Izmir

Turkey

Mission city Pilot city
Izmir Mission City Label
Population 3.1 million
City Area 734 km²
City active since June 2022

Izmir is called the "Renewable Energy Capital" of Türkiye.

 

It is underlined that İzmir, which is the production base of wind turbine components in Türkiye, Izmir has the potential to be the leading city where wind turbine components are produced and exported from there. Izmir becomes prominent as the city that produces the most electricity from wind energy in Türkiye. Izmir is also the leading city in the production of wind power plant components. Izmir meets about 17 percent of the electricity produced from wind energy in Türkiye, employs over 7,500 people in the sector and provides an annual export of 500 million dollars, has all kinds of opportunities to become a global production center. Izmir has a remarkable potential in the field of solar energy with an average of 300 sunny days per year, high solar radiation, sunshine duration reaching 12 hours in summer, high panel usage capacity and fast return on investment. 

 

As of the end of 2022, the installed capacity where Izmir Geothermal Inc may provide heating services has reached over 50,000 housing-equivalents. With this size, it is one of the largest district heating systems in Türkiye and one of the few in the world. Izmir has action plans such as SECAP (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan) and GCAP (Green City Action Plan) compatible with the quidances of international organizations. Apart from these, there are many sector-specific and cross-sectoral action plans. For example, İzmir's Strategy for Living in Harmony with Nature, concept of circler culture is mentioned.which is based on “Harmony with nature, harmony with the past, harmony with each other and finally harmony with change”.

 

To achieve the climate neutral goal, creating a sustainable urban alliance with a transparent participatory approach is aimed. For fulfilling this purpose, Global Climate Community İzmir (GCC İzmir) has created. GCC Izmir offers an important opportunity to ensure the participatory process and coordination of all relevant sectors to follow a sustainable solution in its climate neutral journey 

Key Learnings

Digital Solutions for Electricity Consumption by Global Climate Community - Izmir pilot activity

GCC-SYNERGY is building a digital platform to help institutions, industries, and citizens in Izmir monitor, analyse, and reduce electricity consumption — a sector accounting for approximately 30% of the city's total carbon emissions. The platform integrates pilot consumers across industrial, commercial, and public buildings alongside solar energy producers, enabling real-time monitoring, digital twins for load forecasting, tailored efficiency solutions, and neighbourhood-scale solar PV forecasting.

Green shading structures

They are mainly shade structures with a total or partial vegetated surface.  Shelters in Valladolid (Spain), URBAN GreenUP project There are different types of shading structure, depending on the structure design and the type of vegetation used, e.g. structure could be textile or wood; vegetation could be climbing and hanging plants; and installation could be fixed to the façades or done by posts. Parklets in Izmir (Turkey), URBAN GreenUP project (https://www.urbangreenup.eu/news--events/news/new-green-areas-to-enjoy-in-izmir.kl) Shading structures can be located in narrow streets or parks, or intalled in areas that need shaded spaces, such as squares or transport stops.They should be projected in compliance with safety conditions (access to fire brigade, cleaning services, etc.).

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS)

Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) are a wide category of water interventions to align modern drainage systems with natural water processes. SUDS comprise “a sequence of management practices, control structures, solutions and strategies designed to efficiently and sustainably drain surface water, while minimising pollution and managing the impact on water quality of local water bodies” [1].  SUDS can be considered more sustainable than traditional drainage methods mostly due to the co-benefits they can bring to urban areas such as recreational benefits, biodiversity and habitat creation, and carbon storage and sequestration. SUDS are also environmentally beneficial because they cause minimal or no long-term damage.    The main types of SUDS are the following:    Hard-drainage flood prevention can be considered as a hybrid nature-based solution (NBS) that focuses on the delivery of additional permeability with respect to traditional engineered approach to water management. It supports water infiltration thus reducing pluvial flood risk in urban areas and improving the quality of water within sewerage systems [2].    Grassed swales are shallow, flat bottomed, vegetated open channels designed to convey, treat and often attenuate surface water runoff (Urban GreenUP).   Grassed swales in Izmir, Turkey. URBAN GreenUP. Source: https://www.urbangreenup.eu/cities/front-runners/izmir.kl#lg=1&slide=17.    Water retention ponds provide additional capacity to retain storm water continuously. In dry periods, they hold water, providing a water source that can be accessed. They can improve the water quality (e.g., with downstream infiltration). For example, in UNaLab, a retention pond has been built in Vuores, Finland to enable the treatment (retention and sedimentation) of urban runoff from a new housing estate. It complements the existing measures in the Vuores area for enhanced stormwater quality and quantity management.  Retention pond in Vuores, Finland. UNaLab. Source: https://unalab.eu/en/retention-pond.    Floodable parks can be designed to control flow rates and decrease flow peaks by storing excess floodwater and releasing it slowly once the risk of flooding has passed. This solution can mitigate potential impacts caused by surface run-off water from rain, flash-floods or from small- and medium-sized watercourses. Other potential benefits are reducing the water flow entering the public sewerage system and delivering amenity and biodiversity benefits (Urban GreenUp).    Water-retentive pavements, including hard drainage pavements and green parking pavements, are permeable pavements that are commonly used on roads, paths and parking lots. These solutions can help control storm water, reduce stagnation of runoff and surface water, and improve water quality via filtration.    Constructed wetland is a NBS mostly designed to increase water quality and/or support wastewater treatment, which recreates the removal processes developed in natural wetlands, exploiting complex biochemical, physical, and physiological removal processes (ReNature).    Rain garden is a bio-retention shallow basin designed to collect, store, filter and treat water runoff. To optimise its functions, it must include a porous soil mixture, native vegetation and some hyperaccumulator plants, capable of phytoremediation (cleaning up contaminants). For example, see the rain garden developed in the Gavoglio Urban Park in Genova (part of the UNaLAB project).  MATURITY:  Most SUDS are widely available on the market, with some variation in technology readiness level depending on the technological and innovation components. 

Tree planting (urban forestry/urban trees), parks and (semi) natural urban green areas 

Greening cities is a transversal solution to numerous urban challenges, not only to support the transition towards climate neutrality, but also to improve biodiversity, social justice and resilience. Greening cities can include many diverse solutions, among them tree planting and the development of parks and natural urban green areas.    Tree planting and urban forest  Planting street trees, single line trees or group of trees, as well as trees in urban parks or urban forests trees represents an effective solution to maximize carbon capture and sequestration. It also contributes to regulating microclimate in dense urban areas, supporting water infiltration, and providing aesthetic, health and well-being benefits to citizens. Planting a diverse mix of tree species provides more diverse habitats for more animal species. Diversity also ensures that the urban forest is better prepared for pests or diseases which could eradicate an entire species of trees and severely affect other species in the ecosystem (see for example urban forest solutions in ClearingHouse).    Parks and natural Urban Green Areas (UGA)  While trees are an important component of parks and natural urban green areas, these areas also include other features to boost cultural and active recreation activities, such as sport playgrounds, benches and rest areas, and thematic and therapeutic gardens (see for example the solutions in the group of re-naturing urbanization in URBAN GreenUP).  Urban green area, Izmir, Turkey. URBAN GreenUp. Source: https://www.urbangreenup.eu/#lg=1&slide=3     While the World Health Organisation recommends all cities to guarantee access to UGA within 300 metres from residents’ houses, this is still far from being reached in many EU cities [1]. The benefits related to the re-design and improvement of existing parks and UGA or to the development of new UGA are related to all the spheres of human health and wellbeing ranging from metabolic disease to better cognitive development to increased psychological wellbeing [2].     Parks and UGA should be designed as multifunctional areas and this may call for participatory processes to co-design spaces and features to better respond to the needs of diverse target groups, including vulnerable groups, living in the city (see for example stakeholder and citizen engagement approach in UNaLab).  Co-creation of UGA and NBS in Eindhoven, Netherlands. UNaLab. Source: https://unalab.eu/system/files/2020-02/d22-co-creation-workshop-report2020-02-17.pdf.    MATURITY:     While trees and parks can be considered largely available on the market and mature to be implemented everywhere, it is crucial to reflect how to properly plan and design these kind of solutions, tailoring them to various contexts. Specific expertise is needed in park design, participatory processes, and in deciding which trees to plant, including in relation to future scenarios of climate conditions, for example. Public acceptance and care of UGA are crucial for effective implementation. 
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Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight

Izmir's Pilot Activity: GCC-SYNERGY - NetZeroCities
Background GCC-SYNERGY aims to foster a culture of electricity energy efficiency and accelerate the adoption of renewable energy sources, drawing on the commitment outlined in İzmir’s Climate City Contract. The pilot activity addresses electricity consumption in buildings, facilities and infrastructure
Read more
Read Izmir Climate City Contract Mytilene City Profile (Twin City)

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives