John,

Air pollution in cities is a major driver of climate change, and is linked to millions of health issues and deaths each year. It's also a challenge that requires creative solutions, since poor air quality in urban areas is affected by everything from vehicle exhaust to industrial emissions to the burning of waste.

To help tackle this growing challenge, our Breathe Cities initiative is building partnerships with local leaders to clean the air, reduce carbon emissions, and improve public health in cities across the globe. The solutions that emerge could be shared widely to help promote cleaner air for millions -- or even billions -- of people.

Watch a short video -- under two minutes -- to see how Breathe Cities is helping one of our partner cities, Accra, Ghana, to clean the air and save lives.

Breathe Cities has an ambitious goal: help reduce air pollution by 30 percent on average across participating cities by 2030, compared to 2019 levels.

Reaching that goal will help prevent 39,000 premature deaths and around 79,000 new cases of asthma in children each decade.

And it will be good for the planet: By 2030, a total of 284 megatons of climate emissions could be kept out of the atmosphere.

Accra is just one of the major urban areas working with Breathe Cities. Last year, at the first-ever Bloomberg Philanthropies Local Climate Action Summit at COP28, we announced a new group of Breathe Cities participants. In addition to Accra, these cities include Brussels, Belgium; Jakarta, Indonesia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Milan, Italy; Nairobi, Kenya; Paris, France; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Sofia, Bulgaria. This group joins Breathe Cities pilot programs launched in Warsaw, Poland and London, United Kingdom.

Learn more about Breathe Cities and how it's protecting the planet and making urban areas healthier places to live for millions of people:

https://breathecities.org/

Thanks,

Bloomberg Philanthropies

PS -- If you're interested in innovative solutions to protect people's health and our planet, you'll want to see the 2024 Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit happening later this month. Learn more about the event, and save the date for the September 24 livestream →