By John Baimba Sesay, Freetown
Air pollution costs the global economy $225 billion annually in lost labour, with experts warning that without urgent action, outdoor air pollution could lead to 930,000 premature deaths per year by 2030. Climate advocates are urging African leaders to prioritise air quality, emphasising that ambitious interventions could prevent 200,000 premature deaths annually by 2030 and 880,000 by 2063.
Recognising the urgent need for action, C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 cities worldwide tackling the climate crisis, has announced two major initiatives in Freetown. These include: A collaboration between C40’s Breathe Cities and African Cities for Clean Air, which will focus on improving air quality by establishing pollution baseline levels and deploying low-cost air quality sensors across the city. The project will also identify pollution hotspots and assess residents’ exposure to air pollutants.
The second initiative is a $100,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation for Freetown’s “Enhancing Heat-Health Resilience” project. This initiative will integrate climate and health data collection, provide community training, and foster inter-agency collaboration to combat the growing risks of extreme heat.
C40’s Commitment to Climate Resilience in the Global South
C40 Cities, co-chaired by Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, dedicates two-thirds of its budget to climate resilience projects in the Global South. It also supports peer-to-peer learning and provides funding for climate-smart projects, including in Freetown.
In Mumbai, India, C40 Cities, through the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF), is collaborating with BrihanMumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) to install solar PV panels on 27 bus depots. The initiative supports Mumbai’s goal of achieving a 100% electric bus fleet by 2027 and is expected to attract approximately $35 million in investment.
In Freetown, C40 has provided financial and technical support for several key climate initiatives, including: the Cable Car feasibility study, advancing sustainable urban mobility, for heat-related losses and damages, with a focus on informal women traders. The support also includes water resilience solutions, specifically through rainwater harvesting and air quality improvement efforts.
Speaking at a news conference in Freetown on April 2, 2025, during a familiarisation visit, C40 Cities Executive Director, Mark Watts, highlighted the critical role of cities in driving climate solutions. Mayors, he underscored, are leading the way in implementing policies that prioritise both climate resilience and social equity while accelerating global progress on climate action.
“The climate crisis hits urban areas first and hardest, but as Freetown shows, this is where the most creative solutions emerge. Through C40, Freetown’s local solutions are creating global ripples when we need them most,” remarked Mark Watts at the news conference.
Clean Air and Green Jobs in Freetown
Beyond improving air quality, climate action in Freetown is creating economic opportunities. The city’s flagship initiative, #FreetownTheTreeTown, has already created 2,300 jobs for women and youth while working toward its goal of planting 5 million trees by 2030. With funding from the World Bank and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the project has already planted 1.2 million trees to restore and enhance the city’s ecological infrastructure.
Building on this progress, the new air quality initiative under Breathe Cities will enable Freetown to: Develop the city’s first-ever air pollution baseline emission levels; Deploy a network of city-owned low-cost air quality sensors; Conduct a comprehensive assessment of pollution exposure and its health impacts; Identify pollution hotspots and disparities in air quality among districts and, Develop effective communication strategies to raise awareness and build support for clean air policies.
Reacting to the announcements of the two initiatives, Mayor of Freetown and C40 Cities Co-Chair Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr said, “The support is not a token representation. When a youth group gets funding to combat flooding, or when our cool roof experiments inform projects in Mumbai – that’s the power of this [C40] network.”
Breathe Cities: A Global Movement for Clean Air
Breathe Cities is a first-of-its-kind initiative launched by the Clean Air Fund, C40 Cities, and Bloomberg Philanthropies to combat air pollution, reduce carbon emissions, and improve public health. The program is currently active in 14 cities worldwide, including Accra, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Bogotá, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Bangkok, Jakarta, Brussels, London, Milan, Paris, Sofia, and Warsaw.
About C40 Cities
C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone, everywhere, can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to limit global heating in line with the Paris Agreement and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. We work alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to support mayors to halve emissions by 2030 and help phase out fossil use while increasing urban climate resilience and equity.
The current co-chairs of C40 are Mayor Sadiq Khan of London, United Kingdom, and Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone; three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our three strategic funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Realdania.
