Within the scope of the EU Partnership for Local Climate Action in Türkiye Project, we completed the workshop series organized to identify the training needs of local administrations, provincial units of central institutions, civil society organizations, and academia in order to strengthen local climate action. The final session of the series was held in Ankara on 19 September 2025.
The series, consisting of six workshops, brought together around 450 local representatives from Türkiye’s 12 NUTS-1 regions. The first workshop was held on 9 September, followed by online sessions on 12, 15, 16, and 17 September. The series concluded with a face-to-face workshop in Ankara on 19 September. This way, training needs for local climate action were comprehensively assessed with representatives from different regions and institutions.
The Ankara event began with opening remarks from Meral Mungan Arda, Climate Change and Environment Portfolio Manager at UNDP Türkiye; Özge Gökçe Aktaş, Sector Manager for Environment, Sustainable Development, and Climate Change at the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye; and Ömer Öztürk, Head of the Climate Change Adaptation and Local Policies Department of the Directorate of Climate Change.
Following the opening speeches, Project Manager Ali Cem Deniz delivered a project presentation. Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Osman Balaban, Key Expert on Urban Climate Change at UNDP Türkiye, outlined the objectives and scope of the workshop series, provided a general framework for the process, and moderated the sessions.
The Experience Sharing Panel that followed the presentations provided participants with insights into the technical studies carried out under the project:
- Prof. Dr. M. Tuğrul Yılmaz (UNDP Türkiye, Climate Projections Expert) presented the findings of the Türkiye Regional Climate Projections Study.
- Ali Cem Deniz shared information on the Vulnerability and Risk Assessments to be conducted within the project.
- Rifat Ünal Sayman (UNDP Türkiye, GHG Inventory Expert) introduced the methodology for calculating greenhouse gas inventories.
- Prof. Dr. Osman Balaban shared his assessments on the Climate Law and the preparation processes of Local Climate Change Action Plans (LCCAPs).
Throughout the workshop, interactive discussion sessions were held with the active participation of representatives from various institutions. Together with the participants, capacity gaps, priority training topics, target groups, and effective methods were addressed. Surveys conducted during the sessions collected participants’ views, which were then discussed in detail.
A similar methodology was followed in the first five online workshops of the series. Participants had the opportunity to express their training needs and expectations, which were integrated with the discussions held during the face-to-face session in Ankara.
All these contributions will serve as a guide for the Capacity Building Plan to be prepared within the project and will form the basis for designing trainings tailored to the needs of local stakeholders in the upcoming period. The needs identified with the contributions of local stakeholders will help advance climate action in Türkiye more effectively and sustainably.