Speaking at the COP31 Business Forum, President Erdoğan: The climate crisis is frightening

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the COP31 Business Forum within the scope of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements:

I am very pleased to meet with you in Antalya on the occasion of the COP31 Leaders Summit. Welcome to Antalya, the meeting point of agriculture, history, nature and tourism. We have come together in Antalya to protect the earth, which is our common home. I thank each of you for your support of these efforts. We are fortunate to host the most comprehensive international organization in the history of the Republic of Türkiye.

After the February 6 earthquakes, we revived our earthquake zone by building 455 thousand residences and workplaces in less than three years. At the summit, we had the opportunity to share our experiences in this field with the participants.

We also brought to the agenda the challenges faced by African and Pacific countries that are exposed to the alarming effects of climate change.

I would like to underline this point once again: Developed countries that consume the global carbon budget should assume more responsibility in emission reduction and financing. Developing countries' right to development should be protected, and societies that pay the heaviest price for the climate crisis should be strongly supported. If we act with the understanding that every man is a man by his own leg, the door to much greater troubles and much more devastating disasters will be opened. The climate crisis is frightening.

We hosted 96 leaders at the leaders' summit held yesterday and today at COP31, which started on November 9. We expect 100 thousand people to attend the conference, which will continue until November 20. According to pre-registrations, we are a candidate to be the COP 31 with the highest attendance. Our expo area of ​​1 million 100 thousand square meters, consisting of green and blue zones, is among the largest conference areas ever.

All these figures show that our country has become one of the centers of multilateral diplomacy. The frightening dimensions of the climate crisis require decisive steps to be taken on a global scale. We designed COP 31 as an implementation conference, devoting the first day of the leaders' summit to zero waste and focusing on the themes of resilient cities and sustainable environment on the second day. Türkiye is a country shaken by the February 6 earthquake. After the earthquakes, we revived our earthquake zone by building 455 thousand residences and workplaces in less than three years.

We set our 2053 target as net zero emissions

At the summit, we had the opportunity to share our experiences in this field with the participants. We also brought to the agenda the challenges faced by African and Pacific countries that are exposed to the severe effects of climate change.