Translated by Andrés Martínez Forero
Today, during New York Climate Week, the city of Bogotá announced its new partnership with the Breathe Cities initiative in a significant move to reduce air pollution, cut carbon emissions, and improve public health in Colombia’s most populated city.
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Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán met with Breathe Cities’ Executive Director Jaime Pumarejo, Clean Air Fund CEO Jane Burston, C40 Cities Executive Director Mark Watts, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Environment Program Lead Antha Williams, and Breathe Cities Advisory Committee Chair, Shirley Rodrigues, to mark the moment and discuss plans for delivering improved pollution monitoring and cleaner air for Bogotá residents.
Breathe Cities was announced in 2023 by Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Sadiq Khan, London Mayor and C40 Cities Co-Chair. The initiative is now delivered by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Clean Air Fund, and C40 Cities, and gives cities greater access to air quality data to support the development of tailored policies and initiatives at the local level.
Bogotá is the latest to join the global initiative of twelve other cities: Accra, Ghana; Bangkok, Thailand; Brussels, Belgium; Jakarta, Indonesia; Johannesburg, South Africa; London, United Kingdom; Milan, Italy; Nairobi, Kenya; Paris, France; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Warsaw, Poland. Through a variety of activities, the initiative aims to reduce air pollution by 30% on average across participating cities by 2030.
Check out the following post by Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, through his account on the social network X, with more details about the Breathe Cities initiative and Bogotá's participation:
Mejorar la calidad del aire es otro reto que compartimos con ciudades de todo el mundo.
— Carlos F. Galán (@CarlosFGalan) September 23, 2024
Seguimos avanzando en nuestra agenda con "Breathe Cities", un programa global lanzado en 2023 por Michael Bloomberg y el alcalde de Londres, Sadiq Khan, al que Bogotá se unió este año a… pic.twitter.com/JRGuTnOky0
In Bogotá, it's estimated that the impact of achieving this goal by 2030 would include preventing over 840 premature deaths a year, saving $1.7 billion in annual costs from avoided deaths and disability, and avoiding around 1,600 new cases of asthma in children and 3 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
“Joining the Breathe Cities initiative is a major step forward for Bogotá in our ongoing efforts to combat air pollution and protect the health of our communities,” said Carlos Fernando Galán, Mayor of Bogotá. “By leveraging the resources and expertise of this global coalition, we are confident that we can make significant strides in improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions in our city.”
Currently, 41% of cities worldwide have air pollution levels over seven times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommendations, contributing to 8.1 million premature deaths each year. In Bogotá, while the average concentration of particulate matter has decreased over the past eight years, it still exceeds WHO recommended levels. In 2023, the annual average concentration of PM 2.5 was 16 µg/m³, remaining above the global health guidelines with significant impacts on the health of Bogotá citizens.
Bogotá has made significant strides in improving air quality through training women in locally created green jobs programs, and integrating land-use planning and climate change solutions into the city’s action plan. Bogotá has also launched its first Clean Air Zone (ZUMA) to address air pollution and protect public health. Mayor Galán’s administration aims to build on these initiatives by implementing a second Clean Air Zone (ZUMA) by 2027, aligned with the city's Air Quality Plan (Plan Aire).
“As a Colombian and the former mayor of Barranquilla, I am particularly proud to see the capital of my home country join Breathe Cities and reinforce its commitment to clean air,” said Jaime Pumarejo, Executive Director of Breathe Cities. “Bogotá’s commitment to cleaner air and sustainable urban development sets a powerful example for cities across the world to create a healthier, fairer, and more prosperous future for all.”
The city’s efforts to improve air quality to date contributed to Bogotá’s selection to the Breathe Cities cohort, and the city only plans to ramp up ambitions going forward. Participation in Breathe Cities involves meeting criteria such as air pollution and emissions intensity requirements, strong political interest and leadership, scalability potential, and the capacity to implement action plans, among other metrics. Recently, Bogotá participated in C40’sIt’s in the Air Campaign – reaching over 10 million people globally and more than 10,000 locally – which celebrated people-focused transport and other clean air policies worldwide.
“Bogotá’s proactive approach to tackling air pollution is exactly what we need to cultivate action across the globe,” said Antha Williams, who leads the environment program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “We are excited to support Bogotá and Mayor Galán as they take on this ambitious challenge and look forward to seeing the positive impacts on the health and well-being of Bogotá residents.”
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About Breathe Cities
Breathe Cities is a first-of-its-kind initiative from Clean Air Fund, C40 Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies to clean our air, cut carbon emissions and enhance public health in cities around the world. Launched in June 2023 by Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, and London Mayor and C40 Cities Co-Chair Sadiq Khan, it aims to break down barriers to action and ensure communities around the world have access to clean air.
Breathe Cities brings together air quality data, communities, and city leaders to reduce air pollution and planet-warming emissions by 30% across participating cities by 2030. This would prevent 39,000 premature deaths and avoid 284 megatons of CO2e emissions in selected cities. To learn more, visit their website or follow Breathe Cities on X, Instagram and Facebook.
