The first edition of the Environment Forum, an event organized by Anadolu Agency (AA), opened in Istanbul on Thursday. As nature suffers from the drawbacks of industrialization and technological developments, "timely and adequate action" needs to be taken to prevent environmental problems, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech at the forum.

"Industrialization, technological advances and human-driven effects have unfortunately wreaked serious damage to nature and the environment. Every year, we see and feel the effects of this destruction more and more all over the world. If timely and adequate action is not undertaken, environmental disasters, air pollution, water and food security, and biodiversity loss will reach irreversible levels," Erdoğan said in a video message to the forum.

The Environment Forum, held under the theme of "Reshaping the Narrative of Environmental and Climate Crises," seeks to raise awareness of the climate crisis and other environmental issues. Along with the president, first lady Emine Erdoğan, who champions environmental causes including the landmark Zero Waste Project, are attending the event. Other dignitaries include Vice President Fuat Oktay, the Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum. U.N. Development Program (UNDP) Türkiye Resident Representative Louisa Vinton, and Ovais Sarmad, the deputy executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are also scheduled to address the event. Among the forum's international participants are Portugal's former Minister of Europe Bruno Macaes, CEO and General Director of Italian news agency ANSA Stefano De Alessandri, global climate and environment news editor at Associated Press (AP) Peter Prengaman, and Arturo Larena, the climate director of Spain's EFE Agency.

The forum, with the participation of representatives of many local and foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations, politicians, academics and journalists, features sessions on Clean Energy for Sustainable Development, The Media's Approach to Natural Disasters and Climate Crisis, and Responsibility Sharing, as well as issues such as climate change, energy, the media's view of climate change and environmental education.

The event aims to tackle issues such as the need to create a new media language on environmental and climate issues, international news agencies raising global awareness, the duties of traditional and new media outlets, and the pursuit of environmental awareness in new news areas. "We aim to redefine the relationship between media and environment by creating a medium for environmental experts to voice their opinions and discuss solutions," according to the forum's website.

"Undoubtedly, as with any other issue, it is crucial that countries that cause more damage to the environment shoulder greater responsibility and contribute more to the struggle," Erdoğan said in his speech. "From the media's responsibility in the climate crisis to sustainable development, to the media's approach to natural disasters to responsibility sharing, each of these important issues will be discussed comprehensively at this forum," he added. The forum, Erdoğan said, will be one of the most important global platforms where climate and environmental issues are discussed thoroughly.

Erdoğan said Türkiye has always considered the fight against climate change and environmental problems as one of its main concerns, and it has taken steps over the last two decades to protect nature and the environment, and to combat climate change. "We believe that protecting the environment, which is the shared living area of all people, is not a favor, but a responsibility. Although our historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions is less than 1%, combating climate and environmental problems is one of our top priorities," he added.

Reaping the benefits

Türkiye has reaped the benefits of sincere efforts in promoting renewable energy, waste management, forest expansion and numerous other areas. "In the use of renewable energy, Türkiye recently rose to fifth place in Europe and 12th in the world. We achieved this by increasing the share of renewable energy to 55% of our total energy," he outlined. Türkiye also increased its forested areas to 23 million hectares (56.8 million acres), while becoming the country in Europe that expanded its forestland the most. "Our efforts to establish 81 million square meters of national gardens in 81 provinces continue unabated. While designing our country's first domestic car, the Togg, as a fully electric vehicle, we were conscientious of our environmental responsibilities," Erdoğan explained.

He added that ratifying the Paris Climate Agreement in 2021 gave Türkiye's fight against climate change significant momentum, saying: "We will continue to take all necessary steps to achieve our ultimate goal of net zero emissions by 2053."

In a keynote speech, AA's director-general and chairperson Serdar Karagöz said, "We face a collective enemy that affects us all regardless of our difference: the environment and climate crisis," and added, "It is not a likely problem that will affect our future, indeed, it is deeply affecting our time. As journalists, we cannot stay far away from this matter. ‘Reshaping the Narrative of Environmental and Climate Crises' is not an option for us, it is our responsibility. So, how do we reshape this narrative?"

Noting that AA has been dealing with these questions for a long time, Karagöz said: "After long-lasting discussions, we recently founded Greenline, one of the most comprehensive media platforms narrating environment and climate issues. Our main goal is 'remaining responsive' to the world, while nature and the environment are getting destroyed. The Greenline platform reports on climate change, the green economy, zero waste and environmental stories from all aspects." Pointing out that climate journalism should be of greater importance to all media outlets all over the world, Karagöz said, "As journalists, we not only inform, but also transform the public by revealing human-made disasters behind this crisis."

"From forest fires in Europe to the disappearance of rainforests in the Amazon, we tell the world the tragedy of climate disaster with the Greenline platform," he added. "However, we tell not only the tragedy, but also share the stories giving us hope."

