Türkiye prioritises cleaning up garbage emissions in COP31 ‘action agenda’

Türkiye has placed cutting emissions from the waste sector at the top of its priorities for the COP31 climate summit’s action agenda. The draft agenda, which is open for international feedback before its final publication, highlights the “rapid reduction of waste-derived methane emissions” as the foremost goal among 14 listed priorities. This focus reflects the personal commitment of Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoğan, who leads the Zero Waste Foundation and has successfully advocated for a global Zero Waste Day at the United Nations. The waste sector accounts for approximately 4% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from methane released by decomposing organic waste in landfills. Türkiye’s draft agenda calls for scaling up circular economy policies, such as extending manufacturers’ responsibility for product disposal and promoting eco-design. It also emphasizes the need to strengthen systems for measuring, reporting, and verifying emissions, with a target to achieve measurable progress toward zero waste by 2030. Immediate actions include diverting organic waste from landfills, improving landfill gas capture, and addressing methane super-emitters, while longer-term strategies focus on recycling and composting. Türkiye’s environment minister and COP31 President Murat Kurum stressed that climate action should not be limited to fossil fuels, which, although responsible for nearly 68% of emissions, represent only one part of the broader challenge. The inclusion of waste emissions in the COP31 agenda continues a recent trend seen at COP29 and COP30, where waste methane reduction initiatives gained traction. Waste campaigners, including Kait Siegel of the Clean Air Task Force, welcomed Türkiye’s leadership and highlighted the importance of improving global data collection, monitoring, and funding mechanisms to support these efforts. Previous initiatives, such as the one launched at COP30, aim to reduce methane emissions from organic waste by 30% by 2030 through measures like food recovery, integrating waste workers into the circular economy, and expanding composting and food bank networks. Observers are keen to see how Türkiye and other countries will implement these commitments, scale up financing, and utilize satellite technology to enhance emissions monitoring in the coming years.