Minister Kurum: Our country's peaceful diplomacy will inspire COP31

Minister Murat Kurum, in his speech at the opening of the "From Zero Waste to COP31: Türkiye's Climate Diplomacy" panel held at the Presidency Directorate of Communications, stated that the Zero Waste Movement, initiated under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wife Emine Erdoğan, made a new call to all humanity from the zero point of humanity.

Stating that in this call, nature and man are not rivals, but companions, Kurum said, "The Anatolian people who made this call come from a culture that kisses bread when it falls on the ground and puts it on their forehead, does not waste even running water, and despises the concept of unlimited consumption. This is exactly why Zero Waste has become a great mobilization in our country, spreading in waves from the individual to the society and all segments of society. Our children carried what they learned to their homes. Our families changed their habits." he said.

Reminding that, as a public authority, they have created a wide application area from institutions to schools, from municipalities to businesses, the Authority said that they save energy and water and prevent greenhouse gas emissions while protecting resources with the Zero Waste Movement.

The institution reported that they increased the recovery rate, which was 13 percent in 2017, to 37 percent in 2025, and that they recovered 90 million tons of waste during this period and contributed approximately 365 billion lira to the economy.

Stating that we are now at a new stage with DOA and that they collect and recycle waste, Kurum said, "So far, we have reintroduced 520 million packages to the economy with the Returnable Packaging System. In this respect, the zero waste movement is not only the name of a local experience and a global success, but also the common working language of the climate diplomacy we carry out on a global scale. On this occasion, I would like to once again express my gratitude to First Lady First Lady Erdoğan, who has made great efforts to spread the zero waste movement around the world." he said.

Minister Kurum pointed out that they were preparing for COP31 at a time when political instability deepened, conflicts increased, and the most basic humanitarian problems affected all geographies.

Explaining that the world is in a great shock today and that wars have displaced millions of people, Kurum stated that economic crises and conflict-related uncertainties have changed the balances.

The institution stated that humanity is stuck in a narrow circle surrounded by uncertainty and continued as follows:

Source: TRT Haber Açık RSS (Gündem) (Open Press / Translated Full Text)