Türkiye to host UN biodiversity conference in 2024

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye will host the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in 2024, the country’s president said on Thursday.

"Global solidarity is the solution to tackling the triple planetary crisis called climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his address to the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate.

Erdogan said floods occurred in the Feb. 6 earthquakes zone in Türkiye, which once again reminds of the destructive effects of climate change.

The president said that a new law on climate change will soon be approved at Türkiye’s parliament. “We not only focus on reducing carbon emissions but also continue to work on other greenhouse gases that cause global warming,” he added.

"We will have prepared our National Strategy Paper by 2024 for the gradual reduction of hydrofluorocarbon emissions,” the president said.

He also mentioned his wife Emine Erdogan’s Zero Waste initiative, which aims to increase awareness on climate change and its impacts.

Erdogan thanked participants for their support on declaration of March 30 as International Day of Zero Waste in a landmark resolution presented by Türkiye along with 105 other countries at the UN General Assembly on Dec. 15, 2022.