ICLEI Europe is proud to welcome Mersin and İzmit as its newest Members, joining the ICLEI network of local governments committed to sustainability.
Mersin is a coastal city located in the south of Turkey, and home to the country’s largest seaport. Mersin Metropolitan Municipality has taken strides over the past years to structurally address climate change. The City Council passed a decision to establish a Climate Change and Clean Energy Branch Office within the Environmental Protection and Control Department, and became a signatory to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy.
The municipality has also conducted a number of studies and initiatives to support climate action. One such study explored the negative impacts and potential opportunities associated with solid waste landfills, and led to the establishment of solid waste transfer stations. Domestic waste is transported to these stations before being transferred to landfill sites, reducing the number of trips, the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted and oil consumed.
A photovoltaic solar power plant was implemented in Mersin’s sport complex, and efforts are underway to put in place similar installations at a local slaughterhouse and bus station. Furthermore, the city is considering sustainability with respect to mobility and transport – smart intersections, smart mobility stops, greener busses and a light rail metro line all better serve people and the local environment.
İzmit lies in the northwest of Turkey. It has a smaller population than Mersin, but with high population density and a history of rapid industrialisation. Much of İzmit’s work to address the climate emergency has focused on engaging and partnering with youth.
They have organised conferences and training opportunities for youth to connect them to European opportunities, to increase environmental awareness and sensitivity among primary students, and to train them on recycling and waste management. The latter is part of a larger goal to spread zero-waste practices throughout İzmit. Waste collection competitions in schools, a waste collection facility project, compost production centre, waste collection training and separated bins, and more have all been introduced to help achieve this vision. As a result, the amount of waste produced in municipal service buildings reduced by 60 percent, leading the municipality to receive a Zero Waste Certificate. This work is accessible to all via a municipal waste website and mobile app.
“İzmit Municipality, which has been carrying out successful works with environmental protection practices that have made a strong impression on a regional and national scale so far, will once again strongly emphasise its commitment to sustainable development goals by joining ICLEI, the world's largest network of local governments dedicated to sustainable development,” explains Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, Mayor of İzmit. “Izmit Municipality will be happy to share the projects it has produced in related fields in its region with other network members and to implement the successful projects produced by other members on local scale. In addition, our municipality aims to participate in European cross-border collaborations and project implementations through the ICLEI network and believes that its actions in the relevant field will create much more impact and diversify thanks to the global ICLEI network.”
For more information on ICLEI Membership, click here.