporting. But the data and reality on the ground tells a different story. African cities aren’t waiting to be saved. They are innovating, adapting, and transforming themselves in the face of converging climate, social, and economic shocks.