World leaders are in Türkiye. COP31 continues with intense diplomatic traffic

COP meetings, which mean "Conference of the Parties" in English, are held every year within the scope of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was accepted in Rio in 1992 and entered into force in 1994 and today has 198 parties.

In this process, where the Kyoto Protocol was previously adopted in 1997 and the Paris Agreement aiming to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees in 2015, two countries are sharing the presidency for the first time at the meeting in Antalya.

While Türkiye, as host and COP31 President, shapes the practical Action Agenda, Australia manages the political and content aspects of the negotiations.

The conference, where Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum is the COP31 President, Deputy Minister Fatma Varank is the COP31 CEO and Australian Minister of Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen is the Chairman of Negotiations, spreads over an area of ​​1 million 100 thousand square meters.

While nearly 100 thousand delegates and observers are expected for official negotiations in the 527 thousand square meter Blue Zone under UN authority, 1.5 million visitors are expected for the 582 thousand square meter Green Zone, which brings together civil society and the business world.

While climate finance, Global Adaptation Goal, carbon markets and Loss and Damage Fund were discussed in the official negotiations, the Institution announced 10 priority agenda items, including Zero Waste, clean energy transformation and Climate Implementation Bridge, with the vision of the "Implementation COP".

While a 10 thousand square meter Zero Waste Museum, COPArt exhibitions and "7 Regions 7 Kitchens" sections were established in the area, 630 low-emission buses and 27 thousand 957 security personnel are on duty.

President Erdoğan's wife, Emine Erdoğan, hosted the "Global Zero Waste Alliance Leader Spouses High-Level Meeting" in Antalya.

Stating that the recovery rate increased from 13 percent to over 37 percent thanks to the Zero Waste Movement launched 9 years ago in Türkiye, First Lady Erdoğan said, "We should measure our success not only by the waste we recover, but also by the waste we prevent from occurring."

Pointing out that the tobacco industry consumes 600 million trees and 22 billion tons of water annually and the textile industry produces 92 million tons of waste, First Lady Erdoğan requested the development of common transparency standards for global companies.

Referring to the wounds caused by wars in nature, First Lady Erdoğan emphasized that 61 million tons of debris have accumulated in Gaza, 97 percent of orchards and olive groves have been destroyed, and stated that even a small part of the global military expenditures, which reached 2.9 trillion dollars, can be allocated to the common problems of humanity.

At the meeting attended by many leaders' spouses, First Lady Erdoğan called on the guests to be active stakeholders of the Global Zero Waste Alliance.