C40 Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies have announced twenty city finalists for the 2022 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards. The awards celebrate pioneering projects, recognise leading mayors, provide an opportunity for engagement between communities, and encourage friendly competition between cities who wish to demonstrate their successful climate actions.
“Innovative solutions to climate change are coming from bold and pragmatic mayors across the world, and it’s important to celebrate their successes,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, C40 Board President, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, and Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “This year’s finalists are leading from the front, and if more public officials – at all levels – emulate their approach, we can improve public health, create jobs, and win the fight against climate change.”
70 cities from around the world applied for this year’s awards. Six criteria were used to assess the entires: immediate climate impact; expected climate impact; wider benefits; innovation; collaboration; and, sharing and scaling. This year’s theme – United in Action – had the program focusing on five categories:
- 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
Finalists under the category, Cleaning the Air We Breathe, are Beijing, Lima, Pune, and Quito. For, Accelerating Immediate Action in Critical Sectors, finalists include Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, New York City, and Seoul. Finalists for Building Climate Resilience are Dhaka North, Lisbon, Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, and Wuhan. For
Innovative Climate Solutions, Freetown, Quezon City, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo are the finalists. And, for Building a Climate Movement finalists include Irvine, Renca, Seattle, and Tokyo / Kuala Lumpur.
“The C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards celebrate a diverse set of local actions that are making a strong impact on the world around us,” said C40 Executive Director Mark Watts. “This year’s finalists are helping to advance inclusive climate actions that benefit all city residents equitably. Six of the shortlisted projects are based in Latin America, underscoring the region’s incredible climate leadership that will be on further display later this year at the C40 World Mayors Summit.”