SUM Turkiye Director Sibel Bulay and EMBARQ Senior Scientist Alper Unal discuss what future growth will mean for Istanbul.

Based on data from the emissions inventory and other projection data, EMBARQ researchers estimate that if Istanbul does not begin to address transport-related air pollution, emissions could double by 2015. To jump-start this process, EMBARQ and the city government initiated a transport emissions “scenario development workshop” that gathered a diverse group of stakeholders to brainstorm cost-effective solutions to the air pollution problem.

Attendees of the two-day event included national and local policymakers, transportation planners and service providers, business leaders, and members of civil society, making it the first time that such a diverse group of stakeholders collaborated to address Istanbul’s air pollution problem. Of the eight strongest proposals to emerge from the workshop, two projects—a diesel retrofit and the creation of a low-emissions zone on Istanbul’s historic peninsula—will likely be tested in the near future by EMBARQ and the Istanbul city government.