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MAYORS SIGNED A JOINT DECLARATION

10.12.2022

‘THE 4TH MEETING OF MUNICIPALITIES’ WAS HELD IN BODRUM

"Sustainable Energy & Climate Action Plan – The Annual 4th Meeting of Municipalities" was held in Bodrum with the theme of "A Just Transition On The Objective of Climate Neutral Cities", comprehensive panels on climate were held.

The first session of the meeting was held with the theme of “Leaving No One Behind” and the second session was held with the theme of “Adaptation Together”. At the third session of the panel, ‘a session for the mayors’, the mayors shared information with the audience on the Works the good practices and goald of their municipalities and on climate.

The first session, which was moderated by Gamze Çelikyılmaz, ‘International Climate Change Policy Expert’ and consultant to UN institutions and EC was attended by Canan Güllü, chairwoman of the Turkish Federation of Women's Associations; Prof. Dr. Nezih Orhon, the former dean and professor at the Faculty of Communication Sciences at Anadolu University in Eskişehir, Türkiye; Dr. Baran Bozoğlu, Chairman of the ‘Climate Change Policy and Research Association’; Mehmet Vuran, agricultural engineer; journalist Ali Petek, Dr. Bedriye Gürkan, member of the ‘Six Point Association for the Blind’; activist Tülin Erol as speakers.

At the second session moderated by Prof. Dr. Tanay Sıdkı Uyar, consultant to Bodrum Municipality for environment policies was held with the theme “Adaptation Together”. Dr. Zeynep Yöntem (PhD in Chemical Engineer & Social and Environmental Science), Chairwoman of the Executive Board in ‘Ekodenge’; Doğancan Beşikci, Secretary General – Türkiye of EUROSOLAR - European Association for Renewable Energy; Önder Algedik, consultant to Nilüfer Municipality of Bursa for environment policies and Pelin Özden, Lecturer at İzmir Kavram Vocational School were on the stage as speakers at the second session. Actions to be taken regarding disadvantaged individuals were discussed in perspective of local governments by academicians.

Moderated by Cem Seymen, the panel continued with the ‘Session for Mayors’ with the theme of "Just Transition to Climate Neutral Cities". Ahmet Aras, the Mayor of Bodrum; Şerdil Dara Odabaşı, the Mayor of Kadıköy; Op. Dr. Cemil Tugay, the Mayor of Karşıyaka; Akif Kemal Akay, the Mayor of Seyhan; Muammer Keskin, the Mayor of Şişli; Dt. Ahmet Ataç, the Mayor of Tepebaşı and Remzi Çınar, the Deputy Mayor of Nilfüer shared information with the audience, other representatives of local governments and academicians on climate studies and their goals in detail.

Ahmet Aras, the Mayor of Bodrum mentioned the following steps being taken on the roadmap to create a sustainable Bodrum and stated:

“We have been conducting deep poverty studies in order to reach low-income citizens, who are among the most badly affected by the climate crisis. Our municpal solution field teams go to all the neighborhoods of Bodrum and visit households one by one. They locate the ones who were badly affected by the consequences of the struggle to make a living. We have been conducting a large scale analysis study.The Most significant mission of local governments is to balance this very inequality.”

“Tourism is a sector that has more in common with climate”

Underlining that climate and tourism are connected to each other, Mayor Aras said, “Bodrum has been a tourism city, but it has become very difficult to preserve the dynamics of this premium tourism destination in a such city with an exceeding and uncontrolled population growth. Because in a city where urban problems arise, in a city with traffic and infrastructure problems, in a city where there are problems with coastal use, in a city where there are environmental problems and dense construction, you cannot expect people to take vacation; however tourism is actually a sector that has more in common with climate. In a region, open to tourism in many ways, there must not be heavy industry, environmental factors should not become problems, there must be no mines, there must be no wind farms in the heart of Yalıkavak. Areas without zoning should not be opened for being zoned for construction. Tourism is a “smoke-free” industry and supports all the Dynamics of local. It supports agricultural activities and creates needs for employment.”

At the end of the meeting, Ahmet Aras, the Mayor of Bodrum read the final declaration formed from the outputs of the meeting and then the representatives of 7 municipalities signed the final declaration. At the end of the meeting, the Trio Classical Music Concert was performed and the Upcycling Exhibition of Sema Akbel was presented.