Türkiye aims to pass its climate law in line with the zero-emissions policy with the participation of all ministries as soon as possible, the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum said at the Sustainable Century Summit, organized by Turkuvaz Media’s business magazine InBusiness on Friday.
The summit touched upon Türkiye’s roadmap for a sustainable future, with the participation of business representatives and officials.
Noting that urban cities are responsible for 75% of global pollution, Kurum said they aim to come up with sustainable climate policies, as he warned against geopolitical instabilities, loss of bio-diversity, irregular migration and financial and economic degeneration posing challenges.
The minister continued by saying that Türkiye will aim to ensure sustainability in the next century.
Meanwhile, Abdulkadir Bektaş, the vice-chair of the Climate Change Directorate at the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, noted that the world is heading in a new direction and Türkiye has been taking action to tackle the challenges by making 217 important decisions and finalizing its climate law.
The country has accelerated its steps in the fight against climate change with the ratification of the Paris Agreement in October 2021 when its pledge to be net zero by 2053 was confirmed.
Since then, Türkiye has worked on charting a new road map and has initiated a strategic planning process to support sustainable development, a green economy and green technologies, in line with the goals of the agreement.
The ratification of the Paris Agreement was a key step in Türkiye’s fight against climate change. It was approved by Parliament on Oct. 6, following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's announcement at the U.N. General Assembly.
The Paris Agreement, defined as "a bridge between today's policies and climate-neutrality before the end of the 21st century," seeks to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by stopping global average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels over the next century and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius, if possible.
