Addis Ababa joins global clean air network as Bloomberg commits $45 million expansion

Addis Ababa has joined the global Breathe Cities network as Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a fresh $45 million investment to expand city-led efforts to tackle air pollution and improve public health.

The announcement, made during London Climate Action Week, adds Addis Ababa and Madrid to the initiative, bringing the total number of participating cities to 16 across five continents.

The expansion places Addis Ababa alongside other African cities already in the network Accra, Johannesburg and Nairobi as urban leaders across the continent increasingly turn to data and policy to address air pollution.

Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, said cities are proving that local action can drive major change.

“Through Breathe Cities, local leaders continue to lead the way in cleaning the air. Every step forward helps to save lives, improve public health, and reduce emissions all while making cities better places to live and work. This new investment will build on the progress mayors are making and help spread that progress to even more cities.”

Since launching in 2023, Breathe Cities has supported participating cities in deploying nearly 1,200 air quality sensors, implementing 26 local clean-air policies, and reducing toxic nitrogen dioxide pollution by 14 percent.

Across Africa, cities in the network have begun showing tangible results.

In Nairobi, Governor Johnson Sakaja said the city’s network of 50 air quality sensors launched in 2025 had strengthened the county’s ability to identify pollution hotspots and shape policy responses.

“For the first time, Nairobi controls its own data, which informs us of where pollution is worst, who is most at risk, and where policy must act,” Sakaja said.

For Addis Ababa, Mayor Adanech Abiebie said joining the network comes at a crucial moment.

“Addis Ababa is proud to be joining Breathe Cities, as a city already in transformation with hundreds of kilometers of cycling lanes and sensors to understand exactly where pollution is hitting hardest.”

She added that hosting COP32 in 2027 gives the city a major platform to demonstrate what African cities can achieve through climate action.

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