Türkiye Calls for Stronger Action on Global Environmental Challenges

(MENAFN) Türkiye’s environment, urbanization, and climate change minister says the world needs to accelerate efforts to address major environmental threats, warning that climate change, biodiversity decline, and land degradation are closely connected.

“Climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation are not separate problems,” Murat Kurum said in a message delivered to the ongoing UN conference on combating desertification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Kurum, who is also serving as president of this year’s UN climate change conference, COP31, points to the growing number of wildfires, the rising threat facing more than one million species, and the deterioration of large areas of the world’s land as evidence that stronger measures are urgently required.

“Forest fires occurring in different parts of the world today, more than 1 million species facing the threat of extinction, and up to 40% of the world’s land being degraded send us a very clear message. We need to take faster and stronger steps,” said Kurum.

He also outlines Türkiye’s work to address desertification and land degradation while presenting key priorities for the country’s upcoming COP31 presidency.

The climate conference is scheduled to take place in Antalya from Nov. 9 to 20, with Türkiye preparing to host international discussions on climate and environmental policy.

Kurum recalls Türkiye’s previous role in global environmental diplomacy, noting that Ankara hosted COP12 in 2015. He says the country contributed to efforts aimed at incorporating the objective of achieving a land degradation-neutral world by 2030 into the international agenda.

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