Galata Wind Energy and Yuvam Dünya (My Home Earth) Association participated jointly in the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP27) – November 2022 and co-hosted a panel session on November 8. The panel session titled The Story Changes Everything set an example in terms of promoting partnerships between companies and NGOs. The panelists, Kıvılcım Kocabıyık, Founder and President, Yuvam Dünya, Burak Kuyan, CEO, Galata Wind Energy, Professor Levent Kurnaz, Head of Science Board, Yuvam Dünya, and Kerem Bürsin, actor and Climate Ambassador for Yuvam Dünya, discussed what needed to change for a better world and future.

Yuvam Dünya (My Home Earth), an NGO operating with the mission of tackling climate crisis, and Galata Wind, a company generating clean energy as a key solution to the climate crisis, participated in the COP27 jointly and co-hosted a panel session. During these conferences, attended by representatives from 195 countries that have ratified the Paris Climate Agreement, many sessions are held by various parties seeking a solution to the climate crisis, the most important problem that humans are currently facing.

A key item on the agenda of COP27 was climate justice, with developing countries in particular calling for accelerated action. Teresa Anderson, climate policy coordinator for ActionAid International, who said that a new UN financing mechanism should be established to assist developing countries, which are most significantly impacted by the adverse effects of climate change and which suffer losses and damages due to natural disasters such as flash floods, droughts and hurricanes, summed up the issue clearly. Organizations such as Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), formed to unite communities around this view, argue that developing countries suffer the most from climate crisis and that the wealthy nations, which are the real culprits of pollution, should pay the price for these damages.

The changing story of the generation

The panel session titled The Story Changes Everything, organized by Yuvam Dünya Association, which aims to drive transformation in all segments of society to tackle climate crisis, and Galata Wind, the wind and solar power generation company, saw great interest at the conference. During the session, sponsored by Galata Wind, the panelists discussed how they wanted to make their mark on the future and the roles they would need to play for this purpose. They also addressed new solutions based on a roadmap for tackling climate crisis. Gonca Karakaş, CEO, Effect BCW, moderated the session with panelists, including Kıvılcım Kocabıyık, Founder and President, Yuvam Dünya, Burak Kuyan, CEO, Galata Wind, Professor Levent Kurnaz, Head of Science Board, Yuvam Dünya, and Kerem Bürsin, actor and Climate Ambassador for Yuvam Dünya, who joined the event online. The panelists emphasized the changing story of the generation and the transformation of people, society, and institutions. Esmiyor, the digital communication platform that focuses on climate crisis and sustainability, livestreamed the session on its social media accounts and conducted interviews with the panelists.

“The decisions we make today may guarantee the future”

Burak Kuyan, CEO, Galata Wind, said accelerated action is required for a better future and added: “Global warming is exacerbating extreme weather events at a shocking pace. People all around the world are losing their lives or their livelihoods because of deadlier and more frequent heat waves, flash floods, wildfires, and droughts triggered by climate crisis. We need to act now and take radical and urgent action if we want to mobilize more companies, investors, cities, regions and governments and tap into their potential in the race toward a future where we achieve our zero emissions target. We are at a critical crossroads. The decisions we make today may guarantee a better future. We have the tools and the know-how to limit climate change. There is strong tailwind for our generation to transform the global economy into a sustainable one. You need to fill up your sails with this wind instead of resisting it and charge ahead to drive change and build a better future.”

Kuyan added that Galata Wind has a role to play in a sustainable future, “Today, a multi-faceted and ambitious journey awaits all companies but it is filled with many obstacles to overcome and many challenges to address. COP26 gave a clear message to the global companies: ‘Align your business strategy with the sustainable development goals and get benefits in return. If you resist, you will lose.’ The goal of creating a sustainable planet and society requires a shared approach, joint action, and common dynamics. Decades of research and reports have showed us the severity of the situation and even proved it. Moving forward, we must become a part of the solution. We need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy. There is no solution for us other than radical and urgent action. Action plans may slow climate change, but the time to act is now to stop the climate crisis. We recognize the importance of partnerships between NGOs and companies. Creating narratives in the same language for the same purpose and drawing attention to the problem will also be key. Therefore, we want to thank Yuvam Dünya, which strives for a sustainable world, for partnering with us for this cause.”

“It is more than a climate crisis, and it will trigger social and economic issues”

Kıvılcım Kocabıyık, founder and president, Yuvam Dünya, noted that the climate crisis will lead to more than environmental problems: “Climate crisis is here now. We see it in the flash floods in Pakistan, where more than 30 million people were affected, this summer’s heat waves in Europe, the wildfires that destroyed a significant part of the forests in Turkey in 2021, and more. We also know that it will not be limited to an environmental problem and a crisis. All of these events trigger social and economic issues, such as social inequality, hunger, poverty, regional conflicts, and forced migration. To quote the title of this panel session, the story changes everything. Therefore, we must change this story together by involving all parties and embracing with a cross-disciplinary approach.”

Kocabıyık said, “COP27 is taking place in Egypt, a country in Africa, the continent most impacted by extreme weather events. This conference is critical in terms of making decisions to avoid the worst impacts of climate crisis and bringing the topic of losses and damages to the agenda. We hope that the topics discussed during the conference will be determined by considering the disadvantaged communities that contribute minimally to this crisis.”

“Our story changed a long time ago, and it has already been a long time since we understood our story had changed,” said Professor Levent Kurnaz, head of Science Board, Yuvam Dünya. “Unfortunately, we are still far from implementing the measures to change the course of this worsening story and to protect our home Earth. The 27th Conference of the Parties did not provide any contributions to maintaining the current climate conditions. The responsibility now falls on people to take this matter into their own hands.”

“We must protect Earth”

Kerem Bürsin, actor and climate ambassador for Yuvam Dünya, joined the panel session online: “It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, what your job is, what you have or do not have because we all live on the same planet. It is like sharing the same body, which is suffering right now due to the climate crisis. We must protect Earth and take the necessary steps together to tackle climate crisis. It is crucial for highly influential people to use their impact on education and information. Social media, movies, TV shows, screenplays, and different storytelling methods have massive communication potential and they should be leveraged to deliver the message.”