Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on world leaders to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete action against the climate crisis, outlining Türkiye’s green development ambitions and its internationally recognised Zero Waste initiative. In his address at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Erdoğan emphasised that humanity shares a single planet and must work collectively to protect it. However, one of the most striking moments of his speech came when he drew attention to the humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in Gaza, declaring that the territory had suffered both genocide and environmental destruction.
"Humanity has only one roof over its home, and that is the sky," Erdoğan said, stressing that the time had come to move from complaints to action in tackling climate change. "Welcome to Antalya, where green meets blue. I hope the decisions taken within the framework of COP31 will benefit all humanity," he said.
At the beginning of his speech, Erdoğan thanked UN Secretary-General António Guterres for his support and expressed appreciation to Brazil and Azerbaijan for sharing their experience from previous COP presidencies. He said Türkiye had designed COP31 to reflect the country's Anatolian heritage and had made considerable efforts to ensure the conference had the smallest possible environmental footprint. Erdoğan expressed confidence that the summit would become an important milestone in the global fight against climate change, adding that Türkiye hoped to make it a conference focused on implementation and tangible results.
He warned that excessive consumption and the uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources were pushing humanity into increasingly serious crises, ranging from environmental degradation to threats to food security. A burning forest or a polluted sea, he said, affects the entire planet, with no country or region immune to the consequences. Small island nations in the Pacific are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Reflecting on the 31 years since the first COP conference, Erdoğan said the international community had made considerable progress. However, failure to achieve the targets established under the Paris Agreement would increase the risks facing the planet. "We have two choices: either complain or take action.
We assumed the COP31 presidency with precisely this understanding," he said, explaining that Türkiye wanted the summit to become an implementation-focused COP. Erdoğan also highlighted the cultural and historical foundations of Türkiye's environmental approach, describing Antalya as a city where different civilisations and cultures have come together. He said Turkish traditions placed great importance on protecting nature, citing the proverb "Cutting down a tree is like taking a life" to illustrate the country's longstanding respect for trees and natural resources.
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