Climate Change Adaptation Policies of Metropolitan Municipalities in Turkey

Abstract

Climate change, which is one of the most prominent global security problems of today, adversely affects the natural and socio-economic environment from the decline in biodiversity to food security, from rising sea-water levels to water scarcity. The global, national, and local effects of climate change make the preparation of policies related to this issue more crucial and necessitate global, regional, and local approaches to these policies. The study focuses on the local level management process of the adaptation process to climate change. Establishing and putting into action local cohesion policies is an extensive field of study. In the study, strategic plans and organizational charts of metropolitan municipalities are examined to determine their awareness of climate change. The frequency and context of the words “global warming, greenhouse gas, and climate change” are evaluated in the scanning conducted in the 2020-2024 strategic plans. It is ascertained at the institutional level that local policies are an emerging field on climate change. However, it would be possible to see the contribution of the work of these units in the fight against climate change in the coming years.