Turkey ratifies the Paris climate agreement, latest G20 country to do so

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Turkish Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said on Wednesday lawmakers voted unanimously in favor of ratifying the deal, just weeks before world leaders meet in the Scottish city of Glasgow for crucial climate talks.

Kurum said on Twitter that he hopes the decision will help the country reach net zero by 2053. Net zero is where the amount of greenhouse gases emitted is not greater than the amount. removed from the atmosphere.

The Paris Agreement, adopted by nearly 200 countries, commits participants to keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, below 1.5 degrees. Each country is responsible for developing its own plan to achieve these goals.
Turkey was one of the few signatory countries which had not yet ratified the pact. He had held up for years because the government opposed Turkey being classified as an industrialized nation, meaning the country is forced to do more on the climate than developing countries.

Reuters reported that lawmakers also adopted a statement Wednesday saying they ratify the deal as a developing country and will only implement it if it “does not infringe its right to economic and social development.” .

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month announced at the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he would submit the deal to parliament and called for greater accountability from the world’s most developed countries, which are historically the biggest contributors to global carbon emissions.

“Whoever has caused the most damage to nature, our atmosphere, our water, our soil and the earth, and whoever has savagely exploited natural resources, should also make the greatest contribution to the fight against climate change, ”he said.

“Unlike in the past, this time around, no one can afford the luxury of saying, ‘I’m powerful, so I won’t foot the bill. “”

Local climate activism groups and chambers of commerce supported Turkey’s ratification ahead of the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland in early November.

CNN’s Isil Sariyuce reported from Istanbul and Caitlin Hu reported and wrote from New York.

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