- 'We must rebuild our relationship with nature on the principles of balance and justice'
Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan, who chairs the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste, called for a shift in consumption habits and stronger international cooperation to address the climate crisis.
“The Zero Waste movement has transformed individuals from helpless observers in the face of the climate crisis into leading actors in the solution,” Erdogan said at the opening event of New York Climate Week.
“It has demonstrated that seemingly small behavioral changes can evolve into a social culture when they become widespread, and into a lasting system when supported by sound policies,” she added.
Emine Erdogan attended the event in New York, alongside Turkish Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Zero Waste Foundation were among the event's main sponsors.
She was welcomed at the venue by Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum, Zero Waste Foundation Chairman Samed Agirbas, Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson, senior board member Emma Cox and other officials.
Beginning her remarks by conveying the Turkish people's greetings and respect, she thanked the organizers for their hospitality.
“Climate change is one of the most visible consequences of the heavy burden that human activities have placed on the Earth,” she said.
“Of course, we know the role of fossil fuels, industrial processes and high emissions in this crisis. But we must also ask ourselves: Are fossil fuels alone responsible for bringing us face to face with such a massive crisis? Is it large-scale industries? Or is it an unlimited demand for consumption that forces all of these to continuously produce more?”
'We must rebuild our relationship with nature on the principles of balance and justice'
Emine Erdogan said climate change was, above all, a result of a transformation in humanity's moral outlook.
“We have established a system that accepts from the outset that everything we produce has a short lifespan and that every object will one day become waste,” she said.
She noted that approximately 9.2 billion tons of plastic had been produced worldwide since the 1950s, with 7 billion tons becoming waste, describing the figures as a clear indication of the costs of this approach.
“Moreover, this burden is not distributed fairly across the planet,” she said. “The environmental costs generated by high levels of consumption are often left on the shoulders of societies that contribute the least to that consumption, vulnerable regions and future generations.”
“We must therefore begin by reducing excess in our habits alongside our waste, changing our mindset alongside our systems, and rebuilding our relationship with nature on the principles of balance and justice,” she added.
Erdogan said the Zero Waste movement emerged from this understanding, describing it as a moral stance that reminds people of limits and responsibilities at a time when consumption and waste have become normalized aspects of daily life.
'Zero Waste is the translation of this sense of stewardship into everyday life'
Erdogan said there was a fundamental difference between viewing nature as an unlimited reservoir of resources and seeing it as something entrusted to humanity.
“Zero Waste is the translation of this sense of stewardship into everyday life,” she said.
She explained that the first steps toward turning this awareness into behavior and ultimately a lasting system were taken in the Turkish presidential complex.
“Zero Waste practices that we launched at the presidential complex in 2017 soon spread to schools, hospitals, municipalities, public institutions and households,” she said.
“Our recovery rate, which stood at 13% at the time, has now surpassed 37%,” she added.
She reiterated that the Zero Waste movement had empowered individuals to become leading actors in addressing the climate crisis.
Erdogan also stressed that the approach would not diminish the responsibilities of governments and companies, but would instead expand and clarify them.
“Building infrastructure that makes it easier for people to make the right choices, designing products to be more durable, repairable and reusable, developing technologies that enable circular production, and establishing international cooperation for these efforts are our shared responsibilities,” she said.
“That is why I consider the journey of the Zero Waste movement from local to global to be extremely valuable,” she added.
'No target will be sufficient on its own; no technology will be a solution on its own'
Erdogan recalled that the Zero Waste resolution Türkiye submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2022 was adopted with broad international support.
She also noted that March 30 had been designated as International Zero Waste Day and that the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste, which she chairs, had been established.
“We attach great importance to ensuring that the Zero Waste approach is addressed as one of the powerful tools of climate action at COP31, which we will host in Türkiye in November,” she said.
Erdogan said the discussion of Zero Waste at the opening of New York Climate Week was a meaningful indication of growing global ownership of the movement and a shared search for solutions.
“While I am delivering this speech, dozens of tons of waste have been generated in New York. The situation is no different in Istanbul or in many cities around the world,” she said.
“One thing is certain: As long as we continue the habits that produce today's problems while discussing the solutions of the future, no target will be sufficient on its own, and no technology will be a solution on its own,” she added.
Erdogan said the true value of the gathering would be determined not by what was said at the event, but by what participants chose to do differently after leaving.
“I hope New York Climate Week will lead to new habits alongside new ideas, and collective action alongside shared responsibilities,” she said.
Following her speech, Erdogan watched a live performance by contemporary marbling artist Garip Ay.
Editors-in-chief of newspapers and television channels, along with numerous other guests, attended the event.
