The EU-supported ‘Low-Carbon Turkey’ Project, which aims to decrease the carbon print in Turkey - mainly from the 4 main sectors of building, transportation, agriculture and waste, led by the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning and partnered with ministries such as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and local administrations, academic institutions, sectoral experts and non-governmental organisations - will be ending in May 2020. The project will not only decrease Turkey’s carbon footprint but will also provide economic and social development.
Rade Glomazic is a Senior Project Manager at Human Dynamics who is leading the project. Mr Glomazic is also an International Development Expert and Cornell Climate Fellow who has stated that Human Dynamics are implementing many successful projects with the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning - such as NATURA 2000, Low-Carbon Development, and Invasive and Alien Species - and that he is very impressed with the increasing concern and devotion of the governmental bodies and the support, knowledge and high-level performance of the local expert teams.
Mr Glomazic emphasised that ‘Low-Carbon Turkey’ is a very special project within the scope of a series of mitigation actions which intends to decrease emission in Turkey. He also commented that “the content is very extensive; it is not only about the potentials of mitigating the greenhouse gas emissions of a number of selected actions, it also includes a cost-benefit analysis of the actions and the evaluation of their social, environmental and economic effects. Basically, the project embodies a variety of technical studies within itself”.
Glomazic notified that they are aiming to take on the building, waste, transportation and agriculture sectors, which make up 42.6% (2016) of greenhouse gas emissions in Turkey and added:
“The purpose of the ‘Low-Carbon Turkey’ Project, run by a consortium led by Hulla & Co Human Dynamics, which is one of the leading consulting companies of Europe, is to increase national and local capacities to prepare for medium- and long-term climate actions and to form an analytical foundation to support the low-carbon strategies that focus especially on precautions and low-cost climate change mitigation politics with a National Climate Change Action Plan (UİDEP – NCAAP) and gradually adapt to the EU climate politics and regulations to move towards climate-resistant, low-carbon (LCD) development.
During the first stage, in close cooperation with the project partners, 5 reports were prepared regarding the formation of the basis of the fields in question to form the politics and strategies in prospective, the existing climate change reduction and the evaluation of Low-Carbon Development policies, strategies, regulations and institutional performances. This study directly contributes to the good grasp of conception about complex sectoral development politics and the effect it has on the economic sector focusing on climate change politics with cross-sector relations.
As part of this study, an informative and educative platform oriented to the public, local managements and the business world has been developed and made available; the National Climate Change Information Portal (UİBP).
Glomazic stated that during this process, over 30 field visits and meetings with stakeholders have been made and emphasised that “we are modelling the greenhouse gas mitigation potentials and costs” and “analysing the social, environmental and economic effects of mitigation.” Glomazic noted that “this project will not only decrease Turkey’s carbon footprint but will also make a contribution to economic and social development”.
Besides greenhouse gas emission mitigation potentials and cost evaluation, long-term emission reduction action projections and possible future scenario analysis are of utmost importance for necessary updates that need to be made and developed for available and new sectors with national low-carbon development policies and strategies. Glomazic continued,
“Over 120 experts attended the three interactive training modules which were prepared during this process and were attended by governmental agencies, academic institutions and non-governmental organisations.”
Two study visits were organised aimed at project partners. One was at COP 23 which took place in Bonn in December 2017 and the other visit was to share experiences amongst participants regarding sectoral and local level of the climate change mitigation and low-carbon development fields which took place in Finland and Sweden in September 2018. In the months to come, within the scope of the 2nd Component, the Final Regulatory Effect Analysis reports and Sectoral Effect Analysis reports will be completed. The project will be finished in May 2020 and will be submitted to the stakeholders