The Aim of Sustainable Urban Development and Climate Change Policies

Abstract

Although sustainability has been the dominant discourse in environmental and development policies for a long time, today the world is in an environmental crisis originated from climate change. Awareness of climate change rising on a global scale leads policymakers to play a more active role in order to find a solution to climate change. On the one hand, Kyoto Protocol and following Paris Agreement provide a course of action about how to bring the international consensus to national level; on the other hand, they form a frame in order the public to evaluate local policies and strategies easily. In this regard, the subjects of how the agreement reached at an international level are interpreted at a national level and how national policies and strategies are formed become the points to be considered. Policies of climate change are taken shaped in two main paths. These can be defined as eliminating the factors causing climate change, mitigation, and adapting to the negative effects of climate change. While forming policies, countries concentrate on these paths in accordance with their characteristics and priorities and announce their national strategies and action plans. In this study, first of all, the literature of climate change is reviewed, and then policies at local level are discussed and the examples discussed are examined comparatively. Thereafter, it is focused on the example of Turkey and recommendations of policies are developed. It is expected the results of the study to contribute in order to develop more efficient policies for sustainable urban development.