SERCAN KIRIK

Merzifon Municipality’s Declaration of Commitment to UN Sustainability Goals, IPCC Carbon Emissions and Kummings – Montreal Biodiversity Protocol

Abstract

The Mannheim Declaration sets out local efforts to ensure the city’s commitment to a sustainable future through citizen participation, aligning it with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adopting a philosophy of “Think Globally, Act Locally,” Mannheim has developed the “Mannheim 2030” Mission Statement through extensive public participation, declaring how the city plans to live sustainably while meeting its responsibilities.

This article compares Mannheim’s comprehensive model with the current situation in Türkiye, where local municipalities lag significantly behind in sustainability reporting, reducing their carbon footprint, and protecting biodiversity, despite national commitments such as the 2053 carbon neutrality target.

Advocating for more robust local approaches for developing countries, the study highlights the need for initiatives such as the proposed “Merzifon Declaration.” This statement is intended to evolve into a more comprehensive model, providing a framework for translating global goals into concrete local action and accountability by clearly planning Sustainability Reports (in line with GRI/CSRD), Carbon Footprint calculations and emission reductions (until 2035), and Biodiversity actions (in line with the Kunming–Montreal Protocol).

Biography

Ongoing PhD at Hitit University Graduate Education Institute, Department of Business Administration. Started my business life as Project Coordinator at MBC Renewable Energy company. Worked as an office staff in Merzifon Municipality Strategy Development Directorate until January 2019. In January 2019, Continued my duty as a contracted economist with a title change. As of April 2019, Working as Strategy Development Manager in Merzifon Municipality. Experienced in project management, national and international grants and funds, strategic planning, renewable energy and finance.