Climate council wrapped up with crucial outcomes

KONYA

The five-day Climate Council, the first such event Turkey organized, concluded on Feb. 25 in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.

The council gathered nearly 1,000 government officials, academics, businesspeople, and non-governmental organizations to lay out the country’s road map to meet its 2052 net zero emission and green development targets.

“During the event, participants discussed all aspects of the Green Development and the 2052 net zero emission targets, as well as green finance and carbon pricing,” said Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum.

Sharing the preliminary information of the council’s final declaration to be read by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kurum said the council will be a source of reference for the protection of nature and will offer an important method to the business world.

“It will be a roadmap for increasing renewable energy sources, ensuring energy efficiency and reducing fossil fuels. It will present us a plan to expand the clean transportation network in our country with alternative fuels and smart transportation systems. It will be a very important guide for the implementation of sustainable production and consumption systems and alternative emission reduction methods in the industry,” he noted.

Explaining that the council’s climate change practices and responsibilities of local governments will reveal a rich foresight for urban infrastructure planning and resilient urban design, Kurum stated that the council will contribute to the development of support mechanisms.

The minister also called the whole world for a climate mobilization, adding that this call should never be dropped from the agenda until the most remote person hears it.

“We want the blue sky, fertile soil and turquoise seas entrusted to us to be handed over to our children in their most natural form, just as our ancestors gave us,” the minister said, adding that they want young people to live in cities where lush forests and blue skies meet.

He noted that the greatest legacy to be left to the next generation is a country with preserved natural resources, a green nature, magnificent beauties, and a clean world.

“This is the reason for the existence of our council, which puts the future of our children at the core and applies to common reason and the republic for this, listens to people from all walks of life, democratizes information with a transparent and participatory understanding and opens it to our nation,” he said.