Mayor of Rio de Janeiro and Co-Chair of U20 2024 Eduardo Paes & Mayor of Freetown and Co-Chair of C40 Cities Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
Climate change isn’t waiting—and neither can we. Around the world, the climate crisis is at risk of becoming a political football, with some nations no longer the reliable climate allies they once were. If this month’s G20 meeting in Rio is going to turn promises into real action now, we need world leaders and city mayors to work together, especially across the Global South.
Our cities in Brazil, Sierra Leone, and across the Global South are on the front lines of the climate crisis. In Brazil, droughts led to more than 50,000 wildfires burning across the country, while in Central and West Africa, floods and landslides have forced over half a million people from their homes, bringing diseases like cholera and malaria in their wake. These aren’t distant dangers; they’re realities our communities face every day.
As mayors of Rio de Janeiro and Freetown, we’ve seen how even the boldest promises made on the world stage don’t always reach our neighbourhoods. Less than 10% of global climate finance actually goes to local governments, and often, national and city efforts don’t connect in the ways they should.
But we aren’t waiting for others to act. In Rio, we’ve partnered with local companies to transform a landfill into a solar energy plant, which will generate clean energy for public buildings, cut down carbon emissions, and save taxpayer money. This is set to eliminate 40,000 tons of carbon from our atmosphere over the next 25 years. Meanwhile, in Freetown, through a community-driven approach, we’re paying residents to plant, grow, and digitally track trees as part of our critical reforestation efforts. Not only have we surpassed our target of planting one million trees, we’re also creating more than 3,000 green jobs along the way.
Across C40 cities, neighborhood organizations are supporting women and girls—who are disproportionately affected by extreme climate—and are empowering young people to join the effort. City agencies are building resilience, promoting public health, and fostering social inclusion. Local businesses are creating green jobs and making our economies more sustainable.
Imagine what we could achieve if national governments joined forces with cities like ours to scale and accelerate these types of climate solutions worldwide.
At this year’s Urban 20 (U20) summit, held just before the G20, national leaders and mayors will have an opportunity to make this partnership a reality. We know that when local leaders and national governments work closely, everyone benefits—solutions reach more people, happen faster, and cost less in the long run.
We are inspired by the progress that was realized last year, when more than 500 local leaders from over 60 countries came together at COP28’s Local Climate Action Summit—a first-of-its-kind gathering supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies. This year’s U20 is our moment to carry that momentum forward. By working more closely together, cities and nations can raise the global standard for climate action. We know from experience that when policymaking is more inclusive, it improves outcomes by every measure: scale, speed, efficiency, cost, and sustainability.
We believe empowering cities, especially those in the Global South, to lead is essential for meaningful climate action. The G20 can support our efforts by committing to supporting our most vulnerable communities, providing the climate finance cities so urgently need, and committing to longer-term collaboration by joining the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP).
This week in Rio, let’s remember: real progress on climate is something we can only forge when we all work together.
