Burcu Calik Gocumlu
02 December 2023•Update: 02 December 2023
DUBAI
Humans must stop seeing nature as an enemy and re-establish a bond with it, Türkiye's first lady said on Friday as she called for a fair climate action plan.
"We see that countries that have never lost their relationship with the land are also faced with crises for which they are not responsible.
"It is inevitable to implement a fair climate action plan to convince Africa, Asia and Latin America to join the universal struggle," Emine Erdogan said at the Climate Talks for a Green Future program in Dubai.
Erdogan emphasized that she found it meaningful to seek solutions to environmental problems by gathering in different geographies.
About the Türkiye's zero-waste initiative, she said the project is a movement rising on the shoulders of volunteers.
In 2017, under the auspices of the first lady, Türkiye launched a zero-waste project to highlight the importance of eliminating waste in fighting the climate crisis.
The project has drawn international praise, with UN chief Antonio Guterres expressing gratitude to Erdogan during a conference in New York last September.
Last December, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on the zero-waste initiative presented by Türkiye, declaring March 30 as International Day of Zero Waste.
"As our project was adopted throughout the country, it was possible to increase the recycling rate from 13% to 30% and bring $3.5 billion into the economy," said Erdogan, adding that Türkiye has prevented 4.9 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
For the sake of future generations, Erdogan said it is essential for people, especially developed countries, to give up individualism and to protect the world together.
"I wholeheartedly believe that as the number of active climate volunteers increases around the world, we will make our voices heard more and our concrete gains will increase," she said.
Turning to the children who have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli attacks, Erdogan said: "I would like to express that we have no right to leave a world tainted with genocide to future generations.
"While a child is murdered every 10 minutes in Gaza, can our call for intergenerational justice find a response in conscience?"
A world where international law and human values apply to all humanity, regardless of religion, language, race or ethnicity, will be truly worth saving, she added.
* Writing by Diyar Guldogan from Washington
