AYV News, April 4, 2025
As Co-Chair of C40 Cities, yesterday I welcomed Mark Watts, C40’s Executive Director, and Johnson Situ, Director of the C40 Co-Chair’s Office, to Freetown for a familiarization visit. Freetown’s membership of C40 Cities provides us with a platform for peer to peer learning on climate action as well as access to finance for the implementation of job creating climate interventions.
C40 Cities provided the funding for the recently completed Cable Car feasibility study so Mark and Johnson are looking forward to participating in the Cable Car Steering Committee meeting that will be held today with the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders. Progress has been made with identifying funding partners for the Cable Car system and we are excited that C40 Cities is committed to working with Freetown City Council (“FCC”) and the Government to secure the necessary financing for implementation
A meeting with a cross section of F.CC councillors and staff yesterday morning was followed by a press conference during which Mark announced that Freetown has been successful in securing funding for two new initiatives! The first, a partnership between C40’s Breathe Cities and African Cities for Clean Air, will focus on improving air quality by monitoring pollution levels and deploying low-cost air quality sensors across the city.
Additionally the “Enhancing Heat-Health Resilience in Freetown” project has been awarded $100,000 in funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. This initiative will integrate climate and health data collection, train local community workers, and strengthen inter-agency collaboration to mitigate the impact of extreme heat on Freetonians. In accordance to C40 Cities policies, the funds will be expended in Freetown but will be administered by C40 Cities. Importantly both initiatives will create jobs for youth in our city!
In response to a specific request I made last year, C40 Cities is also currently funding research into how nature based solutions can be used for harvesting rainwater at community level in Freetown. Conscious that access to water is the number one priority of our residents, I am looking forward to the results of that study and anticipating an outcome that will have a positive impact on water access for Freetonians.
Yesterday afternoon we have a very constructive engagement with Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Country Manager. The World Bank is a major funder of Freetown’s climate action including #FreetownTheTreeTown.
Over the next two days of the visit , Mark and I will engage with national leaders to reinforce partnerships, connect with young leaders to highlight their role in climate action, and visit key climate interventions that have tangible impact in our communities. We are appreciative of this visit and I am confident that it will unlock additional resources for sustainable climate interventions in Freetown.