Karagöz also highlighted that the Environment Forum would become "an excellent focal point to discuss both human-made disasters and hope behind this crisis from the media perspective." "Journalists, experts, and decision-makers, gathered at the Environment Forum today, will debate on a new narrative on the environment and climate change," he said. "The forum participants' profiles remind us that these issues concern all of us. From Zimbabwe to Spain, Somalia to Albania, from Norway to Italy, we all came together with the same concern," he noted. "We hope that the Environment Forum will be a milestone in the steps taken against the climate crisis. We hope that it will contribute to a more livable world." Karagöz also noted: "I would like to remind you again that as Anadolu Agency, we do not question the need for action. We do inspire, we do act, we do change. We say 'a word for a better world.'"

Positive change

Lauding the mission statement of the forum "reshaping the narrative" on environment, UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative Louisa Vinton said the participation of the country's top officials in the forum "is vital to effective action on climate change at the national level." Vinton said this shows "the potential" of Türkiye "to serve as a leader globally ... for positive change" in climate action. Expressing the urgency of "getting away from horror movie style coverage of climate (issues)," the U.N. official called on media to cover climate change "in a way that doesn't inspire fear and paralysis, but rather a kind of solutions-(based) journalism, where policymakers and the public alike can see a path of actions where there is an impact toward a shared goal of protecting the planet." Noting the challenges in motivating people toward the goal of protecting the planet, Vinton said the community is grappling with "how to spur action ... how to raise awareness, without creating a threat." Strongly suggesting replacing fossil fuels with renewables, the U.N. official said, "We need to respect nature," calling for a united approach at all levels of the government on climate action and adding that there was "no need to panic." Vinton said the world was at a stage "where we need to act to minimize that (climate) change and try to reverse (it in) future," adding: "We are moving into something very, very scary," she said, warning of a "suicidal war against nature." Calling on governments to stand on the right side of history, the U.N. official said this is where "the media narrative has a crucial role to play." Vinton also noted that the climate change action was a "decisive moment" for Türkiye.

Expressing support to Türkiye on behalf of the U.N. and UNDP, Vinton called ratification of the Paris Agreement by Ankara last year as "one of the greatest and visionary decisions." Praising Türkiye's aim to be a leader in the green revolution, she said: "It's a very, very important step." She said the UNDP office was working closely with Türkiye's Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, along with other parts of the Turkish government. The UNDP is helping prepare long-term strategies and action plans on Climate Change action of Türkiye, said Vinton, suggesting the use of solar power and wind-based electricity as a solution. Besides bringing in the technology in the climate change action, Vinton said lack of resources was also a challenge, calling for the creation of a "financing mechanism so that every family in the forest, village can afford to put a solar panel on the roof and generate power not just for households, but also (for) income." Referring to narrative building on alternate resources of energy production, Vinton said: "People tend to assume that the more radical the change, the more expensive it becomes. But, she said, "this is not the way to think about it." "This is a story that needs to be told that there are solutions ... that investing in climate action is not just environmentally sound (but it) makes good economic sense," she added.

Ovais Sarmad, the deputy executive secretary of the UNFCCC, said it was important to understand "what we are up against and what can be done" with regard to climate change action. "Climate change takes on us no matter whether we are rich or poor," he said, referring to the displacement caused by climate change with the recent example from Pakistan. "So, events like this are coming in. It doesn't really take long," Sarmad said, adding that there is a "fatigue of doom and gloom" in the media.

Lauding the forum, the U.N. official said the event was "important because we need to change habits because there are a lot of opportunities and positive aspects of climate change." Sarmad said scientists are working on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report to know "why it is happening and what can be done to prevent the changes." The U.N. official also said there was "still time to reverse this (climate change) impact that we are experiencing."

Urging reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, he said it was "very clear how that needs to be done." "It comes down to each one of these governments, civil society ... We all need to take actions in our way," Sarmad said. Calling for "championship" among the tourism stakeholders from the government in the private sector to "boost efficiency and investing in renewables," he called for improving passenger transportation and increasing the infrastructure for electric vehicles."

"Investment in transformational accommodations creates jobs and stronger, more resilient economies," he noted. Urging companies in adopting environment-friendly approaches, the U.N. official said the role of news agencies like AA is "extremely important and Turkiye is a great example of what nations can do." Sarmad said that since the ratification of the Paris Agreement by Türkiye in 2021, "The (Turkish) government has announced a series of policies on (carbon) neutrality by 2053." Stressing the planning and positive narrative on climate change action, he said there were "so many solutions and innovations" and the U.N.'s main role "is to support the governance of parties or negotiations as well implementation of the decisions, essentially the Paris Agreement." "In climate change, the narrative is very clear. There is mitigation and adaptation (planning) in the U.N. as a whole," he said. Emphasizing "reshaping the narrative" and educating people on climate change at national levels through public broadcasters, Sarmad expressed support for the initiative taken by AA.