Emine Erdogan, the first lady of Türkiye, advocated for a transition toward durable goods and circular production during a recent IEA dialogue at UN headquarters.. Speaking ahead of COP31, she argued that eliminating "throwaway culture" is essential to reducing global energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.
The 5.8 trillion plates of wasted energy
Emine Erdogan argues that the global climate conversation has focused too heavily on the supply side of energy—how to produce clean power—while ignoring the demand side.. According to the report, Erdogan contends that the more urgent question is why such massive amounts of energy are required in the first place. She posits that a consumption model built on single-use products is a primary driver of greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion.
To illustrate the scale of this inefficiency, Emine Erdogan cited the staggering figure of 5.8 trillion plates of food wasted annually. As the report notes, this waste represents not just lost calories, but the total energy embedded in the production, packaging, and distribution of that food. By framing waste as an energy leak, Erdogan connects household consumption directly to the frequency of heat waves, wildfires, and severe storms.
This perspective echoes a growing global movement toward "degrowth" or "sufficiency" in climate policy. Rather than simply swapping a gas-powered grid for a wind-powered one, this approach suggests that the only sustainable path is to reduce the total volume of materials moving through the global economy.
Türkiye's 120,000 megawatt target for 2035
Türkiye is positioning its own domestic policies as a blueprint for this transition. Emine Erdogan highlighted the Türkiye Zero Waste Project, launched in 2017, as a strategic roadmap for ensuring resource security. By treating discarded materials as raw materials, the Turkish government aims to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.
The push for circularity is paired with an aggressive expansion of green infrastructure.. Emine Erdogan stated that Türkiye currently ranks fifth in Europe and 11th globally in terms of installed renewable energy capacity. To build on this momentum , Türkiye has set a concrete goal to increase its installed solar and wind power capacity to 120,000 megawatts by the year 2035.
Linking the UN Zero Waste board to COP31
As the chair of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, Emine Erdogan is using her platform to elevate waste reduction to a core pillar of international diplomacy.. Her remarks at the International Energy Agency (IEA) High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue serve as a strategic signal ahead of the COP31 climate summit.
By integrating zero-waste principles into the energy transition debate, the UN advisory board is attempting to shift the focus of COP31 toward intergenerational justice. The argument is that the current "throwaway" model is an unsustainable debt passed to future generations, and that circular production is the most practical route to cutting fossil fuel reliance.
The missing data on the 2017 Zero Waste Project
While the rhetoric surrounding the 2017 Zero Waste Project is ambitious, several concrete details remain unverified in the current reporting. For instance, the source does not provide specific metrics on how much waste has actually been diverted from landfills in Türkiye since the project's inception, nor does it explain the specific regulatory mechanisms used to enfore the shift toward durable goods.
Furthermore, while the 120,000 megawatt target for 2035 is clear, it remains unknown how Türkiye plans to balance this massive infrastructure build-out with the "zero waste" philosophy,given that the production of solar panels and wind turbines is itself a resource-intensive process. The report focuses on the first lady's call for action but does not include responses from other IEA member states regarding the feasibility of a global shift away from single-use consumption.
Comments 0