Türkiye’s first lady and chair of the U.N. Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, Emine Erdoğan (AA Photo)
In her dual role as Türkiye’s first lady and chair of the U.N. Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, Emine Erdoğan has highlighted the urgent threat of the global environmental crisis in a video message delivered at the opening of the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Meetings in New York.
“Our planet resembles a ravaged mine, the oceans cannot breathe and cities are struggling to cope with their waste. Therefore, a circular economy is not one of the options before us; it is a necessity for our future,” she said in the video on Sept. 23
Expressing her regret for missing the gathering, the first lady warned that current production and consumption models cannot sustain humanity in the long run.
Erdoğan noted that achieving a transition to a circular economy means strengthening sustainable development, expanding recycling, improving waste management and turning toward renewable energy sources.
“We see zero waste as a key to achieving all of this. Because zero waste is not merely a waste-management approach that individuals incorporate into their daily lives. Zero waste means redesigning our production and consumption models and redefining our relationship with nature,” she said, stressing the need for new economic models to transform the entire system from production to consumption.
She urged establishing “an order in which people who adopt zero waste in their lives are supported by the right systems.”
The first lady noted that the world still has a window of opportunity to combat the climate crisis and build a sustainable future.
“I believe that Zero Waste, which we launched in Türkiye in 2017 and which has now become a global movement, is a transformative force in making the most of this opportunity,” she said.
“With the right steps we take together, I hope we can make a new beginning — one in which we protect our resources rather than consume them and create value instead of waste,” she added.
