Ege Exporters' Association Backs "Green Deal Action Plan"

The European Union announced the "European Union Green Deal" on 11 December 2019, with the objective of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050. Turkey, whose largest trade and investment partner is the EU, implemented a "Green Deal Action Plan" to adapt to the steps taken by the EU. The Aegean Exporters Associations provided full support to the "Green Deal Action Plan" published in the Official Gazette.

1. Jak Eskinazi, Coordinator President of the Aegean Exporters Associations, noted that mass production initiated with the Industrial Revolution expanded humanity's comfort zone in logistics, technology, many sectors and communication areas, and facilitated human life. He stated that minimizing environmental and economic losses encountered due to pollution from industry and wrong choices has become a necessity.

Green Deal Action Plan will also enhance our competitiveness

Drawing attention to the fact that humanity does not yet have a living space outside Earth, Eskinazi stated: "Humanity has begun to heal the wounds of the Industrial Revolution and seek solutions for a greener world. The first step in this journey came from the European Union. With the European Union Green Deal announced on 11 December 2019, the EU announced to the world its goal of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050. In 2022, we will face the need to pay carbon tax on exports to the EU. We too were obligated to take swift steps on this matter. The 'Green Deal Action Plan', prepared with the support of public and private sector institutions under the coordination of the Ministry of Commerce and published in the Official Gazette on 16 July 2021, will enable us to live in a green world, while at the same time contributing to our competitiveness," he said.

Noting that the climate balance has been disrupted as a result of the changes the world has experienced in industry over the last 200 years, EİB Coordinator President Eskinazi expressed that the EU Green Deal is the largest initiative the European Union has undertaken to date, and has created awareness globally.

Birol Celep, Deputy Coordinator President of the Aegean Exporters Associations, shared information that Turkey's trade volume with the European Union reached USD 140 billion as of the end of 2020. He stated that the Ministry of Commerce's "Green Deal Action Plan" includes carbon regulations at the border, a green and circular economy, green financing, clean, economic and secure energy supply, sustainable agriculture, sustainable smart transport, combating climate change, diplomacy and European Green Deal awareness and consciousness-raising activities. He expressed that under this framework, the Action Plan contains 32 objectives and 81 actions under 9 main headings. Recalling that as the Aegean Exporters Associations they became a member of Global Compact, the world's largest sustainability initiative, in 2019, and declared 2020 as "Sustainability Year," Celep stated: "We do not view the 'Green Deal Action Plan' only as a climate policy. We perceive and support it as an economic and social transformation programme. We consider the work being done for the EU Green Deal a necessity. Among the headings in the 'Green Deal Action Plan', sustainable agriculture is a priority heading for us. Turkey ranks among the world's top 10 countries in agricultural output. We must protect our 24 million hectares of arable agricultural land and plant flora. Our water resources face threats due to global climate change. Within the scope of the Green Deal Action Plan, a national master plan for water reuse and a guide document on water footprint will be prepared. Outside the EU, the United States and China, which pollute the world the most, have also taken action to minimize the damage caused by climate change. By investing in modern irrigation, we must eliminate factors that threaten our future," he said.