The Climate Network asks for the approval of the Paris Agreement by Turkey

The Climate Network, a group of NGOs from Turkey working against the climate change, has called the Turkish government to approve the Paris Agreement and improve its internal nationally determined contributions (INDCs) before the beginning of the Climate Summit (COP22) in Marrakesh. The Turkish government has already signed the agreement last April, yet did not approve it in its legislative body since then.

The Network points to the special ecological and economic risks the climate change bears for the Mediterranean basin.

It also urges Turkey to approve the agreement to be able to be part of the efforts of shaping the climate regime and the principles of transition to low carbon economies, to be occurred after 2020. Otherwise, the Network warns, Turkey would be excluded from the global climate movement and might not benefit from the advantages brought about by a low carbon economy, like employment, public health, and energy dependency.

The Climate Network has also made the call to the government that it should revise its INDCs targeting to keep the global warming below 1,5 °C. What is expected from Turkey in this framework is to practice policies of industrialization, transportation, and energy, whereby she can decrease the greenhouse gas emissions rapidly.

Yet the Turkish delegation made a “spectacular” start by winning the first Fossil of the Day Award of COP22 for asking for an agenda item on financial support under the Paris Agreement and the Green Climate Fund, while planning to build new coal plants and increase the greenhouse gas emissions in near term. The President Erdogan, for example, has bashed the environmentalists for criticizing the tremendous increase in coal plants, blamed them for working against the interests of Turkey, and promised to deplete the coal reserves of the country in energy production.

The Turkish civil society, among them the Climate Network, is monitoring Turkey during COP22 Marrakesh Climate Summit Negotiations, and keeps reminding the demands while Turkey bargains for the climate finance support. They are publishing the bulletin Marrakesh Climate Post (İklim Postası) to inform the public opinion about the negotiations for sake of rising awareness for climate change. İklim Postası aims to influence the decision makers to ratify the Paris Agreement and be the part of the global transformation to combat climate change.