Boğaziçi University Center for Climate Change and Policy Implementation and Research (iklimBU) was officially established in 2014. Comprising researchers from various disciplines such as Physics, Environmental Sciences, Economics, Geography, and Tourism, iklimBU conducts interdisciplinary research on the impacts of climate change and related policies, and carries out supporting studies to implement these in neighboring regions including the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
iklimBU aims to provide insight into the impacts and risks of climate change in the neighboring countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia, as well as in the region we live in. The center supports policy-making processes by contributing to solution-oriented work in areas such as renewable energy, emission reduction, agricultural adaptation, and potential impacts of extreme climate events.
As part of CORDEX, iklimBU is also responsible for research related to the Central Asia, MENA, and Australasia regions. iklimBU produces high-resolution regional climate model outputs to evaluate how climate will change in areas such as Central Asia, MENA, Australasia, the Mediterranean, Turkey, Cyprus, and their subregions. These outputs are also used to assess the socio-economic impacts of climate change on sectors such as agriculture, tourism, water resources, drought, and migration.
Additionally, iklimBU carries out various activities to contribute to the literature, such as educating master's and doctoral students, developing joint projects on climate change and policies, promoting interdisciplinary research activities on national and international platforms, establishing collaborations, and organizing informative training sessions for relevant units in the public and private sectors. The center also works on creating a sustainable knowledge platform on climate change and related risks. Furthermore, iklimBU continues to build and maintain a current database on climate change and related policies, utilize this database in interdisciplinary research, share findings with relevant institutions and stakeholders through conferences and seminars, and convert this knowledge into publications.
Turn to Climate Modeling
2006
Prof. Dr. Levent Kurnaz, drawing on statistical methods and the thermodynamics / fluid dynamics insights from his doctoral training, shifted his focus toward climate modeling. After 2006, Prof. Kurnaz concentrated more on climate work, and Hamza Altınsoy, Tuğba Öztürk, and Şükrü Murat Cebeci, who were doctoral students or transitioning to climate research, were among the first cohort. In subsequent years, additional scholars like Tufan Turp, Nazan An, and Kamil Çöllü joined the climate research team as master’s and doctoral students.
RegCM4.0
ICTP, Italy – 2010
During a two‑week intensive workshop led by ICTP (Trieste, Italy), we gained hands‑on training in climate modeling. At that time, the then-new RegCM4.0 model was introduced, and our team built capacity to run both global and regional climate simulations. The team has since grown and sustained its momentum.
CORDEX
2010
At the same 2010 ICTP workshop, we were introduced to the CORDEX framework. It became evident that Turkey and its surroundings had not been modeled in detail. As a result, we adopted responsibility for the Central Asia domain under CORDEX and began focused efforts in that region.
First Publication & IPCC
2012
Within the CORDEX framework, our first peer‑reviewed article was published in 2012 in *Climate Research* (see DOI: 10.3354/cr01082). This work was included in the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC.
Foundation of iklimBU
2014
In 2014, Boğaziçi University Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies (iklimBU) was founded. Bringing together researchers from Physics, Environmental Sciences, Economics, Geography, and Education, the center has pursued interdisciplinary climate research in subsequent years.