President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the World Climate Action Summit held as part of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai on December 1.
Upon his arrival at Expo City Dubai, President Erdoğan was welcomed by President Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates and Secretary-General António Guterres of the United Nations.
Taking the floor, President Erdoğan said, “Although our historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions is below 1 percent, we are taking major steps using our own means. We plan to achieve the net zero emission target by 2053. We have also doubled our emissions reduction target for 2030. To this end, we expect to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 66.6 million tons by the year end."
Recalling that Türkiye has increased its share of renewable energy resources in total installed capacity to 55 percent, President Erdoğan added: “This rate places us 5th in Europe and 12th worldwide. We rank 1st in Europe and 4th in the world in geothermal installed capacity. In hydroelectric plant installed capacity, we rank 2nd in Europe and 9th in the world. We have begun to implement our Hydrogen Technologies Strategy and Roadmap and we have completed our decarburization roadmaps for the steel, aluminum, cement, and fertilizer sectors in line with the net zero emissions target. We plan to boost the share of renewable energy to 69 percent by 2053."
On the sidelines during the summit, President Erdoğan met one-on-one with First Minister Humza Yousaf of Scotland, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and President Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates.
Türkiye's pavilion at Dubai Expo City was open to visitors until December 12, providing information on the country's sustainable environmental policies and the Zero Waste Movement led by First Lady Emine Erdoğan.