- COP26 President Alok Sharma pays his first visit to Ankara to strengthen support for international climate action ahead of the vital climate summit this November.
- Visit follows last weekend's UK-hosted G7 Summit where members endorsed further commitments to ramp up action to cut emissions and limit a global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
- UK government launches programme to support Turkey's development of low-carbon projects and identify future financing options.
COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma will visit Turkey on Wednesday 16 June to discuss the urgent need for international collaboration and action against the effects of climate change ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow this November.
Mr Sharma will meet the Turkish Environment and Finance Ministers, as well as the Deputy Foreign Minister and Deputy Energy Minister to discuss the priorities for COP26, including the Paris Agreement and the critical goal of limiting a global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, and Turkey's perspectives on climate action.
Turkey has made significant progress in areas such as clean energy, energy efficiency, zero-waste and afforestation and during the meetings Mr Sharma will offer UK support for Turkey's climate action including its ongoing energy transition plans. The UK funded Climate Finance Accelerator, launched in Turkey last week, is an example of the two countries collaborating to boost investments in the green economy. The programme will support Turkey to develop a pipeline of low-carbon projects which will build the capacity of project developers to access green finance funding.
Ahead of his visit Mr Sharma said:
As COP26 Presidency hosts, the UK must listen to the concerns and issues of all countries.
It is important that the UK and Turkey work closely ahead of the summit in November and I am very happy to be here to meet the Turkish government, businesses and civil society to discuss accelerating climate action ahead of COP26.
Turkey is already taking action against the devastating effects of climate change, not least in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
But we are at a crucial point in the global fight against climate change, and COP26 is a vital opportunity to bring the international community together to accelerate ambition in this fight. We need all countries to step up ambition over the next decade and strive for net zero by mid century.
I look forward to speaking with my Turkish counterparts on how the UK can support countries in their efforts to raise climate ambition, and the UK's goals for an inclusive, ambitious COP26.
We need to see greater climate ambition from every country to keep alive the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
During the visit, Mr Sharma will also meet with business leaders from across Turkey, at an event hosted by TUSIAD. On the agenda for the meeting will be the importance of transitioning to a green economy and joining the Race to Zero. Mr Sharma is keen to emphasise that in tackling climate, collaboration is needed across society and is calling for an 'all-of-society approach' that includes the private sector, civil society and youth.
