COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, in his speech at the "COP31 Turkey Platform Announcement and Signing Ceremony with International Organizations" held at the Zero Waste Museum in the COP31 Area, stated that cities are among the places where the effects of climate change become most visible.
Explaining that water security, energy, transportation, wastewater management, infrastructure, disaster risk and rapid urbanization have become parts of the same whole in the future planning of cities, Kurum said that for this reason, they see the issue of resilient cities at the center of development policies.
In line with this understanding, the Institution expressed its pleasure to announce the Turkey Resilient Cities Country Platform within the scope of the Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Activity (SURFF) and stated that the platform will be shaped under the coordination of ILBANK, with the support of the World Bank and UN-Habitat and the contribution of international stakeholders.
In this context, Kurum stated that they signed a 191 million euro sub-loan agreement with the World Bank within the scope of the Green and Future Cities Project, and said that within the scope of the project, they aim to provide approximately 1.2 billion liters of water to Meke Lake in Konya every year, and that this amount corresponds to the size that can fill approximately 480 Olympic swimming pools.
The institution stated that by treating the wastewater resulting from the daily life of approximately 5 thousand households in Beyşehir Lake, 712 million liters of water will be safely returned to nature annually.
"WE PROJECT TO SAVE APPROXIMATELY 800 MILLION LITERS OF WATER"
COP31 President Kurum stated that they are planning to reduce leaks in drinking water networks and develop sewage, rainwater and wastewater treatment investments within the scope of the Water Security and Efficiency Project with the World Bank, which is approximately 700 million euros.
Explaining that the cooperation model developed with IFC will offer new opportunities for municipalities to access international financing, Kurum continued his words as follows:
"While IFC will provide direct financing to our municipalities, ILBANK will contribute to the process with guarantee and technical support mechanisms. Thanks to the cooperation to be established with the European Investment Bank within the scope of the City Climate Finance Fund, we will strengthen ILBANK's capacity to prepare, evaluate and access financing for climate-friendly urban infrastructure investments. We are also sharing the 150 million euro Renewable Energy Project with the Asian Development Bank with the public. Hatay, Malatya, Istanbul Bağcılar, Tokat, Trabzon, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep and "We are planning to establish solar and wind power plants with a total power of 186 megawatts in Mardin. With these investments, approximately 320 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy will be produced annually, 120 thousand tons of greenhouse gas emissions will be prevented, and energy equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 150 thousand households will be produced. We anticipate that the environmental benefit will be equivalent to approximately 6 million trees, and at the same time, approximately 800 million liters of water will be saved."
Stating that each of these figures will only gain meaning to the extent that they touch human life and nature, Kurum explained that the water that will reach Lake Meke is the new breath of an ecosystem.
Underlining that every drop saved is an assurance left to the future in the fight against drought, Kurum said that every unit of clean energy produced is an investment in the economic power and environmental quality of cities, and every ton of emissions reduced is an expression of responsibility towards the world in which children will live.
