Director of Communications Burhanettin Duran attended the "From Zero Waste to COP31: Türkiye's Climate Diplomacy" panel held at the Directorate of Communications. Speaking in the program, Duran wished God's mercy to the 4 citizens who lost their lives in the tornado that occurred in Antalya's Kepez district and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. Duran stated that climate problems have a borderless nature and that a huge area such as biodiversity loss, ocean pollution, desertification, water resources issues, global warming, waste management and environmental problems is mentioned.
Emphasizing that all these issues have already gone beyond a scale that can be solved with the national resources of the states, Duran said, "This is exactly why we use the concept of climate diplomacy. The policies of governments will only become meaningful through international negotiation, cooperation and joint commitment mechanisms. Therefore, today, we are also addressing one of the important issues of our foreign policy and national security. The book we have prepared, Climate Diplomacy, has been written to respond to the needs in this field. This work of ours has been written to meet the needs, struggle and vision of our country in the field of climate." "I hope it will contribute to studies and policy development processes in the field." he said.
"SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION IS NOT ENOUGH"
Duran emphasized that the consequences of the climate crisis have already been experienced and said that international policies that maintain a balance between countries' sovereign rights and global responsibilities are needed to solve it.
Pointing out that the need for social justice between countries should not be ignored, Duran said: "Scientific knowledge is not enough. This should also go in a positive way with political decision-making processes. At this point, countries with more responsibility are expected to build a greater capacity in technology transfer and climate finance. When it comes to national interests, we need a fair negotiation regime. This is perhaps one of the most important global issues before COP31. This call for justice is also directly related to our President's call for global justice. As a matter of fact, "Global climate management has already transformed into a multi-level governance that transcends nation states and includes NGOs and multinational companies."
Reminding that political scientist Joseph Nye defined climate change as "a security threat multiplier" rather than an ecological crisis, Duran said, "We are not talking about technical issues that are subject to expertise here. We are talking about a governance process directly related to global justice and equity." he said.
"ISRAEL'S ILLEGAL ATTACKS ON GAZA DEEPEN THE CLIMATE CRISIS"
Pointing out that conflicts occurring in different geographies have extremely negative effects on the environment and climate conditions, Duran said, "Israel's unlawful attacks on Gaza, in addition to threatening human life, also deepen the climate crisis with intense greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. It has been stated that the carbon emissions caused by Israel's attacks since October 7 exceed the annual carbon emissions of hundreds of countries. This situation indicates that Israel's attacks on Gaza are not only for regional peace and security, but also for the global climate and our future." It shows that it poses a serious threat to the he said.
Director of Communications Duran stated that Türkiye has adopted a holistic approach in the fight against climate change and said: "We approved the Paris Agreement in 2021. Our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's '2053 Net Zero Emission' target shows our determination in the fight against the climate crisis. In line with these targets, increasing energy efficiency, disseminating renewable energy resources, reducing the carbon footprint in industry, developing sustainable agricultural practices and protecting natural areas are among our priority policy areas. Dear Mr. The 'Zero Waste' movement, carried out under the auspices and leadership of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, makes significant contributions to the climate struggle. The declaration of March 30 as 'International Zero Waste Day' by the United Nations General Assembly with the support of 105 countries under the leadership of Türkiye reflects our country's success in this field. It gives strength.”
"PLAYING POLITICS THROUGH SOCIAL VRAILITIES WILL NOT CARRY US TO THE FUTURE"
Pointing out that efforts in the field of climate should be secured by legal texts, Duran warned that if what is done in this field is not well explained to the society, it may become open to disinformation and social resistance. Duran stated that the necessary responses to disinformation were given meticulously and said, "My personal opinion is that doing politics through social vulnerabilities will not carry us to the future." he said.
Stating that, as the Directorate of Communications, they have been fighting against disinformation for a long time, Duran continued: "We are no strangers to this situation. Our Center for Combating Disinformation within the Directorate of Communications follows this idea not only on the climate issue, but on many issues. In almost every issue, we are faced with campaigns that create myths independent of the essence of the subject and scratch the basic concerns of the society through these myths. We observe that one end of these campaigns is outside in every issue. While this is the case, building a narrative bridge between the law and society We have to. Climate communication has been carried out in a one-way manner by scientists and environmental organizations for many years. However, a discourse focusing on disasters caused by climate changes and the threats awaiting our world increases the level of anxiety of societies. The scientific information presented can fall victim to the manipulation of 50-second facts. Of course, our media has a lot of work to do. Repeating similar issues with similar jargon and talking about negativities rather than solutions increases the level of anxiety of societies. can create."
"WE ENVISION A MULTI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY SPREAD OVER TIME"
Pointing out that the climate issue is a long-term issue that concerns future generations more than the current generation, Duran said, "For this reason, as the Director of Communications, I would like to point out that we need to use a language that builds our future with hope in all media. We envisage a multi-faceted and time-spanning communication strategy in climate communication. Our children receive age-appropriate education in every classroom, starting with not throwing garbage and protecting nature in kindergarten. Climate awareness should be spread through an educational process supported by experiments, trips, children's books and stories." he said.
Stating that TRT has made a great contribution to Türkiye's policies on this issue with its understanding of environment and climate-sensitive broadcasting, Duran said: "In order to contribute to our Ministry's 'Zero Waste' project, a special content project titled 'Zero Waste Ambassadors' is broadcast on TRT Children's screens. Again, on the same channel, we instill environmental awareness in an appropriate and entertaining language for children in our productions such as 'Captain Pengu and His Friends' and 'Amber and Beads'. Our Anadolu Agency also provides publicly accessible broadcasting on the environment and climate with the 'Greenline' project it implemented in 2022. In order to raise awareness about forest fires, it has signed the 'Joint Declaration on Mediterranean Forest Fires' with the news agencies of Italy, Spain and Greece. All our public institutions and organizations should be pioneers, especially in zero waste.
Duran stated that if environmental and climate awareness does not correspond to a "lifestyle", it will remain just "expert opinions" flowing like a river, and added: "Climate communication should point to an attention that spreads throughout our daily lives, from home heating to vehicle use, from our consumption habits to our packaging and waste." he said.
"WE BELIEVE THAT COP31 WILL BRING COUNTRIES TOGETHER AROUND COMMON SOLUTIONS"
Director of Communications Burhanettin Duran, regarding the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Antalya, said: "COP31, which will be held in Antalya on 9-20 November, is an important opportunity for our country to share its vision in the field of climate diplomacy with the international community. Türkiye's COP31 vision is based on re-establishing security through dialogue and turning commitments into concrete results on the field. With the understanding of the COP of the future Our goal is to contribute to the transformation of promises on climate into measurable and permanent practices. Our goal is to accelerate the implementation of international commitments, improve cooperation between countries and support climate action to produce concrete results. As the Directorate of Communications, we are organizing Environment and Climate Media Tours. We are accrediting the national and international media members who will attend COP31. The procedures for 1400 of the approximately 3 thousand press members have been completed. "We also contribute to the work on the planning and establishment of the media center where it will operate. We believe that this summit, which will be hosted by our country, will bring together countries with different conditions and priorities around common solutions."
Director of Communications Duran wished COP31 to be beneficial for Türkiye.
