Climate change shows ‘our destinies are interconnected’: Türkiye’s COP31 president

Türkiye's COP31 President and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum said no country, regardless of its strength, could remain safe from the climate crisis on its own, stressing the need for global cooperation. "Nothing can stop rising seas. No wall can prevent drought. No flag can change the direction of a storm. Climate change reminds us of a very important truth: Our destinies are interconnected," said Kurum at the COP31 Ministers' Dinner, held at the NEST Congress and Exhibition Center as part of COP31, the UN Climate Change Conference.

COP31, hosted by Türkiye for the first time, opened in Antalya on Monday and will run through Nov. 20, bringing together 196 parties and the EU. Kurum said they stood with farmers waiting for rain on drought-stricken land, shared the concerns of families living along coastlines threatened by rising sea levels and defended the rights of millions of children whose futures had yet to be written. "We have a dream. One day, no child anywhere in the world will have to dream of accessing a clean sip of water.

One day, no mother will fear for her child's future because of drought and disasters. One day, no farmer will lose hope while looking at their cracked soil," he said. Kurum said he envisioned a world in which the richest and poorest countries recognized that they shared the same threats and responsibilities under the same sky. He also said he was confident humanity would come to understand that development and environmental protection were not mutually exclusive. 'Future generations will remember us for decisions we make' Kurum said humanity's greatness would be measured not only by the cities it built, technologies it developed and the wealth it generated, but also by the lives it protected.

"We have a dream. One day, our children will not ask us, 'What kind of world did you imagine?' They will ask, 'You left us a world, but what was that world like?' We will be able to look them in the eye and answer," he said. Emphasizing that hope alone was not enough to turn dreams into reality, Kurum said hope required courage, determination, the willingness to make difficult choices and the resolve to act together. He said it was precisely the responsibility facing participants in Antalya.

"We are not here merely to set new targets. We are here to lay the foundations for a future in which commitments are translated into action. Because we now know that future generations will remember us not for our speeches, but for the decisions we make. "They will forget the documents we sign and remember the lives we protect. They will forget the promises we make and remember the hopes we turn into reality," he said. 'Our dream is humanity's shared future' Kurum noted that the gathering brought together guests from around the world, artists whose work raised awareness and contributed to environmental protection and education, businesspeople, representatives of civil society organizations and figures from the world of sports.

He expressed hope that history would remember those who gathered in Antalya years from now as "people who did not abandon their shared responsibilities." Stressing that Türkiye, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was ready to work through its state institutions, 86 million citizens and all its organizations to make the world a more livable and just place, Kurum said: "Because our dream is a more just, safer and more livable world.

Our dream is humanity's shared future. Together with the 196 countries participating in and supporting this conference, we will make these decisions. "We will take responsibility for our common home, our world, and our shared future, and fulfill the obligations that come with that responsibility."