COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum answered questions regarding the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Antalya on NTV live broadcast.
Kurum wished God's mercy to those who lost their lives in the explosion at the iron and steel factory in Izmir's Aliağa district and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, and said that all relevant units of the state continue their work for the injured.
Minister Kurum, on the question regarding the message that Türkiye will give to the world from Antalya within the scope of COP31, pointed out that decisions were taken in the meetings so far, but there were problems in the implementation of these decisions.
Pointing out that the effects of climate change are now being felt more in many parts of the world, Kurum said:
"In this context, we think that the word is over. 'We are at point zero. Now the talk is over, let's take action.' we say. We do not want a new commitment. Whether countries have made a financing commitment of 300 billion dollars for climate finance or whether the private sector has made 1 trillion dollars, we want these commitments to be realized. We want to have a COP in Antalya where these commitments are realized and put into practice. That's why we named it 'application COP'. Every country is now saying, 'Let's put it into practice, let's get results, let's get results.' He uses the expressions frequently. If we want to change things in the current world, we need to implement. "We will do this with Türkiye's experience and knowledge."
"IT WILL BE THE BOP WITH THE HIGHEST PARTICIPATION"
Stating that the Leaders' Summit, which will be held with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is expected to be the Summit with the highest participation in the history of the COP, Kurum said that 102 leaders and leader-level heads of state and government and 330 ministers reported participation in the program.
Stating that they expect more than 100 thousand visitors, the institution said, "22 thousand participants entered the Blue Zone today. When you look at it in this respect, it seems that it will be a COP with the highest participation in recent times." he said.
"WE DID NOT INVITE THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT"
When asked whether Israel would participate in COP31, the Institution gave the following answer:
"Within the scope of the organization, the host country invites the leaders. Turkey does it. We did not invite the Israeli government to the leaders' meeting. Apart from this, every country has the right to participate here at the United Nations to present negotiations, opinions, statements and projects. Therefore, in the organizations organized by the UN, invitations are issued to all countries of the world. As the host country of the leaders' summit, we did not send an invitation to Israel. Of course, we will talk about the climate here, we will talk about climate justice. We say, 'There can be no climate justice in a place where peace does not prevail.' Therefore, this meeting will not change Türkiye's view and attitude towards the Israeli state and government.
We will not remain silent about the genocide committed here in Gaza. Here we named the largest hall Gaza. So we have a conference hall with a capacity of 6 thousand 250 people, it is the Gaza hall. There will be art exhibitions depicting the genocide in Gaza with Gazan children. There will also be works by Palestinian artists depicting the drama, war, injustice and genocide there. Therefore, our political view there is clear and this stance will continue during the conference process."
"JOINT CALL WITH PREVIOUS COP PRESIDENTS"
When asked about the meeting to be held tomorrow with the participation of the previous COP presidents, the institution said that they decided to make a joint call together with the previous COP presidents.
Minister Kurum said, "Together, they will come out as the presidents of the countries that have served as COP presidents so far and express that they will support Türkiye's stance, the projects, targets and action agenda it has put forward. This is also very meaningful. Making this statement on behalf of all the countries of the world will enable us to get up stronger from here, at the table, and most importantly, get results." he said.
