Turkey has taken an important step in the fight against the global climate crisis by announcing that it will submit to its Parliament the ratification of the Paris Agreement, before COP26. The announcement came during the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Tuesday.
“Now that Turkey will be part of the Paris Agreement it will be expected, latest by COP26, to revise and increase the pledge it made in 2015 to limit its increase of greenhouse gas emissions. To be in line with the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement, Turkey will need to take more substantial action between now and 2030”, said Özlem Katısöz, Policy Coordinator for Turkey at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe.
Paris ratification is a critical step in the climate action of Turkey. However it is just the first step. Turkey should revise its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) for 2030 as soon as possible and present concrete plans for decarbonization with a just transformation perspective. Turkey’s current INDC foresees a doubling of its emissions by 2030.
“Turkey is one of the countries in the Mediterranean basin that feels the effects of climate change the most. People on the ground saw how forest fires devastated the land on one side of the country, while floods were experienced on the other side during summer. Now it is time for the Turkish Government to take concrete action and put forward a strong pledge to limit temperature rise to 1.5°, as requested by the Paris Agreement,” added Özlem Katısöz.
The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, being currently ratified by 191 countries out of 197. As of now, Turkey is one of six signatory states, and the only G-20 country, that have not ratified the agreement along with Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
Note to editors
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COP26 will run from October 31 to November 12, in Glasgow, The United Kingdom.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speech at 2021 U.N. General Assembly (VIDEO).
Contact:
Cristina Dascalu, communication coordinator, cristina.dascalu@caneurope.org
Özlem Katısöz, policy coordinator for Turkey, ozlem.katisoz@caneurope.org
