President Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan came to Antalya on 10 November for the Leaders Summit of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) on 11-12 November. President Erdoğan welcomed the heads of state and government, one by one, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who came to the Leaders' Summit hosted by him.
First Lady Erdoğan paid close attention and chatted with the leaders and their spouses after the welcome. Later, the COP31 Leaders Summit started with the program where President Erdoğan made a speech.
First Lady Erdoğan hosted the "Global Zero Waste Alliance Leader Spouses High-Level Meeting" within the scope of COP31 on November 11. 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.
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 we, as Turkey, 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 modes of production. The Zero Waste Movement, which we started 9 years ago, is a concrete example of this understanding." he said.
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.
Stating that no country can change the decisions made at home, in production and in politics alone, Erdoğan continued his speech as follows: "The Global Zero Waste Alliance that 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. Zero waste and circular economy, plastic and packaging waste, zero waste zones, food and organic waste, as well as education and youth." "We plan to carry out studies in 5 priority areas. We plan to develop these studies through 3 structures that complement each other."
First Lady Erdoğan attended the "Zero Waste, Circularity and Methane-Leaders' Roundtable Meeting" organized by the COP31 Presidency, the International Energy Agency (UEA) and the UN Zero Waste High-Level Personalities Advisory Board within the scope of the COP31 Leaders Summit.
In her speech at the meeting, First Lady Erdoğan stated that solid municipal waste is expected to double by 2050, reaching approximately 4 billion tons, and said, "If we evaluate this waste load, which is almost impossible to manage, as just an environmental crisis, we would be incompletely addressing the issue. This is actually a crisis of mentality. It is a crisis of culture and civilization at the same time." he said.
Pointing out that nature does not create waste and uses its resources in the most efficient way, First Lady Erdoğan said, "Humanity has received all its inspiration from nature throughout history. What we need to do now is to learn lessons from the school of nature. Only in this way can we achieve our goal of reducing the predicted increase in the amount of global annual municipal solid waste by at least 50 percent by 2035." made his assessment.
Stating that talking about the Zero Waste Movement means talking about life, First Lady Erdoğan said, "What will discourage people from throwing away bread is meeting the idea of blessing again, rather than knowing the statistics of greenhouse gas emissions. Likewise, not throwing the plastic bottle or cigarette butt on the ground is related to seeing nature as a divine trust again." he said.
First Lady Erdoğan hosted the spouses of the heads of state and government who came to Antalya for COP31 for lunch. The dinner was attended by Nilden Bektaş Erhürman, the wife of the President of the TRNC, Mariem Dah, the wife of the President of Mauritania, Valerie Whipps, the wife of the President of Palau, Zubaida Rahman, the wife of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Francine Ntakarutimana, the wife of the Head of Government of Burundi, Philile Dlamini, the wife of the Prime Minister of Eswatini, Veronica Ruala Waletofea, the wife of the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, the Presidency Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina. President's wife Mirela Becirovic, Maldives President's wife Sajidha Mohamed, Libyan State National Unity Government's wife Amina El-Dilawi and her daughter Estabrak Abdulhamid Al Dibeybe, World Bank President's wife Ritu Banga, Malaysia Pahang State's wife Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, Azerbaijani President's daughter Leyla Aliyeva and daughter-in-law Alyona Aliyeva, Pakistan Prime Minister's daughters-in-law Zainab Suleman and Rabiya Akram Khan, Zero Waste Foundation President and COP31 Climate Champion Samed Ağırbaş and ministers' wives attended.
Before the dinner, First Lady Erdoğan visited the "Colors of Anatolia from Nature" exhibition prepared by Olgunlatma Institutes with her guests. Leaders' wives had the opportunity to closely examine Anatolia's natural dyeing knowledge during the exhibition. The exhibition included examples of the combination of colors obtained with natural dye recipes, compiled by maturation institutes from 7 regions of Anatolia, with traditional motifs and local textiles of the same regions.
Anatolian delicacies prepared by chefs Asude Akınlı Boğatır and Bahadır Boğatır were served to the guests at the "Zero Waste" designed table. The leaders' wives, who ate their meals, expressed their admiration for the flavors of Anatolian cuisine.
Natural materials and elements that were repurposed and given different functions were used on the table. The table design translated COP31's sustainability principles into a visual and aesthetic experience. The motifs used in the design were inspired by the traditional flora and botanical heritage of Anatolia.
In line with the Zero Waste approach, cut flowers were not included in the table arrangements, only live plants were used.
First Lady Erdoğan also opened the Zero Waste Museum within the scope of the global climate summit COP31. The spouses of some heads of state and government also attended the opening. First Lady Erdoğan, who opened the museum by cutting the ribbon designed from waste fabric pieces and lace, toured the museum with the leaders' wives and guests. First Lady Erdoğan and her leading spouses examined the areas in the museum where the historical development of zero waste practices, the environmental effects of waste, recycling processes, protection of natural resources and reuse processes were explained.
First Lady Erdoğan also held bilateral meetings within the scope of COP31. Accompanying President Erdoğan in his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, First Lady Erdoğan met with UN Habitat Executive Director Anaclaudia Rossbach, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarık Rahman's wife Zubaida Rahman, Maldives President Muhammed Muizzu's wife Sajidha Mohamed, International Organization for Migration Director-General Amy Pope and UN Development Program Director Alexander De Croo.
Emine Erdoğan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stated that they carried out intense diplomacy at the COP31 Climate Summit in Antalya.
In her post on her social media account, First Lady Erdoğan said: "We carried out an intense diplomacy at the COP31 Climate Summit, which brought together 196 countries and the European Union, 102 leaders and 100 thousand participants, including the heads of state and government of 95 countries from 6 continents and the heads of 7 international organizations, in Antalya. Our sincere wish is that the decisions taken at the summit will protect the abundance of nature and bear the burden of climate change." "It is instrumental in taking steps that enable us to share with justice."
