Minister Kurum Makes Key Statements on Climate Change

Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum: "We have secured EUR 3.157 billion in financing for our country to be used in combating climate change. With this fund, we will support climate-friendly investments in many areas ranging from industry to agriculture, from transportation to energy, from waste to the construction sector, from clean energy to micro-mobility." he said. Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum made statements ahead of the Climate Change and Adaptation Coordination Board Meeting. Stating that serious steps are being taken on the issue of climate change, Minister Murat Kurum noted that climate change is not merely an environmental crisis but a development issue affecting many areas from commerce to transportation, from industry to food, from energy to education. Minister Murat Kurum said that 2021 was indeed a year in which we experienced the adverse effects of climate change very intensely. The fires in Antalya and Muğla, the floods experienced throughout the Eastern Black Sea region, and the lives we lost this year are engraved in our memory as major losses from the climate change disaster. In this sense, each and every member of our nation must urgently make environmental protection and nature conservation a routine part of their daily life. In short, all of us must be conscious and voluntary members of a comprehensive Turkish mobilization effort in combating climate change. Yes, as a country, we bear no historical responsibility for the climate crisis that the world faces. Nevertheless, especially over the last 20 years, we have never shied away from taking responsibility for humanity and our shared world.

Turkey Has Entered a New Phase in Every Aspect

Emphasizing that Turkey is taking serious measures against climate change, Minister Kurum stated, "We are exerting pressure at every platform from local to global levels to ensure that everyone takes responsibility according to their degree of accountability, and we are pursuing an extremely constructive and effective environmental diplomacy. This year marked a turning point in our fight against climate change. First, in February, we prepared a Climate Change Combat Conclusion Statement intended to serve as our roadmap, and we expanded our areas of work as much as possible. The Paris Climate Agreement was unanimously accepted in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. With the goals of net zero emissions by 2053 and Green Development, Turkey has entered an entirely new phase marked by economic, environmental and social transformation. To be able to respond to such important changes that will occur in the coming years; to achieve the highest degree of adaptation to radical developments that will take place in every field; we needed to expand our Ministry's institutional capacity and increase its operational capability as much as possible. In this sense, through an extremely strategic step, our Ministry's name was changed to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change." he said.