İzmir Metropolitan Government (Turkey) is the newest city to become a Member of ICLEI Europe.

İzmir, one of the largest cities in Turkey, has access to a wide-range of renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and wave energy. Mindful of the serious threat of climate change, the Turkish city is strongly committed to lowering harmful emissions, with a particular emphasis on achieving a greener energy mix. In a recent interview with the UNFCCC Climate Action Studio, İzmir Mayor Tunç Soyer explained the city’s approach to climate action.

“We are trying to go further and improve, because we believe sincerely that this must be one of our main goals: to keep our city clean and fight all together against climate change,” explained Mayor Soyer. “We have to make people understand that [climate change] will affect their lives, it will affect their future. If we can increase awareness, we can make a real contribution against climate change.”

The city’s priority areas for the future include using more renewable energy sources; increasing awareness of climate change among citizens; promoting local production and consumption, including linking rural and urban residents; and working to reduce the amount of fossil fuels consumed by public transport.