COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, in his speech at the "Urban Resilience, Climate Change Adaptation and Climate Action Leaders Event" held at the Mediterranean Hall in the COP31 Area, stated that floods, drought and extreme temperatures threaten housing, production and health.
Stating that the strength of a city can be measured by how its people feel safe, Kurum said that he sees climate adaptation at the center of development policies.
The institution emphasized that, as the COP31 Presidency, they aim to transform the common will into results on the field, to combine commitments with projects and investments with the improvement in human life, and said, "In this process, central governments and local governments should walk in the same direction. Therefore, while building resilient cities, we must protect nature, strengthen the infrastructure and ensure the continuity of basic services. Our plans must meet today's needs and take into account the risks of tomorrow." he said.
Stating that Türkiye has experienced a very heavy test of what this responsibility means, Kurum reminded that a geography of approximately 110 thousand square kilometers, where 14 million people live in 11 provinces, was deeply shaken in the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes on February 6, 2023.
The institution stated that the area affected by the earthquakes is an area similar to Bulgaria and Iceland in terms of surface area and larger than many European countries, approximately five times the size of Lithuania in terms of population.
Stating that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, all the resources of the state were mobilized for the nation, Kurum continued his words as follows:
"As part of the construction campaign of the century, we completed 455 thousand residences, village houses and workplaces in a short period of 2 years and delivered them to their rightful owners. We did not just build residences. We also rebuilt the roads, infrastructure, squares and bazaars. We took care to preserve the historical texture, neighborhood culture and the memory of our cities. This great mobilization gave us important experience. We did not consider disaster risk, energy efficiency, water, transportation and public services separately. Safe housing and strong infrastructure, environmental protection. "We handled social life together with sensitive design. We built all the homes we built with energy efficient, zero waste compatible and climate friendly materials. We set an example to the world with this sensitivity."
Minister Kurum explained that this understanding is the basis of the resilient meetings initiated in Hatay, and said that they see the common will put forward in Hatay in May as a road map extending from post-disaster recovery to permanent transformation.
Reminding that they met with municipalities in Ankara in August around the same goal, discussing measuring water losses, improving energy and waste management, and identifying risks at the neighborhood scale, Kurum stated that they emphasized that every determination should be transformed into a feasible project.
"ADAPTATION FINANCE MUST BE SUFFICIENT, PREDICTABLE AND ACCESSIBLE"
COP31 President Kurum stated that another condition for making cities strong is that everyone has safe and accessible housing.
Stating that they have produced approximately 1 million 750 thousand houses so far by TOKİ and that they are working for 500 thousand new social houses in 81 provinces within the scope of the Housing Project of the Century, Kurum said, "We are also implementing the rental social housing model in Istanbul. Our aim is to facilitate access to safe and livable housing for low-income families. Our reconstruction works in the earthquake zone and our social housing move serve the same goal. To secure the present of our people and to raise their future on stronger foundations." he said.
The institution underlined that well-prepared plans and strong will should be supported by adequate financing, and stated that the most vulnerable societies in the face of climate risks often have the most limited resources. Pointing out that therefore harmony is also a matter of solidarity, Kurum continued as follows:
"Adaptation financing should be sufficient, predictable and accessible. Grants and resources with appropriate conditions should take into account the needs of countries and the possibilities of local governments. In particular, small and medium-sized cities' access to technical information, reliable risk data and project preparation support should be strengthened. I invite financial institutions to take more strongly into account the losses prevented and the social benefit provided when evaluating adaptation investments. For this purpose, we launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Mechanism (SURFF) in New York in September. İLBANK, "With the cooperation of UN-Habitat and the World Bank, we aim to bring together the priorities of our cities with investable projects. Today, we want to carry this knowledge into broader and more concrete partnerships in Antalya."
"NO ONE SHOULD THINK SAFE AND RESILIENT CITIES ARE A PRIVILEGE"
Minister Kurum emphasized that they should leave COP31 with a common determination and called for risks to be identified together and accurately, priorities to be transformed into feasible projects and financing to be delivered to the cities in need on time.
Calling on international financial institutions, development partners and the private sector to make a stronger contribution to this effort, the Institution said, "As Turkey, we are ready to share our reconstruction and urbanization experience and produce common solutions. As the COP31 Presidency, we want to see the reward of the steps we have taken in safe houses and strong infrastructure. From Antalya, we give the following message to the world: No one should consider safe and resilient cities as a privilege. These are the rights of every society and the common responsibility of all of us." he said.
