Türkiye's new Mediterranean climate center in Istanbul will become operational in 2026 after COP24 delegates approved its mandate, budget, and work programme in Cairo.
The 24th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, known as COP24, met in the Egyptian capital from Dec. 2-5 to adopt new regional frameworks and funding decisions.
Delegates at the conference also adopted two key policy frameworks — the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) 2026-2035 and the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Framework (RCCAF) 2026-2035 — along with the Convention's budget and work programme for 2026-2027.
Türkiye was re-elected as a full member of the Convention's Compliance Committee, completing the final step toward establishing the center under the host-country agreement.
The new center aims to protect at least 30% of the Mediterranean Sea by 2030, coordinate regional climate-resilience efforts, and lead implementation of the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Framework across coastal states.
- TÜRKİYE POSITIONS ITSELF AS REGIONAL CLIMATE LEADER
Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Fatma Varank said the center will reinforce Türkiye's leadership and support a new generation of climate-resilience projects and policy processes under a strengthened institutional framework.
Varank said: "In the coming years, Türkiye will be at the center of climate action both nationally and internationally."
Türkiye will host and chair COP31, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in 2026, following negotiations led by Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum at COP30, held in Belem, Brazil in November 2025.
- PILOT PROJECT IN IZMIR TO SHOWCASE REGIONAL ADAPTATION MODEL
The center will oversee the Coastal Area Management Programme (CAMP) İzmir Project, designed as a pilot initiative to develop integrated coastal and marine management models for the Mediterranean.
The project will target climate adaptation, coastal risk management, sustainable blue economy practices, integrated coastal zone management, and marine spatial planning along the İzmir coastline.
- CAIRO DECLARATION ADOPTED
Participants at the ministerial session adopted the Cairo Declaration, reaffirming commitments to protect Mediterranean biodiversity and combat marine pollution.
The declaration outlines goals to protect at least 30% of marine and coastal areas by 2030, accelerate sustainable blue-economy practices, and reduce plastic pollution.
