Climate-Ready İzmir: Enhancing Resilience Strategies (CRIZ-ERS) is a comprehensive initiative supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Program. It aims to transform İzmir into a city resilient to climate change. Coordinated by the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, the project scientifically analyzes the main climate risks facing the city, including extreme rainfall, heatwaves, agricultural drought, and coastal flooding, and develops adaptation strategies to address them.
The project actively utilizes the CLIMAAX tool (Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation Toolbox) developed by the European Union. This tool combines high-resolution climate projections and socio-economic data for İzmir as a whole and the Konak district in particular, allowing for detailed analysis of key climate risks such as extreme rainfall and floods, heatwaves, agricultural drought, and sea-level rise. By the project’s end, public institutions, academic organizations, private sector representatives, non-governmental organizations, and citizens will be actively involved. Stakeholder opinions, local knowledge, and technical analyses will be integrated to conduct a multi-dimensional assessment. This participatory process will lead to concrete intervention proposals in various areas, such as strengthening green and blue infrastructure, establishing early warning systems for disasters, increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure, reducing the urban heat island effect, and preserving cultural heritage.
Upon completion of the process, Climate Action Plans for İzmir province and Konak District will be prepared, and İzmir province’s SECAP (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan) study will be updated.