First Lady Erdoğan: Achieving a higher quality of life with fewer resources should be at the center of our understanding of development

Hosted by First Lady Erdoğan, the "Global Zero Waste Alliance Leader Spouses High-Level Meeting" was held in Antalya within the scope of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, First Lady Erdoğan stated that she was very happy to host the participants in Türkiye on the occasion of COP31 and said that they were together with more than 100 thousand participants and over 100 leaders from 195 countries to shape the common future of humanity.

Stating that such a wide participation shows the strength of common will, as well as reminding us of the magnitude of the responsibility they undertake, Erdoğan said, "We have been talking about temperature increase, drought, forest loss at climate summits for decades, and listening to the warnings of scientists. These efforts have undoubtedly created a global awareness. However, we are now in a period where we need to go beyond the reports, warnings and targets that reveal the dimensions of the climate crisis. Because the value of information is measured by the decisions we can turn it into." he said.

Emphasizing that the real issue is not not knowing what to do, but showing the will to implement what is known, First Lady Erdoğan said:

"This is why, as Turkey, we define COP31 as an action COP. We want to measure success not only with the commitments made, but also with the change they create in people's lives, our cities and our production methods. The Zero Waste Movement, which we started 9 years ago, is a concrete example of this understanding. The awareness that started in homes has today turned into a system that extends from schools to municipalities, from public institutions to factories. In this process, our country's recovery rate increased from 13 percent to over 37 percent. More importantly, people of all ages "A sense of responsibility has developed that finds its response in people's daily lives."

Stating that the most important lesson they learned in this process was that they learned that waste starts in the decision, not in the trash can, First Lady Erdoğan said that whether a product is really necessary, how it is produced and how much it is used determines the waste that will be generated.

First Lady Erdoğan reminded that for years, producing more, developing and consuming more were considered indicators of prosperity, and then stated that recycling waste was considered success.

Stating that recycling is valuable, but even the best-managed waste requires land, water, energy and labor in its production, Erdoğan said, "We should measure our success not only by the waste we recover, but also by the waste we prevent from occurring. Achieving a higher quality of life with fewer resources should be at the center of our understanding of development." he said.

“If waste starts with the decision, we have to ask the question, who makes these decisions?” Erdogan said and continued:

"A significant part of the pressure on our natural resources arises from global production and consumption models. We talk about the health hazards of tobacco. However, according to the World Health Organization, the tobacco industry causes the loss of 600 million trees and 22 billion tons of water consumption every year. Similarly, in a world where the fashion and textile industry produces 92 million tons of waste annually, we cannot explain the increasingly shortened lifespan of products solely by the preferences of consumers. In the digital world, in addition to business models that tend to keep us in front of the screen for longer, the growing infrastructure requires energy consumption." "And we must question the need for water."

First Lady Erdoğan pointed out that artificial intelligence offers great opportunities to reduce waste, make production efficient and find new solutions to environmental problems, and said:

"But we cannot evaluate technological progress separately from its environmental costs. We cannot build the technologies of the future on the wasteful habits of the past. The price of a company's economic gain should not be the depleted water resources or polluted soil of another society. For this reason, we must develop common standards that make the resource use of large companies transparent, open their environmental impacts to independent evaluation and strengthen accountability. The responsibility of companies operating on a global scale should also be global."

Stating that the decisions that determine the future of nature are not limited to production and consumption, Erdoğan reminded that war, one of the most severe decisions of humanity, has caused wounds on nature that last for generations, and this is seen everywhere where the conflict continues, from Ukraine to Sudan.

Stating that 61 million tons of debris have accumulated in Gaza, where the most severe damage occurred, according to the United Nations Environment Program, Erdoğan pointed out that 97 percent of the orchards and olive groves were destroyed and most of the remaining fresh water resources were polluted.

Pointing out that the recovery from this destruction may take generations, Erdoğan said, "While world military expenditures have reached a historical record level of 2.9 trillion dollars, let's think for a moment about what is possible when even a small portion of these resources are allocated to the common problems of humanity. Destroyed cities can be reconstructed, barren geographies can be revived, and peace can be the climate of all continents." he said.

Stating that no country alone can change the decisions made at home, in production and in politics, Erdoğan continued his speech as follows:

"The Global Zero Waste Alliance, which we are introducing today, is an expression of our will to transform this common responsibility into permanent collaborations. With our alliance, we aim to create a strong cooperation basis where countries learn successful practices from each other, develop joint projects and disseminate local solutions on a global scale. We foresee working in 5 priority areas: zero waste and circular economy, plastic and packaging waste, zero waste regions, food and organic waste, education and youth. We plan to develop these works through 3 structures that complement each other."

Stating that they will discuss common priorities and solution suggestions at the Zero Waste Forum held every year, Erdoğan stated that they will contribute to the transformation of these suggestions into concrete projects and implementation partnerships through the Istanbul Platform.

First Lady Erdoğan stated that with the Global Zero Waste Alliance, they will encourage these studies to reach wider geographies and establish new collaborations between countries, and said, "Thus, we aim to bring together international organizations, local governments, academia, private sector and civil society around common goals. The solution of these problems is not possible with the efforts of a single country, we must bring together our knowledge, opportunities and experiences." he said.

Pointing out that each leader's spouse here today has a sphere of influence that can make significant contributions to this transformation, Erdoğan stated that leader spouses can reach different segments of society and bring together public institutions, civil society and the business world around common goals.

First Lady Erdoğan pointed out that the support given to a small local initiative can be the beginning of a much broader change, and therefore invited the spouses of leaders to become active stakeholders of the Global Zero Waste Alliance and to bring their countries' experiences and successful practices to this joint work.

Stating that they wish to establish new collaborations, develop joint projects and demonstrate their progress with concrete results after this meeting, Erdoğan called on the spouses of the leaders to take with them the joint work they have initiated together, as well as a new list of commitments, to their countries when they leave Antalya.

Thanking the leaders' spouses for their participation and sensitivity to the common future, Erdoğan wished that the Global Zero Waste Alliance would be beneficial for the countries and all humanity.

After Emine Erdoğan, the wife of the President of Brazil, Janja Lula da Silva, the wife of the President of Uzbekistan, Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, the wife of the President of Micronesia, Ancelly Simina, the wife of the President of the Maldives, Sajidha Mohamed, the wife of the President of Mozambique, Gueta Selemane Chapo, the wife of the President of the TRNC, Nilden Bektaş Erhürman, the wife of the President of Burundi, Francine Ntakarutimana, the wife of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Zubaida Rahman, Pakistani Prime Minister's daughter-in-law Zainab Suleman, UN Development Program Administrator Alexander De Croo and UN Habitat Executive Director Ancaludia Rossbach also made speeches.