By John Baimba Sesay, Senior Communications Manager, C40 Cities Co-Chair Office
New York, 25 September 2025- Freetown Mayor and C40 Cities Co-Chair, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE, on 24 September 2025, concluded her high-profile engagements at UN Climate Week in New York, underscoring the critical role cities play in driving climate action.
Mayor Aki-Sawyerr kicked off the week at an inspiring gathering of the Women Leaders Network, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN. She joined distinguished global leaders, including former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, former President Mary Robinson of Ireland, Deputy UN Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Ireland’s Minister of State Neale Richmond.
During the High-Level Solutions Dialogue on Early Warning and Extreme Heat Solutions, hosted by the UN Special Adviser on Climate Action, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr highlighted the urgent threat of extreme heat in urban areas. She announced her support for C40’s forthcoming Cool Cities Accelerator, emphasising that integrated planning connecting climate risk, urban development, and social protection is essential to scaling solutions.
She also delivered the keynote statement at Hub Live: From Volatile to Viable – The New Playbook for Energy Security, addressing energy transitions and urban resilience.
At the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Dialogue on Credible Transition Planning for Net Zero, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr showcased the leadership of cities, noting that 80% of C40 cities have already outperformed their national governments in emissions reductions. She called for enhanced access to climate finance and innovative tools such as green bonds, highlighting that urban action could close up to 40% of the global emissions gap if properly supported.
The mayor further joined panels on locally led climate and health solutions and a fireside chat on “Climate Solutions That Are Not Boring”, exploring ways to tell engaging climate stories for wider audiences. She also participated in the UN Special High-Level Summit on Climate Action, a platform for global leaders to announce new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of COP30.
Mayor Aki-Sawyerr’s engagements in New York have reinforced her commitment and that of C40 Cities to positioning cities at the forefront of climate solutions, advocating for financial empowerment, innovation, and bold action to keep the 1.5°C target within reach.
