At COP31, leaders gather for ways to tackle climate change
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At COP31, leaders gather for ways to tackle climate change
Antalya (Türkiye): The first day of the COP31 Leaders’ Summit saw countries build political momentum on electrification, responding to the COP31 Presidency’s calls to action on this key priority.
More than 100 national leaders and the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, gathered in the coastal city of Antalya to send a clear message that they remain committed to tackling climate change.
Addressing world leaders, host nation President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Respect for nature lies at the heart of our civilization. Earth is a sacred trust that must be protected and cared for…This culture, which considers bread as fertility, water as holy, and a tree as life, serves as our compass in our environmental and climate policies. This is how we, as Türkiye, approach the issue. Properly fulfilling our responsibilities in the fight against climate change, we are working to become a part of the solution rather than the problem.”
Following this, President Erdoğan hosted a leader-level event on electrification, attended by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The event aimed to build political momentum on electrification and discuss the opportunities and barriers to progress.
Türkiye led by example by publishing its own National Energy Plan earlier this month. President Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye’s own decarbonisation journey, saying: “From energy to industry, and transport to agriculture, we are guided by green transition across all the sectors in our economy, restructuring them with the aim of decarbonization. We are increasing our renewable energy investments, boosting energy efficiency, and promoting clean transport solutions.”
COP31 President Murat Kurum said: “There is much common ground between climate action and the national interest. Using energy more efficiently makes energy supplies more secure. Investing in water strengthens food security. Clean technologies create opportunities for industry and employment. Resilient cities strengthen our economies. Well-designed climate action is an investment in prosperity, security and competitiveness.”
The COP31 Presidency also hosted a leader-level event on advancing Green Industrialisation, as well as building political support for the Antalya Green Industrialisation Compact.
With industry accounting for around a quarter of direct global CO2 emissions, the compact plays an important role in accelerating investment in and creating markets for near-zero and low-emissions industrial production.
The compact supports the COP31 presidency’s targets on electrification and circularity, with the electrification of industrial processes and the increasing use of circular materials both acting as key mechanisms for decarbonising industry.
At the summit, Emine Erdoğan, First Lady of Türkiye, spoke at a leader-level event on Zero Waste, designed to strengthen political support for reducing the projected growth in global municipal solid waste generation by at least 50 per cent by 2035 and raising the global circular material use rate to at least 15 per cent.
The waste sector accounts for around 20 per cent of human-caused methane emissions -- a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of atmospheric warming.
Zero Waste is a thematic priority for the COP31 Presidency, and on the opening day of COP, the COP31 High-Level Champion launched the #OneBillion Challenge, which aims to mobilise people and organisations to reduce food waste.
The challenge, supported by the Zero Waste Foundation, brings together households, businesses, cities, organisations and communities to mobilise action, showcase solutions, and share results and lessons learned.
Alongside this, the COP31 Presidency hosted a Global High-Level Dialogue on Methane Emissions from the Waste Sector to help identify policies and projects that can drive forward methane reduction.
