Emine Erdoğan urges end to throwaway culture at UN energy summit

Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan on Wednesday called for a fundamental shift away from single-use consumption toward durable, sustainable goods, warning that energy transition strategies must tackle waste at its source rather than simply expanding clean energy output to meet demand driven by throwaway culture.

Speaking at the International Energy Agency's High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue at UN headquarters in New York, Erdoğan — who chairs the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste — linked record temperatures, wildfires, and floods to rising energy demand driven by unchecked consumption. "We should not limit the issue of energy transition solely to the question: How can we produce more clean energy? We should first approach the issue by asking: Why do we have to produce more energy?" she said.

Food waste and embedded energy

Erdoğan argued that lasting solutions require addressing root causes of waste, noting that energy, natural resources, and human labor are embedded in products eventually discarded. She cited global food waste as an example, stating that food equivalent to 5.8 trillion plates is wasted annually, taking with it the energy used in production, packaging, and distribution.

"Our primary concern should be to move away from a throwaway culture shaped around single-use products," she said. "For the well-being of us all and for intergenerational justice, we must transition to a culture of sustainability shaped around long-lasting and durable products."

Türkiye's zero-waste roadmap

Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye's Zero Waste Project, launched in 2017, as a national roadmap for energy and resource security, noting that production processes can be designed to prevent waste and discarded materials can be returned to raw material status. She described nature as a model for circularity, where nothing is wasted.

"Türkiye is preparing for this transformation by accelerating our zero-waste practices and clean energy investments," she said. "Today, we rank fifth in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity. By 2035, we aim to increase our installed solar and wind power capacity to 120,000 megawatts."

COP31 hosting

Ankara plans to further advance the zero-waste approach as part of its action agenda for the UN Climate Change Conference COP31, which Türkiye will host in November. "Zero waste is the most powerful path opening the door to genuine transformation in every field, from production to consumption," Erdoğan said. A roundtable meeting with Turkish Cabinet ministers and officials followed her remarks at the UN headquarters session.