The Awareness Raising Conference on Climate Projections, organized under the EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Project funded by the EU and implemented in cooperation with UNDP Türkiye and the Directorate of Climate Change, took place on May 22, 2024, in Ankara. The event brought together 161 representatives from public institutions, municipalities, universities, civil society organizations, private sector and international organizations. The conference commenced with opening speeches from the Director of Climate Change Prof. Dr. Halil HASAR, President of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) Prof. Dr. Hasan MANDAL, Resident Representative of UNDP Türkiye Louisa VINTON and Head of the Green Development and Inclusive Growth Section of the EU Delegation to Türkiye Virve VIMPARI.
Following the opening remarks, a cooperation protocol was signed between TÜBİTAK and the Directorate of Climate Change to support the climate projections studies to be carried out within the scope of the project.
The signed protocol will enable climate projections studies with a resolution of 3 kilometers to be carried out over entire Türkiye for the first time, which is planned to be realized within the scope of the project. As a result, more detailed information will be obtained on the potential impacts of climate change across the country. The high-resolution climate projections to be conducted within the scope of the project will reveal the impacts of climate change at the local level more clearly for municipalities and local stakeholders. These projections will enable sectoral vulnerability risk assessment studies and the subsequent preparation of Local Climate Change Action Plans (LCCAPs). As a result of these studies to be conducted, municipalities and local stakeholders in the 12 NUTS-1 regions will significantly enhance their capacities to determine at-risk sectors, identify necessary measures, and develop effective coping strategies/policies.
The morning session of the conference continued with presentations on an overview of the project by the Project Manager of the EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Ms. Ceren ÖZKAN, climate projections by Environmental Engineer from the Climate Change Directorate Mr. Ali Cem DENIZ, and introduction of MareNostrum 5 and TRUBA Systems and TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM activities by Senior Expert Researcher from TÜBİTAK Dr. Sevil SARIKURT MALCIOĞLU.
In the afternoon session of the conference, a comprehensive Panel on Climate Projections was organized under the moderation of Deputy Director for Climate Change Mr. Orhan SOLAK, with the participation of distinguished academicians in their fields. During the panel, presentations were delivered by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şiir KILKIŞ on “Developments in Climate Change Modelling and IPCC 7th Evaluation Cycle Prospects”, Prof. Dr. Tuğrul YILMAZ on ”CMIP6 Based High Resolution Climate Projections and Changing Climate Zones in Türkiye”, Prof. Dr. İsmail YÜCEL on “CMIP6 Based High Resolution Climate Projections and Current Practices in Türkiye”, Prof. Dr. İlkay DELLAL on “The Importance of Climate Projections in Agriculture Sector” and Prof. Dr. Osman BALABAN on “Practice of Climate Projection Results at Local Level”, and they answered the questions of the participants. This session was followed by an interactive discussion and Q&A session moderated by Ms. Meral MUNGAN ARDA, UNDP Türkiye Climate Change and Environment Portfolio Manager.
