Turkish first lady launches global zero waste initiative at COP31 Climate Change Conference

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and chair of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, said the Global Zero Waste Alliance represents a commitment to turning shared responsibility into lasting cooperation.

The High-Level Meeting of First Ladies of the Global Zero Waste Alliance was held in Antalya, Türkiye, hosted by Emine Erdogan as part of the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference.

Addressing the opening session, Erdogan said she was pleased to welcome participants to Türkiye for COP31, bringing together more than 100,000 participants from 195 countries, including more than 100 world leaders, to help shape humanity's shared future.

She said the scale of participation demonstrated both the strength of collective commitment and the magnitude of the responsibility they had undertaken.

"For decades, we have discussed rising temperatures, drought and forest loss at climate summits, listening to warnings from scientists. These efforts have undoubtedly helped build global awareness.

"However, we have now reached a point where we must move beyond reports, warnings and targets that outline the scale of the climate crisis. The value of knowledge is also measured by the decisions we can turn it into," she said.

Emphasizing that the main challenge was not a lack of knowledge about what needed to be done but the determination to put that knowledge into practice, Erdogan said Türkiye's decision to describe COP31 as an "Action COP" reflected this approach.

"We want to measure success not only by the commitments made, but also by the changes they bring to people's lives, our cities and our production methods. The Zero Waste Movement, which we launched nine years ago, is a concrete example of this approach.

"Awareness that began in households has now evolved into a system extending from schools and municipalities to public institutions and factories. During this process, Türkiye's recycling rate rose from 13% to more than 37%.

"More importantly, a sense of responsibility has developed among people of all ages and become part of their daily lives," she said.

Erdogan said one of the most important lessons learned during this process was that waste begins not in the trash bin but in the decisions made before products are consumed.

Whether a product is truly necessary, how it is manufactured and how long it is used all determine the amount of waste generated.