​​ Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus Project Meeting Held in Konya

The current situation of 11 universities selected as pilot universities were discussed

CoHE President Özvar: “Our universities have important duties in promoting a green economic campus and combating climate change”

December 13, 2022

CoHE President Erol Özvar chaired the Pilot Universities Meeting for Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus Project" held in Konya.

The meeting was hosted by Selçuk University. The Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Hasan Suver, CoHE Deputy President, Prof. Cevahir Uzkurt, CoHE Executive Board Member, Prof. Naci Gündoğan, the rectors of the universities selected as pilot universities, and the representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources attended the meeting.

The current status of 11 universities selected as pilot universities in the fields of zero waste, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources and the contributions of ministries to these fields were discussed at the meeting. A road map for the upcoming period was determined in achieving the goal of “Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus”.

- “Combating climate change could be possible if we work in cooperation”

CoHE President Erol Özvar delivered a speech at the meeting. He stated that climate change is a reality that threatens the existence of societies, human life, nature and all kinds of living things all over the world.

He pointed out that all kinds of measures to be taken against climate change could only be possible with the cooperation of all stakeholders, data sharing and realistic approach and said that the measures to be taken in the face of this situation that threatens the whole world are extremely important. He reiterated that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, agreed upon by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, was accepted with the signatures of 193 countries. He said that the agenda was prepared as a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals implemented in 2000 and as an agenda that carried these goals further, by bringing together the efforts to combat climate change with economic and social development issues.

He stated that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aimed to include all communities in the efforts to reduce poverty and increase welfare, to protect cultural and social values and to prevent environmental damage. He said that in addition to these issues, economic issues such as economic growth, technological development, employment and industrialization were brought to the agenda of sustainable development.

- A fairer struggle within the scope of the “common but differentiated responsibility principle”-

He emphasized that climate change was a common issue for all humanity, regardless of national or international significance and said, “For this reason, the struggle to be put forward against the negative effects of climate change is the struggle of all humanity. We are faced with a process in which every country in the world must take responsibility. However, solutions that can be developed to this common problem of the whole world should be carried out fairly within the framework of the 'common but differentiated responsibility principle' with a scaling towards the ecological consumption dimension of the countries.

Özvar stated that steps had been taken to emphasize a nature-friendly green vision in Türkiye especially in recent years and said, “Türkiye signing the Paris Agreement on October 7, 2021 could be considered as the most important development in this regard. As our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed at the UN General Assembly on September 21, 2021, Türkiye has set a clear goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2053, after becoming a party to the Paris Agreement.”

He reiterated that another important development in the fight against climate change was the change of the name of the relevant ministry to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change on October 29, 2021 and the establishment of the Presidency of Climate Change under the Ministry. He said that a broad-based consultation environment was established with the Climate Council held in February 2022 and that an important intellectual consensus basis was provided for the Climate Law, which was planned to be issued in the future.

- Zero Waste Project-

Özvar underlined that another outstanding practice was the "Zero Waste Project" led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wife, Emine Erdoğan and said, “The project received the first prize in April at the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, where 21 countries took part. Under the project, 24.2 million tons of recyclable waste was brought into the economy between 2017-2022. However, the practice of paying for plastic bags, which has been in effect since January 2019, has reduced the use of bags by 2/3 and prevented the release of 23 thousand tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.”

- “Environmental education given at universities is important in terms of sustainability and ecological awareness”

He said that, in addition to these steps taken at the national level, the projects to be carried out on the campuses of Turkish universities to combat climate change were also important and drew attention to three issues:

“First of all, our higher education institutions, which have increased in number in the last two decades, function as small cities. Air and water pollution, waste, and use of hazardous chemicals at universities and campuses affect the environment. In addition, campuses have indirect effects through imports of materials such as construction materials, food, energy resources and paper. Moreover, campuses consume higher energy and water consumption than the rest of the city, according to studies.

Secondly, universities contribute greatly to environmental education, sustainability and ecological awareness through education and research. For this reason, universities have the capacity to contribute significantly to sustainability in terms of education and research, providing support services, energy and material consumption, and taking measures against environmental pollution. Universities have an important role to play in promoting a green economic campus as the center of knowledge transformation, technological development and innovation, and in leading the way in the fight against climate change.

Third, developed economies have declared that they would provide financial assistance to developing and underdeveloped economies to carry out the adaptation and mitigation processes to be exhibited to combat climate change effectively. In this context, Türkiye could receive an annual amount exceeding $3.1 billion as funds to combat climate change. On the other hand, universities could take on some tasks in the provision and use of these funds.”

Özvar told the participants that they attached great importance to the steps to be taken against the negative consequences of climate change and that CoHE resolutely fulfilled their coordination task in the development of adaptation processes. He also drew attention to the fact that they realized the Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus Project, which they implemented as a reflection of this determination, with 11 pilot universities.

- “We will determine a road map for the next period in this meeting”

Özvar emphasized that the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources attached great importance to their contributions to universities in the fields of zero waste, energy efficiency, renewable energy resources, and the transformation of existing buildings on campuses into sustainable climate-friendly buildings. He stated that the road map for the next period would be determined under the coordination of the Council of Higher Education.

Özvar noted that they would continue to work in line with the goal of a Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus, primarily on legislation and financial issues, through the committees to be formed with the participation of the representatives of ministries and universities, adding that they were planning to extend the experience to be gained from the pilot universities to all universities in the next stages of the project.

- Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus Project-

Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus Project was realized with the "Cooperation Protocol in the Field of Creation of a Sustainable and Climate Friendly Campus" signed at the Council of Higher Education on October 4, 2022 with the participation of Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education.

Bartın University, Ege University, Gazi University, Hacettepe University, Istanbul Technical University, Karabuk University, Niğde Ömer Halis Demir University, Middle East Technical University, Selçuk University, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and Yıldız Technical University were determined as pilot universities for the project.

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