Türkiye hosts inaugural event on ocean action, climate crisis

By Dilara Hamit

Türkiye hosted an inaugural event in the capital Ankara on Monday with the theme Immersed in Change: Ocean Action and Climate Change, serving as a platform for both high-level diplomatic engagement and collaborative environmental initiatives.

The panel at the Blue Talks event featured a number of speakers including Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Costa Rica’s ambassador to Türkiye Gustavo Campos Fallas, France’s Ambassador Isabelle Dumont, David Fernandez Puyana, Permanent Observer of the University for Peace to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, and Prof. Bayram Ozturk from Istanbul University’s Faculty of Aquatic Sciences.

Bozay in his speech emphasized the need for diplomacy to be more involved in addressing the climate crisis, stressing the importance of approaching it comprehensively.

Highlighting the importance of all actors participating in combating the climate crisis, from the Caribbean to East Asia and from France to Türkiye, he said: "We must stand together in the fight against climate change."

Fallas also noted his country’s collaboration with neighboring countries in ocean conservation, reminding that Costa Rica is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Regarding his country's advanced work in ocean matters, he emphasized the significance of awareness regarding the ocean's relationship with humanity and society.

Fallas also underscored the crucial need to protect the oceans for the sake of both present and future generations, urging societies to engage in more discussions and events on this topic.

The French ambassador also described Türkiye as an extremely important country in the region, emphasizing the significant contribution of collaboration with Türkiye on oceans and climate change.

Dumont highlighted the issue of oceans being filled with plastics.

"The 'Zero Waste' project is being implemented in Türkiye and is quite successful. In France, legal decisions are required for such steps. People cannot say, 'let's do something useful for waste,'" she said.

Puyana emphasized the importance of efforts focusing on combating climate change, noting that security concerns arising from climate change are taken into account.

Highlighting various efforts addressing climate change and ensuring peace and security, he underscored that the climate crisis is not only a threat for the future but also a serious threat today.

Puyana pointed out that this threat affects global stability, business and many other areas.

Ozturk provided information to the participants about Türkiye's coastline, seas, ecosystem and marine life, drawing attention to the problems related to climate change experienced in Türkiye.

At the end of the panel, a video highlighting climate change was shown.

Planned to be held annually, the event will focus on the importance of ocean resilience to climate change and will feature the views of high-level officials and experts.