First Lady Emine Erdoğan warned that humans dump the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks of plastic into the oceans, rivers and lakes, as she addressed “International Zero Waste Day” events at the U.N. Vienna Office and the UNESCO office in Paris initiated by Türkiye's Permanent Representation to the U.N.
Officials from various regions of the world gathered at the office to discuss aspects of zero waste, within the framework of situations and practices across the globe, along with representatives from the EU, Sudan and Brazil.
Türkiye's first lady Emine Erdoğan stressed the importance of the need to combat climate change and environmental degradation, in a video message sent to the event in Vienna.
"Having learned the consequences of climate change and environmental pollution through bitter experiences, we must tackle these challenges while taking concrete steps towards sustainability in the framework of our responsibility to future generations," she said. "Based on these thoughts, I am very pleased that the Zero Waste movement, the seeds of which we have planted in 2017, has turned into a global movement with the Resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly."
Erdoğan underscored the necessity for global action, pointing out alarming statistics such as 7 million annual deaths due to air pollution and a 70% decline in global wildlife populations since 1970, as she highlighted the effects of environmental challenges.
"The Earth endures 2 billion tons (2.2 billion tons) of waste produced by humanity every year," she said.
"Every day, we dump the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks of plastic into the oceans, rivers and lakes. Is our conscience in peace with the fact that a continent-sized island of plastic is floating in the ocean, because of the people in this century? If humanity made real progress, wouldn't this progress turn the world into a more civilized and humane place?" she said.
A presentation on Türkiye's zero waste project was delivered by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.
Ambassador Carl Hallergard, the EU's permanent representative, briefed the audience on the bloc's policies and programs toward achieving zero waste.
Sudanese Ambassador Magdi Ahmed Mofadal Elnour, permanent representative to the UN Office and other international organizations in Vienna, initiated discussions on the intersection of zero waste and food security, while Ambassador Antonio Tabajara De Olivera from Brazil outlined his country's priorities on environmental and climate sustainability during its G20 presidency.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization hosted an event commemorating International Zero Waste Day at its headquarters in Paris.
It was attended by dignitaries including Türkiye's Permanent Representative to UNESCO Gülnur Aybet, Simona-Mirela Miculescu, president of the 42nd session of the General Conference of UNESCO; Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe, chairperson of UNESCO Executive Board and Antonio de Sousa Abreu, director of the ecological and earth sciences division of UNESCO, along with other guests.
Erdoğan also sent a video message to that event where participants signed a Global Zero Waste Declaration led by the Turkish first lady.
The Zero Waste Project, spearheaded in Türkiye by Erdoğan, was jointly developed on an international level last year by Erdoğan and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Guterres urged the world to end waste as he praised Türkiye on international zero waste day.
The declaration of goodwill, initially signed by the first lady and the U.N. chief, has since been endorsed by the spouses of nearly 30 heads of state, including ones from France, South Korea, Paraguay and Cuba.
Launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change under the patronage of Erdoğan, the Zero Waste Project has led Türkiye's fight against climate change. The initiative primarily aims to bring the country in line with sustainable development principles, prevent uncontrolled waste and leave a "cleaner, developed" country to future generations.
The project received awards last year from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the U.N.-Habitat program and was also included in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country report in 2019 as a promising project. Recently, it was honored by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean before the first lady was awarded the Climate and Development Leadership Award for the project by the World Bank.
