Within the scope of the EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Project, the 3rd Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting was held on 20 March 2025 at the meeting hall of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, the Directorate of Climate Change, UNDP Türkiye, and the Coordination Board on Climate Change and Adaptation.
In the opening speeches, Mr. Orhan Solak, Deputy Director of Climate Change drew attention to the Climate Law, which is expected to be submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye in the near future, and emphasized that this legislation would mark a turning point in the implementation of Türkiye’s climate policies. Mr. Orhan Solak noted that with the enactment of the law, the preparation of Local Climate Change Action Plans would become a legal obligation, and highlighted the importance of the project outputs as part of this process.
Mr. Christian Ballarò, Programme Officer for Energy, Environment, and Climate Change at the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, stated that the project is being implemented in the spirit of partnership and emphasized the critical importance of coordinated action by all stakeholders to strengthen climate action at the local level. He underlined that policy-making processes supported by scientific analysis play a key role in achieving Türkiye’s climate goals.
Ms. Meral Mungan Arda, Climate Change and Environment Portfolio Manager at UNDP Türkiye, expressed her satisfaction with the progress achieved in the project and thanked all stakeholder institutions for their contributions to the process.
During the meeting, Project Manager Ms. Ceren Özkan delivered a presentation summarizing the activities carried out since the 2nd Project Steering Committee Meeting and presented the annual work plan. She shared that significant progress had been made in various activities including climate projections, assessments of local authorities’ current capacities, regulatory impact assessment, and capacity building efforts. In addition, it was noted that the application process of the EU-Türkiye Climate Change Grant Programme, for which technical assistance is provided under the project, had been successfully completed, and participants were informed of the latest updates regarding the programme.
Representatives of the institutions also shared their views on the steps taken so far and the planned activities for the upcoming period. The importance of continued cooperation for the successful implementation of project activities was underlined.