Türkiye’s Cemre Foundation steps up role in global climate fight ahead of COP31

By Yeter Ada Seko and Yesim Yuksel

ISTANBUL (AA) — The introduction program of the Cemre Foundation was held in Istanbul on Friday with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The foundation’s honorary president and Justice and Development (AK) Party Samsun Deputy Cigdem Karaaslan told Anadolu Agency that the Cemre Foundation began its activities as a youth movement in 2021, with volunteers taking active roles during forest fires and earthquakes.

Karaaslan said the foundation gained corporate status in July 2025, marking a new phase in its work.

“We have a significant ambition. Our goal is to establish the most advanced and experienced youth network in Türkiye in the field of environment and disasters,” she said.

She added that the foundation aims to engage young people in addressing climate change, an issue that increasingly concerns youth as they feel its direct impact on daily life.

Warning that extreme weather events once considered rare are “unfortunately becoming our new normals,” Karaaslan said frequent urban flooding and destruction underline the need for organized volunteer action.

She said the Cemre Foundation aims to guide volunteers who are willing to take responsibility but lack direction.

-Seagrass protection among projects

Karaaslan said the foundation is carrying out several environmental projects, highlighting a comprehensive seagrass protection initiative supported by Turkish state lender Halkbank, noting the plants’ critical role in oxygen production.

She added that the foundation’s agenda also includes tree planting and search and rescue training, saying Cemre will become more visible through national and international projects in the coming period.

Karaaslan said Türkiye, by hosting COP31, has taken on a leadership role at a time of overlapping global crises, stressing the importance of bringing together key institutions and thinkers.

She said the country is taking concrete steps to translate commitments into action.

“I believe that one of the most important turning points of the COP process to date will be experienced in Türkiye. The most important decisions will be taken here,” she said.

Stressing that climate adaptation requires global solidarity and cannot be overcome by a single nation, Karaaslan said the foundation will contribute as much as possible throughout the COP31 process.

-‘Türkiye’s hosting of COP31 is diplomatic victory’

Furkan Gokgoz, chair of the foundation, said the launch event attended by President Erdogan marked a milestone for Cemre.

Tracing the foundation’s roots to volunteer efforts during the 2021 Kastamonu floods, Gokgoz said its major breakthrough came after the Feb. 6 earthquakes, when more than 10,000 volunteers provided logistical support before the foundation gained legal status in July 2025.

He said climate change is a central pillar of the foundation’s work alongside disaster response.

“When we were children, it was commonly said that ‘these things will happen in 30, 40, 50 years.’ We have now consumed all those timeframes,” he said.

Gokgoz said the foundation will focus on raising awareness from early education to household-level initiatives.

Describing Türkiye’s hosting of COP31 as a diplomatic victory, he pointed to the Zero Waste Movement launched in 2017 by Emine Erdogan, chair of the UN High-Level Advisory Council on Zero Waste, saying it gained strong UN backing by 2023.

He said Cemre Foundation aims to play an active role at COP31, particularly in volunteerism and environmental initiatives.

Writing by Zeynep Ozturhan in Ankara