Erdoğan calls for global action at environmental forum in Türkiye
The first edition of the Environment Forum, an event organized by Anadolu Agency (AA), opened on Thursday in Istanbul. As nature suffers from the downsides of industrialization and technological developments, “timely and adequate measures” must be taken to prevent environmental problems, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech at the forum.
“Industrialization, technological advancements and human-induced effects have unfortunately caused serious damage to nature and the environment. Every year we see and feel more and more the effects of this destruction all over the world. world. If timely and adequate action is not taken, environmental disasters, air pollution, water and food security and biodiversity loss will reach irreversible levels,” Erdoğan said in a video message to the forum.
The Environment Forum, organized under the theme “Reshaping the narrative of environmental and climate crises”, aims to raise awareness of the climate crisis and other environmental issues. Alongside the president, first lady Emine Erdoğan, who champions environmental causes such as the famous Zero Waste project, is participating in the event. Other dignitaries include Vice President Fuat Oktay, Presidential Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun and Minister of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change Murat Kurum. UNDP Resident Representative in Turkey Louisa Vinton and Ovais Sarmad, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are also scheduled to speak at the event. Among the forum’s international participants are former Portuguese minister for Europe Bruno Macaes, CEO and managing director of the Italian news agency ANSA Stefano De Alessandri, editor of climate and environmental news at the Associated Press (AP) Peter Prengaman, and Arturo Larena, climate director of Spanish agency EFE.
The forum, with the participation of representatives of many local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations, politicians, academics and journalists, offers sessions on clean energy for sustainable development, the media’s approach to natural disasters and the climate crisis, and the sharing of responsibilities. , as well as issues such as climate change, energy, media views on climate change and environmental education.
The event aims to address issues such as the need to create a new media language on environmental and climate issues, international news agencies raising awareness around the world, the duties of traditional and new media and the pursuit of environmental awareness. environment in new areas of information. “We aim to redefine the relationship between the media and the environment by creating a way for environmental experts to voice their opinions and discuss solutions,” according to the forum’s website.
“Without a doubt, as with any other issue, it is crucial that the countries that cause the most damage to the environment take greater responsibility and contribute more to the fight,” Erdoğan said in his speech. “From the responsibility of the media in the climate crisis to sustainable development, including the media’s approach to natural disasters and the sharing of responsibilities, each of these important issues will be discussed in detail during this forum,” he said. -he adds. The forum, Erdoğan said, will be one of the most important global platforms where climate and environmental issues will be discussed in depth.
Erdoğan said that Turkey has always considered the fight against climate change and environmental problems as one of its main concerns, and has taken measures over the past two decades to protect nature and the environment. and combat climate change. “We believe that protecting the environment, everyone’s shared living space, is not a favor, but a responsibility. Although our historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions is less than 1%, tackling climate and environmental issues is one of our priorities. priorities,” he added.
Turkey has reaped the benefits of sincere efforts in promoting renewable energy, waste management, forest expansion and many other areas. “In the use of renewable energy, Turkey has recently risen to fifth place in Europe and 12th place in the world. We have achieved this by increasing the share of renewable energy to 55% of our total energy,” he stressed. Turkey has also increased its forest areas to 23 million hectares (56.8 million acres), while becoming the country in Europe that has expanded its forest land the most. “Our efforts to create 81 million square meters of national gardens in 81 provinces continue unabated. When designing our country’s first domestic car, the Togg, as a fully electric vehicle, we were mindful of our responsibilities environmental,” Erdoğan explained.
He added that the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2021 has given significant impetus to Turkey’s fight against climate change, saying, “We will continue to take all necessary measures to achieve our ultimate goal of net zero emissions by 2053”.
In a keynote address, AA CEO and President Serdar Karagöz said, “We face a collective enemy that affects us all, no matter how different we are: the environment and the climate crisis”, and added: “This is not a problem that could affect our future, indeed, it deeply affects our times. As journalists, we cannot stay away from this issue. “Reshaping the narrative of environmental and climate crises” is not an option for us, it is our responsibility. So how do we reshape this narrative?”
Noting that AA has been dealing with these issues for a long time, Karagöz said: “After long discussions, we recently founded Greenline, one of the most comprehensive media platforms telling about environmental and climate issues. Our main goal is to ‘stay responsive’ . to the world, as nature and the environment are being destroyed. The Greenline platform reports on climate change, green economy, zero waste and environmental stories in all their aspects.” Emphasizing that climate journalism should be of greater importance to all media around the world, Karagöz said: “As journalists, we not only inform, but also transform the public by revealing the man-made disasters behind this crisis. .
“From wildfires in Europe to disappearing rainforests in the Amazon, we are telling the world the tragedy of climate catastrophe with the Greenline platform,” he added. “However, we not only tell the tragedy, but we also share the stories that give us hope.”
Karagöz also pointed out that the Environment Forum would become “an excellent focal point to discuss both man-made disasters and the hope behind this crisis from a media perspective.” “Journalists, experts and policymakers, gathered today at the Environment Forum, will debate a new narrative on the environment and climate change,” he said. “The profiles of forum participants remind us that these issues concern us all. From Zimbabwe to Spain, from Somalia to Albania, from Norway to Italy, we all came together with the same concern,” he noted. “We hope the Environment Forum will be an important step in taking action against the climate crisis. We hope it will contribute to a more livable world.” Karagöz also noted, “I would like to remind you again that as Anadolu Agency, we do not question the need for action. We inspire, we act, we change. We say ‘one word for one world better'”.
