Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyerattended the Climate Crisis summit and emphasized the importance of creating a resilient city. Mayor Soyer said, “In 2030, İzmir will be a climate-neutral city. We know it's hard, but we'll do it. "We can't have another priority," he said.
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyerparticipated in the Climate Crisis summit organized in cooperation with the Aegean Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (ESİAD), Rotary International and ESRAG. Speaking at the meeting at ESİAD headquarters, the President Tunç Soyer“We have a 4 and a half billion year old planet and it is sick now. It has warmed by 50 degrees in the last 1,2 years. We are surprised when there is an earthquake, flood, tsunami. However, those are the symptoms of the disease. First, we encounter the symptoms of the disease. None of us is likely to be healthy on a sick planet. It is not possible for us to be healthy as individuals without this planet getting healthy. And unfortunately, the place where the disease shows its symptoms most intensely is the Mediterranean Basin. Unfortunately, we will encounter much more. We will see more floods, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes. For this reason, we have to devote our priority to creating a resilient city. This has to be our first priority, not only as a local government, but also in terms of central authority and non-governmental organizations.”
“We have to change the name of the Ministry of Environment”
Stating that one of our important mistakes is to describe nature as environment, President Soyer said, “First we need to change our language. What does environment mean? Something you put yourself at the center of. We call it the environment directorate, the ministry, but we actually mean nature. But a nature in which we are at the center. First we have to change that. We are neither at the center of this nature, nor above it, nor do we control it. We are just part of it. We are living and breathing creatures like the tree outside. We are part of that nature, nothing above it. That's why we have to change the name of the Ministry of Environment," he said.
“Wolf, bird, ash”
President Soyer said that it is necessary to redefine democracy and continued his words as follows: “We have to begin to understand the rights of nature and the supremacy of nature's law together with basic human rights. When sprinkling seeds in Anatolia, the bird is called asa. It has math. Our ancestors said two natures and one me. He described the mathematical formula of sustainability as 2 nature to 1 person. He said first to the wolf, then to the bird. We don't need to rediscover the world, we have to first understand the past, our ancestors, the legacy that ancient culture left us.”
“We should think about economy and ecology together”
Emphasizing that Izmir is one of the two cities in Turkey selected for the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission of the European Union among 377 cities, Mayor Soyer said, “In 2030, Izmir will be a climate neutral city. We know it's hard, but we'll do it. We cannot have another priority. Between 15-21 March, we organized a congress that made us proud in Izmir. We hosted the Second Century Economics Congress. There was a very important finding. The relationship between economy and ecology is not just a harmony of tones. Economy and ecology need to be considered together. I think that determination was one of the most important outputs of the Economics Congress. If we are going to build a bright country, we see it as a necessity for economy and ecology to be intertwined and to design a harmonious future. We have no other choice,” he said.
“Do not expect a second Mustafa Kemal Atatürk”
Addressing the young people attending the session, President Soyer said, “I believe that our youth will achieve this transformation. Our generations did not give a good test, young people. But you deserve a much better life in the most fertile land of this world. It's up to you to change that. Do not expect a second Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. You will create that power, you will hand in hand. Our hope is in you. The 1923 generation brought the republic to these lands. You, too, will crown the republic with democracy in its second century. Everything you complain about today is all about the lack of democracy. And whatever you think of as a solution will be achieved through democracy," he said.
“We have a very valuable mayor”
Speaking at the meeting moderated by Natural Rotary Club President Meltem Onay, ESİAD Chairman of the Board Sibel Zorlu stated that drought, access to food, migration, human mobility and resource depletion problems will be faced due to the climate crisis and said, “We need to adapt to climate change. When we talk about how to deal with these, the energy issue first comes up. There is 50 percent water loss in the Gediz and Menderes basins. We look forward to meeting a resilient city. We have a very worthy mayor. All work develops under sustainability and climate action plans. Papers from this summit will be shared with institutions in both English and Turkish. We believe that we supported and contributed to the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities study, which started under the leadership of Tunç President. We are very happy to be here together.”
“I congratulate Izmir”
While 2440 District Governor Ayda Özeren drew attention to the efficiency of the panel, Şafak Özsoy, President of ESRAG Zone 21, gave examples of the clean city studies implemented in İzmir and abroad. Expressing that important targets have been set in İzmir and steps have been taken in this direction, Özsoy said, "I congratulate İzmir at this point."
Reminding that humanity has started to experience huge problems in recent years, 2440 Regional Environment Committee Chairman İsmail Gökhan Çıtak emphasized that long-term solutions should be produced.
Guidebook will be published
In line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainability Principles, taking into account the 17th article, it is also aimed to create a platform by bringing together all stakeholders related to the topics within the scope of “Collaborations for Common Goals”. In addition, a “Guidebook” will be published, which will contribute to the “Climate Neutral Cities” project in 2030.