Climate Action under COP31 Addressed by Various Disciplines

An online event titled “COP31 Interdisciplinary Approaches in Climate Action-1 Genetic Engineering, Green IT, and Child Development” was organized by Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO) within the scope of COP31 activities. During the event, the climate crisis was addressed from the perspectives of genetic engineering, green IT, and child development, while it was emphasized that climate action requires the collaborative work of different disciplines. 

The event titled “Interdisciplinary Approaches in Climate Action,” organized by Üsküdar University within the scope of COP31 activities, was broadcast live on Üsküdar University Academy YouTube channel. 

In the event moderated by Asst. Prof. Ahmet Adiller, Asst. Director of the Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO) and Head of Environmental Health Program, Prof. Nurper Ülküer, Head of the Child Development Department at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan, Director of Üsküdar University Transgenic Cell Technologies and Epigenetic Application and Research Center (TRGENMER), and Asst. Prof. Gülcan Ayral from the Department of Management Information Systems at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, took part as speakers. 

At the event, an interdisciplinary perspective on the climate crisis was presented from the axes of genetic engineering, biotechnology, green IT, and child development. 

Prof. Hikmet Koçak: “Today's meeting was a start”

Making evaluations within the scope of the event, Vice Rector Prof. Hikmet Koçak stated that the meeting was an important start in raising awareness about climate change and drew attention to the future of children. Koçak said; 

“The process of child development, starting from pregnancy and continuing until adolescence, is one of the most important points. If we raise children well and prepare them for life, this is of great importance for the future of both humanity and countries. I hope that our other meetings within the scope of COP31, which will raise awareness, will be productive, in addition to the presentations in Antalya. Today's meeting was a start. Hopefully, our seminars will continue from now on.” he stated.

Asst. Prof. Ahmet Adiller: “The climate crisis is not a problem that can be solved by atmospheric sciences alone”

In his opening speech at the program, Asst. Prof. Ahmet Adiller emphasized that the climate crisis is no longer a problem that can be solved by a single discipline. Adiller said; “As we move towards the COP31 process, we are actually facing a very clear reality. The climate crisis is no longer a problem that atmospheric sciences alone can solve. Because in addition to reversing climate change, we are in a process of adapting to it. Therefore, climate change is one of the biggest multidisciplinary crises directly affecting all layers of life such as health, informatics, genetics, economy, sociology, and education. With this understanding, as Üsküdar University, we approach climate action not as a unilateral struggle but as a holistic search for solutions produced by the common wisdom of different disciplines.” he stated.

Prof. Nurper Ülküer: “Nearly 1 billion children face the threat of thirst”

Prof. Nurper Ülküer, Head of the Child Development Department at the Faculty of Health Sciences, explained the effects of climate change on children's development and health. Ülküer said; 

“Extreme heat actually affects brain development. The brain perceives extreme heat as a threat to its well-being and develops a stress response system against it. Overactivation of the stress system during pregnancy and early childhood negatively affects the child's emotion regulation connections. Climate change also has other effects on children. Nearly 1 billion children face the threat of thirst, and 470 million children face drought. Forest fires affect children's development, child health, and human health in every area, from their smoke to the loss of biological environment. All these will affect children's development and their ties with their families. Very urgent measures must be taken for these, and all kinds of climate projects and programs related to children need to be put forward.” she stated.

“Climate change does not affect every child in the same way”

Ülküer, stating that climate change also deepens existing inequalities among children, said; “Climate change does not affect every child in the same way. We see that children who are more socioeconomically fortunate are less affected by these negative impacts of climate and recover more quickly from this environment, but vulnerable groups, children in less fortunate socioeconomic environments and more difficult conditions, are more affected by climate conditions, and thus the existing social, economic, and cultural inequality is increasing. During the 0-6 age period, areas such as brain development, immune system, susceptibility to infections, and lung development in children are affected by environmental problems. Adolescence is also an important risk period for development. For this reason, UNICEF and child rights advocates say that the climate crisis is actually a child rights crisis.” she stated. 

“We need more effective studies” 

Ülküer emphasized that research on how children can be protected from climate change in Turkey needs to be increased. Ülküer said; “When we look at climate studies related to child development, we see that most of the research is in America and China. In a large part of Turkey, there is still no research on child development. The main focus of the research is on health-related studies. Studies on how to reduce the effects of climate change on children are fewer, but studies on what kind of effects there are are more numerous. We need more effective, active studies on how climate change affects children from prenatal to adolescence in which areas and what needs to be done to reduce and prevent these.” she said.

Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan: “Protecting production under environmental stress is very important for us”

Asst. Prof. Cihan Taştan, Director of Üsküdar University Transgenic Cell Technologies and Epigenetic Application and Research Center (TRGENMER), referring to the role of genetic engineering and biotechnology in climate action, explained the studies carried out in the fields of human health, agriculture, and space biology. Taştan said; “We wanted to look at climate action not only from an environmental perspective but by bringing together all focuses that can affect human health. Because in terms of adaptation, protecting health and production, especially under environmental stress, is very important for us. Our collaborative work here is shaped around the question 'How should biological resilience be?' We are trying to address this within the scope of human health, agriculture, and space biology.” he said.

“Personalized treatment enables us to correctly understand and control human health”

Taştan stated that genetic engineering technologies contribute to understanding the relationship between human health and climate change, and drew attention to the importance of personalized treatment and new generation treatment methods. Taştan said; “Regarding human health, I have been conducting studies in Turkey for about 10 years, especially on genetic therapy and cancer treatments, to understand environmental effects and develop disease models. With developing genetic engineering approaches like CRISPR, we can understand the underlying causes of diseases occurring in our bodies through new disease models. We are starting to develop new drugs and treatment methods that can improve human health and quality at a lower cost and more quickly. Especially the side effects caused by extreme heat and air pollution, food, water, and infection risks are issues that we need to address together with human health in the context of climate change. Using personalized treatment and personalized diagnostic methods for children, the elderly, and individuals with chronic diseases enables us to correctly understand and control human health along with climate change.” he stated.

“We established a climate chamber and laboratory”

Taştan, also referring to his work in agriculture, stated that they are conducting research on the development of production models resistant to climate conditions. Taştan said; “One of Turkey's biggest agricultural activities is cotton production. In many different places in Turkey, not just Urfa, but also Hatay, Adana, Aydın, there are many different problems and complaints, especially regarding fiber quality and cotton production under stress. For this, we established a large climate chamber and laboratory, and specifically within Üsküdar University, we are researching how we can achieve biological resilience in agriculture using new generation genetic engineering technologies.” he said.

Asst. Prof. Gülcan Ayral: “Climate action requires preparing for changing conditions” 

Asst. Prof. Gülcan Ayral from the Department of Management Information Systems at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, stated that climate change is not only an environmental issue for companies but also a management issue, and shared the findings of her research on green information systems. Ayral said; “Climate action requires both reducing emissions and preparing for changing conditions. Determining what measures institutions will take is based on data, analysis, and decision-making processes. My research examines how green information systems are used in these processes in the 2024-2025 disclosures of Borsa Istanbul Sustainability 25 companies, and aims to provide a framework explaining the transformation of environmental data into information, decisions, and climate action.” she stated. 

“The main question of the research is which technology supports which climate activity”

Ayral, drawing attention to the role of green information systems in collecting, analyzing, and transferring environmental data to decision-making processes, said; “Green information systems work by bringing together technology, data, people, and business processes. In corporate climate action, it involves collecting and integrating environmental data, measuring and monitoring energy consumption and emissions, analyzing climate risks and mitigation options, and ultimately providing reports for decision support and optimization. The main question of the research is which technology supports which climate activity by performing which task. On the digital capability side, I tried to examine which system or technology is used; on the information system function side, which task it undertakes, such as data collection, monitoring, analysis, and decision support; and in the area of climate action, which area it supports, such as energy efficiency, emission management, or climate risk.” she stated. 

“Digital capabilities make environmental data visible”

Ayral stated that as a result of the research, green information systems support corporate climate action, especially in areas such as energy, emissions, processes, climate risk, and supply chain. Ayral said; “Digital capabilities make environmental data visible. Collected and integrated data, with analysis and foresight, helps in evaluating risks and improvement options. Decision support provides information for maintenance, production, investment, and supply options. This process is associated with emission management, energy efficiency, process optimization, climate risk, and supply chain applications. Consequently, in the transition from green information systems to corporate climate action, the findings show that green information systems support corporate climate action, especially in areas such as emission management, energy efficiency, process optimization, climate risk, and supply chain.” she said.

Awareness of the Climate Crisis Aimed to be Increased

Asst. Prof. Ahmet Adiller, the moderator of the event, Asst. Director of the Vocational School of Health Services (SHMYO), and Head of the Environmental Health Program, in his closing remarks, hoped that the event, carried out with the contributions of different disciplines, would contribute to raising awareness about the climate crisis.

The event concluded after participants' questions were answered.