During his contacts at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, COP31 High-Level Climate Champion and President of the Zero Waste Foundation Samed Ağırbaş discussed circular economy, climate finance, sustainable cities, and cooperation areas to strengthen the business world's participation in climate action in line with the vision put forward at the Zero Waste Forum and the priorities of the COP31 process. In his meetings with representatives of international organizations, the financial world, business circles, and local governments, Ağırbaş shared the contributions the Zero Waste approach can provide to COP31's implementation-oriented climate action agenda.
The Zero Waste approach, which transformed into a global vision under the auspices of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, the founder of the Zero Waste Movement, Chairperson of the United Nations Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, and Honorary Chairperson of the Zero Waste Foundation, continues to be one of the important topics of climate action in the process leading up to COP31. The efficient use of resources, prevention of waste before it occurs, widespread adoption of circular economy models, and the strengthening of sustainable production-consumption systems play a critical role in realizing climate goals.
The Zero Waste Forum, organized in this direction, produced significant outcomes that will strengthen the implementation dimension of the global climate agenda on the road to COP31 to be held in Antalya, while the vision shaped at the forum creates a common ground for developing new collaborations between different countries, cities, international organizations, and the private sector.
COP31 Agenda Discussed with International Stakeholders in Hamburg
Participating in the programs organized within the scope of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, Samed Ağırbaş came together with various stakeholders ranging from the business world to public representatives, from international organizations to local governments and the financial sector.
In his meeting with John Denton, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Ağırbaş evaluated partnership opportunities that could be developed to involve the private sector more strongly in climate action during the COP31 process and to accelerate sustainable transformation.
"Within the scope of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, we had a productive meeting with Mr. John Denton, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). In line with our COP31 process, we discussed steps to strengthen the business world's participation in climate action, collaborations that can be developed in the fields of circular economy and resource efficiency, and the role of the private sector in transformation."
"The Success of COP31 Will Be Measured by the Power of Implementation"
Samed Ağırbaş also made evaluations regarding the COP31 process at the opening session of the "Economy of the Future Day" organized within the scope of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. He pointed out that sustainability and climate targets should not remain merely as international commitments but should turn into concrete implementations that touch the daily lives of countries, cities, companies, and societies.
"In line with our Zero Waste vision put forward under the auspices of our Honorary Chairperson, First Lady Emine Erdoğan; focusing on a human-centric approach, private sector partnership, and climate finance, we drew attention to the importance of transforming international commitments into concrete practices during the COP31 process."
Emphasizing that COP31 should be a turning point to strengthen implementation and cooperation in climate action, Ağırbaş stated, "We highlighted that success will be measured not only by new commitments but by accelerating implementation, strengthening access to finance, and making cooperation networks permanent."
Cooperation with Hamburg in Climate Innovation and Circular Economy
Ağırbaş also met with Katharina Fegebank, Second Mayor of Hamburg, to evaluate the role of the zero waste and circular economy approach in building sustainable and resilient cities.
During the meeting, supporting climate innovation ahead of COP31, increasing cities' resilience to climate change, and expanding circular economy practices at the local scale were discussed. The discussions focused on developing permanent dialogue and cooperation mechanisms between Hamburg's experience in sustainable urbanism and the Office of the COP31 High-Level Climate Champion.
Sustainability Partnerships with UNECE within the Framework of COP31 Priorities
In his meeting with Tatiana Molcean, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UNECE, Ağırbaş discussed joint working areas in line with the priorities of the COP31 process. The meeting evaluated topics such as circular economy, green industrial transformation, sharing regional good practices, and capacity building.
In his statement regarding the meeting, Ağırbaş said, "In line with our COP31 process; we evaluated the sharing of regional good practice examples in thematic areas ranging from the circular economy to green industrial transformation, strengthening capacity-building processes, and long-term partnership opportunities that will bring global climate commitments into implementation."
Climate Finance Agenda for COP31
Meeting with Frank Scheidig, Global Head of Senior Executive Banking at DZ BANK, Ağırbaş evaluated climate finance, one of the crucial topics of the COP31 process.
The meeting discussed aligning international financial systems with climate targets, directing private sector capital toward climate action, financing green infrastructure and circular economy investments, and mechanisms to ensure the transfer of financial resources into concrete climate practices.
Ağırbaş stated that during the COP31 process, climate finance is important not only in terms of creating new resources but also in mobilizing existing financial capacity more effectively in line with the needs of the transformation.
It was evaluated that the contacts held in Hamburg provide a significant foundation for integrating the approach put forward at the Zero Waste Forum with the implementation-oriented climate agenda in the COP31 process and strengthening international cooperation networks ahead of COP31 to be held in Antalya.
