By Andualem Sisay Gessesse – Addis Ababa city’s decentralized composting and recycling waste management project on Wednesday wins this year’s C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards held in in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The awards recognize leadership in urban climate action and celebrate the most ambitious and impactful mayor-led projects to tackle the climate crisis. This year, seventy cities from around the world applied to compete under ‘United to accelerate immediate action in critical sectors category’, but Addis Ababa’s project stood out due to their impressive efforts in improving waste management in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, through decentralized composting and recycling, and was named a winner.
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:
1. United to accelerate immediate action in critical sectors
2. United to clean the air we breathe
3. United in building climate resilience
4. United to innovate
5. 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, recognising mayors and encouraging friendly competition between cities keen to demonstrate their successful climate actions and raise global ambition. Seven prior editions of the awards programme 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.
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.”
C40 is a network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborating to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis.
Yesterday, the #C40Summit kicked off with announcements, events & forums with global leaders #UnitedInAction:
🆕New C40 research
🇦🇷 Leaders exploring @BAInternacional
🌳Tree-planting in Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve
And more 🎥Join us today: https://t.co/SgMOFjL9Rc pic.twitter.com/hDuPH3MmxH
— C40 Cities (@c40cities) October 20, 2022