President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented the book "Türkiye's Zero Waste Journey for a Livable World" prepared by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications to the heads of state and leaders at the G-20 Leaders' Summit in India.
With the presentation of the book, Erdoğan emphasized the importance of global solidarity in order to be successful in the fight against the "triple planet crises" comprising of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution, and said: "However, international solidarity is gradually eroding, and cooperation is being replaced by self-centered approaches. All of humanity, especially the disadvantaged countries in Africa and Asia, are paying the price. Compared to developed countries, our country has almost no share in the problems cited as the causes of climate change and pollution. Despite this, as Türkiye, we both fulfill our own obligations and support the work carried out at the global level on this vital issue that concerns the common future of our world and humanity."
Pointing out that Türkiye made the most important contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement with its 2053 Net Zero Emission and Green Development targets, Erdoğan continued: "With this understanding, we launched hopeful initiatives for both our country and humanity with the 'Green Development Revolution and 2053 Net Zero Emission' targets. The Zero Waste Project, implemented under the leadership of my wife Emine Erdoğan, was a turning point in this process. Our project, carried out with the motto of 'The World is Our Common Home', was appreciated by the whole world, and was deemed worthy of a total of five international awards, three of which were from United Nations offices and programs."
With the U.N. General Assembly resolution 77/161 adopted by Türkiye's efforts, the Zero Waste Project has turned into a global movement, and with this decision, the International Zero Waste Day is celebrated on March 30 every year. Reminding that it was declared as the first day of the Republic of Türkiye, President Erdoğan added: "We will continue to add new ones to the works widely carried out to provide a breath of life and hope for the future. In this period, as we approach the 100th anniversary of the founding of our republic, the 'Türkiye's Zero Waste Journey for a Livable World' has been prepared by our Directorate of Communications. The book 'Zero Waste Journey' is one of them. I congratulate those who have contributed to the preparation of this important work, which includes Türkiye's contributions to the common future of humanity."
The book, which contains detailed information about the Zero Waste Project initiated by first lady Emine Erdoğan, includes four chapters: Waste Management, Environmental Problems, Institutional Structure Regarding Waste Management and Legal Regulations Regarding Waste Management in Türkiye.
In the book, it is emphasized that the cooperation of the public and private sectors is extremely important in order to eliminate environmental problems in favor of humanity, and the necessity of international cooperation at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, together with national efforts with the participation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society.