OMM Redaksiyası
Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan has called for a global shift in consumption habits and stronger international cooperation to address the climate crisis, according to Anadolu Agency.
Speaking at the opening event of New York Climate Week, Erdogan said the Zero Waste movement had turned individuals from passive observers into active participants in climate action.
“Seemingly small behavioral changes can evolve into a social culture when they become widespread, and into a lasting system when supported by sound policies,” she said.
Consumption and climate responsibility
Erdogan said climate change was one of the most visible consequences of the burden human activity had placed on the Earth. While fossil fuels, industrial processes and high emissions played a major role, she urged people to also examine the unlimited demand for consumption that drives continued production.
She said humanity had created a system in which products were treated as having short lifespans and were ultimately destined to become waste. Approximately 9.2 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide since the 1950s, with about 7 billion tons becoming waste, she noted.
According to Erdogan, the environmental costs of excessive consumption were not distributed fairly, often falling on vulnerable regions, societies that consume the least and future generations.
“We must therefore begin by reducing excess in our habits alongside our waste, changing our mindset alongside our systems, and rebuilding our relationship with nature on the principles of balance and justice,” she said.
Türkiye’s Zero Waste programme
Erdogan described Zero Waste as a moral approach based on stewardship of nature rather than treating it as an unlimited source of resources.
She said the programme began at the Turkish presidential complex in 2017 before expanding to schools, hospitals, municipalities, public institutions and households. Türkiye’s waste recovery rate has risen from 13% at the time to more than 37%, she added.
At the event, Erdogan stressed that individual action did not reduce the responsibilities of governments and businesses. She said authorities and companies must build infrastructure that makes sustainable choices easier, design products that are durable, repairable and reusable, develop circular-production technologies and strengthen international cooperation.
Zero Waste and international climate action
Erdogan recalled that a Zero Waste resolution submitted by Türkiye to the UN General Assembly in 2022 was adopted with broad international support. March 30 was subsequently designated International Zero Waste Day, and a UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste was established under her chairmanship.
She said Türkiye attached importance to having Zero Waste recognised as a climate-action tool at COP31, which it will host in November.
“As long as we continue the habits that produce today’s problems while discussing the solutions of the future, no target will be sufficient on its own, and no technology will be a solution on its own,” Erdogan said.
She added that the success of New York Climate Week would be measured not by the statements made at the event, but by the changes participants introduced afterwards.
Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas attended the event alongside Erdogan. Representatives of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Zero Waste Foundation and other organisations also took part.
