First lady calls for joint global action on climate crisis

Sevil Erkuş - ANKARA

Effective and concrete steps are needed at the global level to fight the climate crisis, Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan said on Jan. 17 and called on foreign envoys in Ankara to act together in this bid.

“Today, if we do not take effective and concrete steps at the global level, unfortunately, there will be no living space on which we can establish peace and justice,” Erdoğan said, addressing the “Zero Waste for the World, Our Common Home” event.

The climate crisis poses a “life-and-death” threat not only for nature but for each person, Erdoğan said.

The Zero-Waste Project, carried out by Emine Erdoğan in a bid to reduce the volume of non-recyclable waste, has completed its five years.

Erdoğan reminded that the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 14 unanimously accepted a resolution regarding the project presented by Türkiye, declaring March 30 as International Zero-Waste Day.

Accordingly, the U.N. will set up an advisory board committee comprising experts selected based on their knowledge, experience and expertise to introduce zero waste initiatives on a national scale and worldwide.

In the age of uncertainty that the world is going through, the U.N. has more role to play than ever before, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at the event.

“We are now working on the establishment of a U.N. meeting and Advisory Board to be addressed by first lady Emine Erdoğan. We will also discuss the issue of zero-waste at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, the new center of attraction for global diplomacy,” the minister said.

The project has helped to recycle more than 30 million tons of waste, and saved 347 million trees from destruction, said Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum.

Türkiye, with its state experience of more than 5,000 years, its historical accumulation that transcends continents, its presence in Anatolia, where it protects its heritage in the best way, and the experience of a century-old Republic, is ready to be a role model for the world in green transformation, net zero emission target, Kurum said.

With the project, which also aims to use resources more efficiently, a transition to a zero-waste management system has been achieved in 154,000 buildings and campuses so far, while plans were prepared for the implementation of the system in the country’s all 81 provinces.

A total of 18 million people were trained to “turn zero-waste into a lifestyle.” The topics of environment, zero-waste and climate change were included in the curriculums.

With the project, which became a state policy after a while, 112,000 buildings and campuses that installed these systems have been given a “Basic Level Zero-Waste Certificate” by the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry since Jan. 12, 2020.

Since 2017, when the project was launched, 20.4 million tons of paper and cardboard, 5.4 million tons of plastic, 2.3 million tons of glass and 500,000 tons of metals have been recycled, while total waste recycled amounted to 33.8 million tons over this period, whose monetary value reached 62.2 billion Turkish Liras.

The recycling rate in Türkiye was 13 percent when the Zero-Waste Project was initiated, but the rate is presently around 27.2 percent.

Plastic bag usage has also declined as much as 65 percent, thanks to the regulation that requires businesses to charge consumers use of plastic bags.

Additionally, by ensuring the efficient use of water in all sectors, especially in agriculture and industry, the reuse rate of drainage water and treated wastewater reached 4 percent in the first half of this year.