Emine Erdoğan calls for sustainable consumption and circular economy

Emine Erdoğan, wife of the Turkish President, has called for a global shift away from single-use consumption toward a culture of sustainability focused on durable, long-lasting goods. Speaking at an International Energy Agency high-level dialogue on energy transition at the United Nations, she emphasized that discussions regarding energy should move beyond merely increasing clean energy production to questioning the fundamental need for increased energy consumption.

Erdoğan highlighted the importance of the circular economy, noting that production processes should be designed to avoid waste entirely or repurpose waste as raw materials. She shared that Turkey aims to increase its solar and wind energy capacity to 120,000 megawatts by 2035, currently ranking fifth in Europe and eleventh globally in installed renewable energy capacity.

The Zero Waste Project, launched by Erdoğan in 2017, aims to reach a 60 percent recycling rate by 2030. Turkey intends to further promote this initiative during the COP31 climate conference. Notably, a UN resolution regarding the project, supported by 105 countries, established March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste.