Addis Ababa has officially joined the "Breathe Cities" network. This milestone was reached as the philanthropic organization Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $45 million allocation to improve air quality, partnering with selected global cities. Addis Ababa's inclusion in the "Breathe Cities" program will significantly bolster the ongoing efforts to enhance the city's air quality.
Announced on Tuesday at the London Climate Action Week, Addis Ababa’s membership in Breathe Cities has been officially confirmed. The initiative is a collaborative effort supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Clean Air Fund, and C40 Cities, aiming to improve urban air quality and mitigate the public health risks associated with pollution. This vital program is being implemented across 16 international cities, including Addis Ababa.
Following the announcement, Mayor Adanech Abiebie, speaking through her representative, emphasized the immense benefits of Addis Ababa joining the network. She noted that alongside the city’s corridor development project, which reflects a comprehensive, outstanding urban transformation dedicated to creating a clean, beautiful, green, and livable environment, this partnership will enable the city to further expand and strengthen its green legacy initiatives, cycling lanes, and air quality monitoring infrastructure. The mayor added that the support from Michael Bloomberg and his philanthropic organization will empower the city to reinforce these efforts while also positioning Addis Ababa to share its experiences in air quality control and improvement with other African and international cities as it prepares to host COP32.
Michael Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, remarked that through Breathe Cities, mayors and urban leaders continue to lead the charge in improving air quality. He emphasized that the steps each city takes to improve its air will save lives, boost public health, and lower emissions, ultimately making cities better places to live and work. He further stated that this new investment provides critical backing to the ongoing efforts of mayors and will help scale these proven practices to even more cities worldwide.
In addition to the newly admitted cities of Addis Ababa and Madrid, the initiative includes Accra, Bangkok, Bogotá, Brussels, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Mexico City, Milan, Nairobi, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Sofia, and Warsaw, establishing a powerful network of mayors dedicated to reducing pollution and safeguarding public health.
