Turkish committee left the 23rd United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, after its proposals were rejected, Habertürk reported on Sunday.
According to a report by Ahval online news outlet, Turkey’s Minister of Environment and Urban Planning, Mehmet Özhaseki, who chaired the committee, has said that “There are two main issues: first, the $100 billion Green Climate Fund, and the matter is who will put money there, and who will receive from there. We are now in the situation to put money. But as a developing country, we should be receiving. And second, although we are responsible for only 0,7 percent of the pollution, we are asked to decrease that. They will prevent many investments, such as bridges and coal power plants, with that requirement.”
According to report by Habertürk, Minister Özhaseki blamed the previous governments for signing the 1992 United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change that, he claimed, is the source of the problem. He added that Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will start talks with other countries to convince them on Turkey’s demands.
“Turkey will not take a step back if our demands are not met,” Özhaseki said, adding they will not ratify the Paris Agreement in the Turkish Parliament.
Turkey has signed the Paris Agreement on April 22, 2016, but not ratified it along with 27 other countries, including Russia. The binding agreement, however, entered into force on November 4, 2016 and 170 countries have so far signed and ratified the agreement.
According to Annex I of the Paris Agreement [pdf], Turkey’s emissions make 1,24 percent of the emissions as of 2013.
