Page 319 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

Orhan Topal

Introduction

Türkiye has made a commitment to reduce emissions by 21% in accordance with
the base scenario determined from 2021 to 2030 within the scope of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Ministry of Environment,
Urbanization and Climate Change, 2015, p. 2). In a study covering 30 cities in
metropolitan status in Türkiye, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions deriving
from road transportation was calculated for the years 2010 and 2019, and it was
reported that total amount of greenhouse gas emission was 43.403 Gg CO in
2
2010 while this value reached to 70.271 Gg CO with an increase of around
2
62% in 2019; and the annual increase has been 3,82%. Moreover, 10.88% of
the total greenhouse gas emissions in Türkiye in 2010 were generated by
road transport in major cities (Dündar, 2021). According to TURKSTAT (Turkish
Statistical Institute) data, it is calculated as the total amount of greenhouse
gas emissions in Türkiye in 2010 amounted to 398.9 Mt CO while the total
2
greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 increased by 3.1% compared to the
previous year and reached 523.9 Mt CO (TURKSTAT, 2020b). Based on these
2
data, it is estimated that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from road
transportation in Türkiye is constantly increasing and this value has a significant
share in the total amount of emissions.
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution has become
the world’s biggest health problem. Even that the air pollution is recorded
as the fourth highest cause of death, preceded by the high blood pressure,
poor nourishment, and smoking (WHO, 2022). This situation paves the way
for a number of new restrictive regulations both on a global and local level.
Especially on a global side, relevant administrations prioritize some aspects
regarding the certain transportation concepts in order to make cities more
livable, and review the existing transportation strategies.
It has been reported by the United Nations that more than 50% of the
world’s population lives in cities, and it is estimated that this rate will reach
70% by 2050 (Cao et al., 2022). Population growth in cities leads to more
mobility, hence the need for more transportation. In addition, according to
European Energy Agency, it is stated that emissions (NOx emissions) caused
by transportation constitute the main reasons of climate change on a global
level, and emissions across Europe derive from transportation systems by
more than 50%; and increasing amount of emissions from transportation
significantly rise environmental awareness (Genç, 2021).
The research results in the similar framework indicate that public
transportation policies are the leading aspect in the general strategies of local
governments. Electric buses which attract the attention of the authorities/
operators managing or operating the public transport systems in many parts

304 Journal of Environment, Urbanization and Climate