3rd Meeting of UCLG-MEWA Committee on Environment took place on 7-8 August 2018, under the auspices of Selçuklu Municipality at Selçuklu Congress Center in Selçuklu, Konya, Turkey; with the participation of more than 200 participants from 10 different countries.
During the thematic sessions held on the first day of the event, panelists discussed the preparation of carbon inventories and climate action plans processes; involving to international climate and energy agreements, the role of waste, wastewater and solid waste management strategies of the cities and urban resilience in fighting against climate change.
“Take Action, Build Resilient Cities, Fight Against Climate Change!”
Held with the main theme “Take Action, Build Resilient Cities, Fight Against Climate Change,” the event became a gathering platform, underlining the determinative role of environmental problems in many areas from economy to development or energy to health, and the effective solutions on global problems to be provided by local authorities, as the closest level of government to the people.
During the thematic sessions of the meeting, participants discussed the preparation methodology for the sustainable climate action plans, challenges encountered during these preparation processes and the role of waste management in fighting against climate change; and the event was concluded with a presentation on the ways to fight against the negative effects of climate change in cities.
New Requests Increased the Number of Committee Members to 65
During the Administrative Meeting of the Committee that took place in the second day of the event, committee members reviewed the report of activities and evaluated the requests for the membership, and decided on the host of the next committee meeting. Within this regard, the total number of committee members, consisting of local governments from Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Syria, Yemen, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Jordan, increased to 65.
Water and Wastewater Task Force was also established in the meeting, in addition to the six other task forces, namely, Waste Management and Pollution, Fighting Against Climate Change, Energy, Green Spaces, Urban Agriculture, Biodiversity and Environment-Friendly Transportation Systems, that were formed previously under the Committee. Presidency of the new task force will be carried out by Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI). Committee members also decided to establish a Consultative Board, in order to be able to technically and academically support the projects and activities of the task forces. In the meeting, the draft text of the Position Paper, which will consolidate the positioning of the Committee on climate issues, was also among the main agenda items. Before its launching, the document will be finalized with the inputs of the Committee members in the forthcoming period.
This meeting was organized as a “carbon-free meeting” during which all the carbon released was zeroed by the Energy Management Unit of Istanbul Environmental Management Industry and Trade Inc. (İSTAÇ). The program was concluded with the technical visits on packaging waste collection and separation plant and electricity energy production from methane gas facility.
You can find the meeting pictures here.