İNŞA Learning Program Concludes with the "İNŞA × CapaCITIES 2.0: Joint Steps for Climate-Neutral Cities in Türkiye" Event
Organized in collaboration with the CapaCITIES 2.0 Project — implemented by the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT) and TÜBİTAK and funded by the European Union — the event brought together local government representatives, public institutions, international organizations, and experts from Türkiye and Europe around the climate neutral cities agenda. The two-day program hosted over 100 participants from İNŞA municipalities and national and international stakeholders.
A Shared Agenda for Climate Neutral Cities and International Knowledge Exchange
The opening remarks on the first day of the event addressed the work carried out in Türkiye under the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities and the priorities of cities in their transformation journeys.
Opening the program, MMU Secretary General M. Cemil Arslan emphasized that the success of the climate neutral transition depends on the implementing role played by municipalities. Noting that the İNŞA Learning Program, coordinated by MMU, builds the knowledge and capacity municipalities need, and strengthens national and international experience sharing, Arslan also underlined that the transformation is not only physical but also social. He stated that this gathering represents not the closing of a three-month learning program, but a new phase in the cooperation established among municipalities.
UMT Deputy Secretary General Feridun Ulutaş drew attention to the impacts of climate change on municipal services, stating that the goal of climate neutral and resilient cities is an integral part of livable cities, and outlined UMT's role in this field as well as the CapaCITIES Project's contributions.
Bülent Özcan, Director General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation at the Directorate for EU Affairs, shared Türkiye's current standing within the EU Cities Mission and the roadmap for the period ahead.
Joanna Kiernicka-Allavena, Deputy Director of NetZeroCities, discussed the work carried out under the Climate Neutral Cities Mission in Europe and the support mechanisms NetZeroCities offers to municipalities, underlining that İNŞA is the largest network of its kind established in Europe.
Later in the program, Çağrı Yıldırım, Horizon Europe National Coordinator at the EU Framework Programmes, shared his assessment of the work carried out by Turkish municipalities under the Mission. Deniz Çelik Bulgurlu, Climate Neutral Cities Advisor at NetZeroCities, provided information on NetZeroCities activities and Climate City Contracts, while International Projects Expert Elena Simion introduced the CapaCITIES 2.0 Project.
The experiences gained throughout the İNŞA Learning Program were then presented on behalf of MMU by Görsev Argın Uz, Nazlıcan Akcı, Dila Toprak, and Hazan Sertkaya. In this interactive session, İNŞA trainers and municipalities also shared their learnings from the process and their takeaways for the future.
Taha Göktentürk from UMT presented the work on the Climate Neutral, Smart and Resilient Cities Project prepared under IPA.
The final session of the day, the National Cities Mission Platforms Panel, moderated by Olga Krajewska from ICLEI Europe, explored the experiences of Austria, Sweden, Denmark, and Romania. With the participation of Cécile Kerebel on behalf of Klimaneutrale Stadt (Austria), Åsa Minoz on behalf of Viable Cities (Sweden), Nicolas Francart on behalf of the Danish National Mission Hub (Denmark), and Elena Simion on behalf of M100 (Romania), the panel examined the governance models, capacity-building approaches, and multi-stakeholder cooperation mechanisms these countries have developed toward the climate neutral cities goal.
Municipal Experiences and a Shared Agenda for the Future
On the second day of the event, representatives from the Turkish Ministry and NetZeroCities, financing institutions, Mission Cities, National Mission Hubs across Europe, and the İNŞA Network came together in a closed-door meeting to share their experiences and recommendations for a national platform to be established in the future.
In the first session of the day, the Metropolitan Municipalities of Istanbul, İzmir, Gaziantep, and Eskişehir presented their work and experiences toward the climate neutral city goal. Moderated by Deniz Çelik Bulgurlu, the session featured Ayşen Erdinçler, Head of the Environmental Protection and Control Department, on behalf of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality; Hikmetullah Aldemir, on behalf of the Climate Change and Clean Energy Unit of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality; Merve Özkara Demirkaya, Head of the Energy Management and Climate Change Unit, on behalf of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality; and Aytaç Ünverdi, Head of the Climate Change and Zero Waste Department, on behalf of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality.
In the "Financing Opportunities for Cities" session, moderated by Çağrı Yıldırım, Serdar Öztürk from the Directorate for EU Affairs, Cem Ocak from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Şevket Altuğ Taşdemir, Head of the International Relations Group at İller Bank, discussed national and international financing mechanisms and support programs available to municipalities.
Towards COP31
The second part of the program focused on COP31. Linda Nihan Lafcı, Türkiye Coordinator of the COP31 Bike Ride — a broad-based climate action launched to draw attention to the UN Climate Summit — shared experiences from previous years and the route planned for this year.
Following a short presentation by Climate Change Policy Analyst Nuran Talu titled "The Agenda of İNŞA Cities Towards COP31," the final part of the program featured the "Roundtable Workshop with İNŞA Cities Towards COP31" organized as part of ICLEI's Town Hall COP events. Participating İNŞA municipalities discussed their priorities for the COP31 process, their shared needs in the field of climate-neutral cities, and potential cooperation opportunities within the İNŞA Network. The workshop, moderated by Nuran Talu, focused on four main themes: Data, Finance, Ecological Transformation, and Social Transformation. In the focus groups moderated by İNŞA trainers Seyran Hatipoğlu and Güven Fidan, together with Merve Ağca and Görsev Argın Uz from MMU team, the discussions focused on strengthening information sharing among municipalities and on joint action and solution proposals to be compiled for COP31.
Certificate Ceremony of the İNŞA Learning Program
Implemented under the NetZeroCities City Expert Support Facility and coordinated by MMU, İNŞA brought together over 200 participants from 55 municipalities across Türkiye through online meetings, inspiration sessions, and in-person events over the course of nearly a year. Throughout the program, the aim was to strengthen municipalities' institutional capacities in the field of climate neutral cities, share good practices, and foster inter-city cooperation.
The event concluded with a closing ceremony where certificates were presented to participants who successfully completed the İNŞA Learning Program. The ceremony also featured the announcement of 12 Mentor pairings to be launched under the program. The municipalities matched through MMU's Mentor Program, designed for experience sharing and staff exchange, held their first meetings at the event. While the learning program's modules have been completed, İNŞA will continue building a climate neutral future through mentor meetings in the period ahead.
