After summer of severe floods and fires, Turkey to ratify Paris Agreement
In his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the Paris Climate Agreement would be submitted to Turkey’s parliament for approval next month.
ISTANBUL — Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would seek to ratify the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement next month.
"Turkey is not indifferent to any global problem, crisis or call, and will also do its part on climate change and protecting the environment,” Erdogan said Tuesday.
The announcement comes five years after Ankara signed the accord that declares a nation’s intent to reduce carbon emissions in an effort to curb global climate change. But Turkey delayed its ratification to dispute its classification as a “developed economy” in the agreement’s conventions.
In recent years, the Turkish government had sought designation as a developing nation, like China and Saudi Arabia, which enables access to international funding for emission reduction efforts. Yet following a series of ecological disasters this year, environmental advocates say pressure has increased on Erdogan’s administration to take concrete steps in slowing climate change.
