City of Freetown wins Bloomberg Award For Treeplanting Project

Freetown has won the Innovative Climate Solutions award at the 2022 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The award is in recognition of their innovative use of financial, technological, governance, and legal tools and mechanisms that support the goal of achieving net zero by 2050.

The city experienced tragedy due to deforestation and the associated increased risk of landslides in 2017, since then it has taken action to reduce landslide and flooding risk through the “Freetown the TreeTown” initiative enacted by the Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr.

The initiative aims to increase the city’s green space and vegetation cover. With engagement from the local community, the city will plant, grow and track 1 million trees and restore 3,000 hectares of land, sequestering approximately 69,000 tonnes of CO2.

C40 and Bloomberg Philanthropies have announced the 10 winners of the 2022 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Representing the most ambitious and impactful projects spearheaded by mayors from around the world to tackle the global climate crisis, awards were given out in five categories that align with this year’s summit theme, United in Action:

United to accelerate immediate action in critical sectors
United to clean the air we breathe
United in building climate resilience
United to innovate
United in building a climate movement

Seventy cities competed for this year’s prestigious awards. The awards celebrate pioneering climate projects led by cities around the world, recognizing mayors and encouraging friendly competition between cities keen to demonstrate their successful climate actions and raise global ambition. Seven prior editions of the awards program have showcased some of the world’s most ambitious climate projects and amplified highly replicable best practices. Previous winners of the award include London who were awarded for the pioneering 24-hour Ultra Low Emission Zone.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, said: “The impact of climate change is being acutely felt in our communities, with the impact being most severe among the urban poor living in informal settlements, where many of our residents live and work. Thus, it is imperative that we plan, innovate and work together across the city and with national and global support to build inclusive and sustainable pathways to climate adaptation – for all Freetonians!“

Sadiq Khan, Chair of C40 Cities and Mayor of London, said: “Congratulations to all of the C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards winners. Cities are leading the way when it comes to tackling the climate emergency. These cities represent some of the best projects from around the world and their commitment to local communities and the planet is impressive. The focus on immediate climate action illustrates the power of cities to be doers, not delayers, setting a new level of ambition that I hope will inspire leaders around the world to invest in a greener future.”

Michael R. Bloomberg, C40 Board President, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, 108th Mayor of New York City and Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, said: “Across the world, mayors and cities are increasingly uniting to share strategies, set ambitious goals and deliver much-needed results in the fight against climate change. The C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards showcase the best of local climate leadership, demonstrating to national governments and the world what’s possible ahead of COP27.”

C40 Executive Director Mark Watts said: “I am thrilled to congratulate the winners of the C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards. The winning projects are excellent examples of cities making a strong impact on their communities. A healthier, cleaner future must be every mayor’s priority. When mayors invest in the green recovery, they create jobs and just, thriving communities for all. This year’s winners are climate leaders and we are proud to highlight their hard work at the C40 World Mayors Summit.”

Supriya Sahu, Principal Secretary for the Department of Environment, Climate Change & Forests in the government of Tamil Nadu, India, and one of eight awards jurors, said: “On behalf of the jury, I am thrilled to congratulate this year’s C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards winners on their impressive climate projects and leadership. Selecting the winners was a challenging task due to the outstanding quality and variety of applications. The jury welcomes the outstanding leadership and innovation demonstrated by cities in the Global §South. The winning projects should inspire leaders around the world who are eager to slash emissions, build resilience and make a lasting difference in their communities.”

2022 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards Winners