2025 Local Leaders Climate Awards / Safer Infrastructure for a Changing World
Winners: Safer Infrastructure for a Changing World
Guarding communities with resilient, climate-ready systems
Beijing and Rio de Janeiro were announced as winners of the 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies Local Leaders Climate Awards on November 4, 2025 at the COP30 Local Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro.
WINNER: BEIJING
Building a Climate-Resilient Beijing Municipal Administrative Center
Beijing Municipal Administrative Center, a national pilot for climate-resilient cities, has achieved remarkable breakthroughs in urban climate resilience through systematic planning and infrastructure innovation. The center now withstands extreme weather events effectively, experiencing no waterlogging during historic rainfalls in 2023 and 2025, while summer surface temperatures reduced by 2-3 degrees Celsius. Key initiatives include upgrading flood control from 50- to 100-year resilience, with sponge city coverage increased to 48.2% and 85% rainfall absorption for the administrative area. Forest coverage reached 34.19% with 580km of greenways. Heat island intensity dropped 40% between 2020 and 2024.
WINNER: RIO DE JANEIRO
Heat Protocol / Extreme Heat Response Protocol
The Extreme Heat Response Protocol, coordinated by Rio’s Operations and Resilience Center with health and environment departments, is Brazil’s first protocol to address health risks from heat waves. Established by municipal decree, the protocol includes an early warning system with five alert levels based on temperature, humidity, and exposure time, developed from scientific evidence linking extreme heat to increased mortality. The protocol provides over 200 actions to protect residents and city workers, combining meteorological monitoring, epidemiological intelligence, and coordination among agencies. Measures include public risk communication, health service adaptation, and opening public cooling centers, supported by the Heat Panel integrating health data from 16 meteorological stations.
FINALIST: BOGOTÁ
Resilient Urban Revitalization in Bogotá
The District Secretariat for Habitat implemented Revitaliza tu Barrio, a public-space project that works to adapt to climate change and create safer, more resilient environments in the city’s vulnerable areas around the influence zone of mass transportation lines. The strategy prioritizes Sustainable Urban Draining Systems (SUDS) to strengthen infrastructure, improve water management, and reduce climate vulnerability across 20 strategically identified areas. SUDS will deliver 40 systems with a total capacity of 560 m³/year to capture and filter rainwater in public spaces and green corridors. The flagship San Cristóbal Project combines an electric aerial cable, recovery of 52,300 m² of green areas, solar panels, and SUDS, benefiting 400,000+ people while cutting annual energy use by 89.35%.
FINALIST: TERESINA
São Joaquim Lagoon Project – Green Infrastructure and Climate Resilience
The Lagoa do São Joaquim Project, part of Teresina’s Lagoas do Norte Program, was redesigned with a focus on safe childhood to restore the lagoon and reduce flooding and urban heat island risks. The project rehabilitated the lagoon and urbanized its perimeter, restoring its ability to absorb larger volumes of rainwater as a natural reservoir receiving water from eight other lagoons. Between 2019 and 2025, controlled dredging, native vegetation planting, rain gardens, and new drainage systems were implemented alongside recreational spaces and bike paths. The initiative directly benefits around 10,000 residents and indirectly impacts 90,000 more, serving as a replicable model for other urban lagoons.
2025 Local Leaders Climate Awards
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COP30 Local Leaders Forum
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil