Erdoğan Speaks at UN Climate Summit, Children Complain About 5 Countries, Including Turkey

* Photographs of Erdoğan: Erçin Top / New York - AA

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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech in the Live, Work and Move Green session at the United Nations (UN) Climate Action Summit 2019 in New York, US yesterday evening (September 23).

Speaking about "waste management" in Turkey, President Erdoğan indicated that the use of plastic bags has fallen by three quarters thanks to the legal regulations put into effect in the country.

"Turkey is a leading country in its region in renewable energy use", Erdoğan stated further and added, "Currently, we are meeting more than 30 percent of the electricity through renewable energy."

'Turkey one of few countries with increasing forestland'

Emphasizing that Turkey is one of the few countries of the world that have increased their forestland, Erdoğan said, "One of our 2023 targets is to increase forest areas to 30 percent of the total area".

"In a bid to reduce greenhouse emissions and solve traffic congestion, Turkey is building subway lines and will step up the length of intercity railway system by 50 percent", Erdoğan added.

Underlining that "Turkey will also reduce plastic bag consumption by 75 percent in line with environmental goals", Erdoğan said that the Zero Waste project has been adopted in all cities and institutions.

"We are expanding Zero Waste project in all of Turkey. By 2023, we will have switched to Zero Waste system in nearly 400,000 buildings," he said. "We will increase the recovery rate of recycling from 13 percent to 35 percent".

Turkey is also working on roadmaps to make new buildings carbon neutral by 2030 and existing buildings by 2050, according to Erdoğan.

Efe Baysal: Turkey avoids giving commitment

350 Turkey Campaign Director Efe Baysal has commented on Erdoğan's UN speech in following words:

"While over four million young people across the world including Turkey raise their voices to make governments take concrete steps against climate crisis, that Turkey avoids giving any future commitments at the UN Climate Summit is compatible with the realities of neither today, nor the future.

"If Turkey wants to be a leader country in climate, it should immediately ensure that Paris Agreement is approved by the Parliament and update its currently insufficient Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).

"Within this framework, Turkey should withdraw its support from fossil fuels in its energy policies, primarily its support for coal, and should develop renewable energy policies fit for nature and communities and develop incentive mechanisms in that direction".

Complaint against 5 countries including Turkey

On the other side, 16 children from 12 countries, including 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden Greta Thunberg, have complained to the UN about five countries, namely Turkey, Germany, France, Brazil and Argentina.

Children led by 17-year-old Ayakha Melithafa have underlined in their petition to the UN that these countries "have failed to uphold their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child".

In their petition, the children have detailed how their human rights have been violated.They have indicated that the countries have not used their resources "to prevent the deadly and foreseeable consequences" of the current climate crisis or cooperated effectively with other countries to address the problem. (PT/SD)

* Sources: AA, CNN