President Erdoğan becomes first leader to sign Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became the first signatory of the Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration at a time when the 78th UN General Assembly held in New York on September 19.

Led by his wife, the Turkiye's First Lady Emine Erdoğan, an event titled "Towards the Global Zero Waste Movement" was held at the Turkish House, where the signing ceremony took place on Monday.

With President Erdoğan becoming the first individual to sign the goodwill declaration online via the website https://zerowastecommitment.com, the draft has been made available for international individual signatures on the Internet to encourage personal participation in the Global Zero Waste Movement.

"The first step in the global journey of the Zero Waste movement has been taken with the 'Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration,'" President Erdoğan said at the signing ceremony.

By signing the declaration, he added, Türkiye demonstrated its commitment “to a cleaner, greener, and more liveable world".

"We will continue our multi-faceted efforts to combat climate change and environmental pollution crises, and as Türkiye, we are dedicated to fulfilling our responsibilities towards future generations," President Erdoğan said. Emphasising that the Zero Waste Movement, initiated under the patronage of his wife First Lady Emine Erdoğan in 2017, has become a global brand, Erdoğan said.

Expressing his satisfaction that March 30th has been declared as the International Zero Waste Day, he called upon everyone, “especially countries with a historical responsibility for global warming,” to act upon safeguarding the planet.

"Our goal by 2053 is to achieve net zero emissions," he stated.

“I wish our Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration brings blessings.

I wholeheartedly congratulate all those who have contributed to bringing the process to this point."

'Zero Waste became a global movement'

The first lady, in her remarks, emphasised that they, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, opened the "Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration," which marks the first step of the global expansion of the Zero Waste movement.

"Let us unite for our common home, the world, and raise our voices," she said. "Our call has found resonance among important nature enthusiasts, including UN officials and leaders' spouses. Today, we are taking action to bring the Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration to environmental enthusiasts worldwide."

She expressed gratitude to President Erdoğan, the first Global Zero Waste movement volunteer, for his meaningful support for a sustainable and fair future.

Emine Erdoğan also highlighted that the project initiated in Türkiye in 2017 has evolved into a global movement.

She noted that President Erdoğan's leadership has been the most crucial factor in the success of the Zero Waste movement, and reaching this point, he has consistently provided the necessary support to the Zero Waste movement.

"Today, as we open the Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration for international signatures, President Erdoğan again demonstrated his strongest support by signing the first signature. I thank him on behalf of all Zero Waste and environmental enthusiasts. I wish for this movement to bring blessings to our common home, the Earth."

She invited all friends from different regions who share the same ideals to sign the Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration and become Zero Waste volunteers.

"Remember, the future of our common home, the Earth, and its fate are in our hands," she said.

The Goodwill Declaration states the following:

"We recognise the strong link between sustainable waste management, resource efficiency, and climate change. We pledge to promote the Zero Waste approach worldwide, share best practices, support initiatives, campaigns, programs, projects, and activities that promote responsible waste generation and consumption, and promise to share lessons learned from best practices and projects like Türkiye's Zero Waste Project, as well as to encourage the development of similar waste management policies."

"We call upon UN Member States, UN System entities, civil society, private sector, media representatives, and local governments to harmonise strategies, approaches, and programmes that accelerate the global transition to a circular economy and reduce the adverse impact of waste on climate change."

Emine Erdoğan had a special meeting with Guterres regarding the goodwill declaration during the 77th UN General Assembly last year.Within the Zero Waste Project framework conducted under her auspices in Türkiye, discussions were held on possible international collaborations, leading to the joint signing of the "Our Common Home, Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration," which commits to expanding and supporting the Zero Waste Project.

The declaration was signed by the spouses of 20 heads of state, various international organisation representatives, and ministers.

The online signing of the goodwill declaration via the website marks an important milestone in garnering individual support for this significant endeavour on a global scale.

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