Türkiye's hosting and chairmanship of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) continues to be promoted in New York, USA, within the scope of the 81st UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week events.
COP31 Business Forum New York Dialogue Program was organized jointly by COP31 Private Sector Ambassador Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and Bloomberg. COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, who came together with global business leaders at the program held at Bloomberg Headquarters, explained in detail the COP31 Action Agenda he announced at the UN.
“WE OFFICIALLY STARTED THE COP31 ACTION AGENDA AT THE UN”
The opening speeches of the program were made by TOBB President and COP31 Business Forum President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and Bloomberg L.P. and Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Climate and founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Speaking about the COP31 Action Agenda in the program, Minister Kurum said, "We officially launched the COP31 Action Agenda at the United Nations yesterday. Today, we are introducing this agenda to the global business world. We prepared this agenda as a working ground that will accelerate the implementation of climate targets. We are talking about a wide range of application areas, from energy to industry, from cities to food and water security, from Zero Waste to green industrialization with a circular economy approach."
THE COST OF CLIMATE-RELATED DISASTERS TO THE ECONOMY IN THE LAST 10 YEARS IS 2 TRILLION DOLLARS
Stating that the cost of climate-related disasters to the global economy in the last 10 years has exceeded 2 trillion dollars, Minister Kurum noted that the economic loss caused by floods, drought and extreme heat will reach 380 billion dollars in 2023. Minister Kurum underlined that 666 million people in the world do not have access to electricity and 2 billion people are condemned to polluting cooking methods. Pointing out that industry and sea and air transportation constitute 30 percent of global emissions, Minister Kurum noted that the waste sector is the third largest source of anthropogenic methane. Minister Kurum emphasized that the global waste volume is expected to increase by 70 percent by 2050 and stated that the European Union will activate the Borderline Carbon Regulation Mechanism this year as carbon prices differ.
“YET THE BIGGEST THREAT IS AT OUR DOOR, THE CLIMATE CRISIS”
Underlining that the climate issue is not just about economic indicators, Minister Kurum said, "We think we will feel safe by increasing arms expenditures. However, the biggest threat is at our doorstep, the climate crisis. Never forget this: Unless a world is left to live in the future, the states you try to protect and the military investments you make will have no meaning. The real line of defense of the states should be our nature and climate, not the borders. Every penny allocated to defense should also be allocated to the lifeline of this planet. You are at the forefront. The business world in Turkey "The COP31 Business World Embassy and Forum, led by TOBB, will ensure the continuous contribution of the private sector," he said.
6 TOPICS CONCERNING THE BUSINESS WORLD DURING COP31 PROCESS
In his speech, Minister Kurum drew attention to the importance of COP31's 2035 Global Implementation Goals, from electrification to green industrialization, from Zero Waste to the Climate Implementation Bridge, from resilient cities to food security, and shared 6 topics covering the needs of the business world with the participants. Minister Kurum said, "The first is predictability. Long-lasting production facilities and infrastructure investments cannot be planned with a short-term policy perspective. The rules must be clear, stable and predictable throughout the investment horizon.
The second is the carbon price signal. For long-term investment decisions, this signal must be predictable and not create excessive uncertainty between different markets.
Third is the demand for green products. Creating a reliable market is as important as the production of low-carbon products. Public procurement, product standards, verifiable data and long-term purchase agreements can grow this market.
The fourth is financing and risk. Especially in developing markets, high capital costs hinder good projects. Development banks, export credit agencies and concessional financing can reduce risks without replacing private capital. At this point, we expect active participation from all international banks in this process. We all have to take responsibility together.
Fifth, knowledge, capacity and SMEs. "Technical assistance, common methodologies, capacity development and applicable reporting processes are required for SMEs, which have an important place in global supply chains, to participate in the transformation," he said.
Drawing attention to the sixth and last one, 'Data and Verification', Minister Kurum said that in this context, climate change will be a 'playmaker' in all areas. Minister Kurum said, "The investment world needs reliable, standard, independent and comparable data. We are carrying out a strategic cooperation with the OECD within COP31. From now on, it is climate change that will determine the direction of trade. Wherever you can think of, the playmaker in every field should be combating and adapting to climate change. Again, in this sense, data and statistics are important. We will be sharing that data with all sectors based on the OECD's knowledge and past experience. "Reliable data is actually an integral part of the investment infrastructure and we will strive to enlighten investors in this sense," he said.
“WE EXPECT CONCRETE AND MEASURABLE COMMITMENTS FROM YOU”
In his speech, Kurum called on the representatives of the business world and said, "We expect concrete and measurable commitments from you when we go to Antalya. We want commitments with a defined schedule, scope and indicators to be among the strong outcomes of COP31. We want to bring together with investors projects whose feasibility has been studied, whose owner is known and whose financing needs have been identified. We expect the business world to also mobilize its buyer power. Purchase commitments and long-term agreements for green products can pave the way for new production investments. The transformation must extend throughout the supply chain. "We attach importance to the fact that large companies support their SME suppliers in terms of information, methodology, technical capacity and access to finance," he said.
Emphasizing the importance of the working groups that will continue within the scope of the COP31 Business Forum, Minister Kurum said, "You can forward the proposals prepared in the fields of electrification, industrial decarbonization, food and water security, climate finance, SMEs, developing economies, climate technologies and artificial intelligence directly to us, to the Presidency. We will be carrying out these studies in every field with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye. The COP31 Business World and Investment Summit, which we will organize in Antalya on 12 and 13 November, will be the continuation of the work started here. "We want to bring the consultations, finance-ready projects, investment partnerships and concrete commitments in New York to Antalya," he said.
“WE ARE TRANSFORMING THE STRENGTHENING COOPERATION INTO CONCRETE RESULTS IN ANTALYA”
Minister Kurum said, "We launched the COP31 Action Agenda. Today, we are establishing the implementation link of this agenda with the business world in New York. We expect not only your participation in Antalya, but also your project, investment, technological solution, partnership and concrete commitment. We will not measure the success of COP31 simply by the words spoken or the decisions taken. We will see how many of these decisions turn into projects, investments and measurable results in the field. "I believe that we will turn the cooperation we strengthened in New York into concrete results in Antalya," he said.
