Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave the much-anticipated news at the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week that the Turkish Parliament would ratify the Paris climate deal while not making concessions on the climate change efforts it has been pursuing since 2015. Under the deal, Turkey primarily aims to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions by 21% until 2030. Experts say the upcoming ratification showcases Turkey’s commitment to international standards on the climate change struggle and will boost international support for the country.
The country signed the 2015 deal, along with 175 other countries, in 2016, the year it came into force, one year after the international community agreed upon the treaty. However, it stopped short of implementing it, along with other countries like Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen, pointing out that it was included in the list of developed countries party to the treaty. Ankara sees this inclusion as unfair due to Turkey’s status as a developing country, which means it would face a huge financial burden in implementing the climate change commitments stipulated in the deal.
“In line with constructive steps and declarations of contributions, Turkey plans to submit the Paris climate pact to Parliament in October,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the United Nations General Assembly late Tuesday. He had underlined that the world should put its focus on climate change because, beyond being an environmental issue, this problem could lead to irreversible consequences for the Earth.
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