Many of Turkey's big cities have struggled with water shortages. AFP
Many of Turkey's big cities have struggled with water shortages. AFP
Many of Turkey's big cities have struggled with water shortages. AFP
Many of Turkey's big cities have struggled with water shortages. AFP


There's still time for Turkey to improve its spotty climate record


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November 08, 2021

The Paris climate accords are set to go into effect this week in Turkey, the last of the G20 states to embrace the world’s main climate pact and commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2053. So why did Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's President, decide against attending the ongoing Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow?

The official reason was "security concerns", but even as Turkey steps into the international community of global warming warriors, it sees fit to keep one foot in humanity’s eco-unfriendly past. That’s the climate change cha-cha-cha Mr Erdogan has spent much of his career perfecting.

As Istanbul mayor in the mid-1990s, he warned that a third bridge over the Bosphorus would be the death of the city. But as the nation’s leader some years later, he approved its construction, and the destruction of some of Istanbul’s last forests, then spoke at the 2016 opening of Sultan Selim Bridge.

That megaproject was part of Mr Erdogan’s $200 billion construction-led infrastructure agenda, which, for about a decade, helped spur economic growth. To counter complaints about the resulting environmental damage – most notably during the nationwide Gezi protests in mid-2013 – the government embarked on a record-setting tree-planting campaign.

Since taking power in 2002, the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) says it has planted more than 4bn trees and hopes to reach 7bn by 2023. And last week, Mr Erdogan laid out plans to establish more than 400 national gardens, including at Istanbul’s former Ataturk Airport, and green 66 million square metres of land.

But Turkey's forestry union chief said last year that up to 90 per cent of government-planted saplings have died due to lack of rainfall or being planted at the wrong time of year. And earlier this year, Turkey’s Mediterranean coast saw its most devastating wildfires in decades and sea slime choked ports across Istanbul and the Marmara Sea, with a top Turkish ecologist citing rapid urbanisation, deforestation, runoff and soil erosion as key factors in both.

Many big cities have struggled with water shortages over the past year, as persistent drought has left Turkey water-stressed. Dozens of new mines and dams – such as the massive Ilisu Dam, which required the submersion of an ancient village and opened this past Saturday – have imperilled ecosystems across the country. Yet, minutes after the Turkish Parliament ratified the Paris Agreement last month, legislators approved a bill making the country eligible for nuclear waste transfer, potentially turning Turkey, as one columnist put it, "into a nuclear waste dump".

Of course, amid economic troubles and a lingering pandemic, determining energy and climate policies these days is complicated business. Consider that on the sidelines of the most important climate conference in years – at which US President Joe Biden called on the oil and gas industry to reduce harmful emissions – US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged US allies to increase oil and gas production.

Turkey's President Erdogan is absent from this year's Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. AFP
Turkey's President Erdogan is absent from this year's Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. AFP
Turkey’s leading forestry union says the vast majority of government-planted saplings are dead

With Morgan Stanley expecting gas prices to rise 40 per cent by 2030, Turkey’s recent natural gas discovery in the Black Sea is likely to take on greater import. Yet, a new report from several European NGOs urges Turkey to end coal subsidies and make its fossil fuel companies responsible for their emissions, embracing the “polluter pays” principle.

Offering a progressive counter to Mr Erdogan, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is widely seen as a top presidential challenger, will attend the Glasgow summit to speak on two panels as an urban sustainability expert. His experience battling the environmental impact of government decisions – such as its $20bn canal meant to bisect the city’s European side – may have earned him the invites.

Skipping out on Cop26 may have already put Ankara in a hole. Turkey is among the more than 130 countries that signed onto the first big initiative to come out of Glasgow, a commitment to end deforestation by 2030. Yet, it is not among the nearly 100 countries joining the UK-India plan to link the world’s green power grids and spur faster roll-out of low-carbon technologies. Nor is Turkey among the 90 countries that signed onto the EU-US initiative to cut methane emissions 30 per cent by 2030.

Turkey’s agricultural production has fallen sharply in recent years, and its farmers are deep in debt, as I detailed in August. Just last week, a Greek climate scientist predicted further decreases in farm output across the eastern Mediterranean region. Ankara would thus have been wise to join the US and the UAE, two states with which it has sought better ties of late, in investing billions to boost agricultural innovation and climate adaptation.

The world has made some progress on climate in recent years, reducing the expected temperature increase by the end of this century from a cataclysmic 4°C to a merely devastating 3°C. Much still needs to be done, and Glasgow may be, as US climate envoy John Kerry put it, the "last best hope for the world to get its act together".

Citing what’s known as climate debt, Ankara believes developed states shoulder the greatest burden when it comes to saving the planet. “Whoever savagely exploited natural resources needs to make the largest contribution to the fight against climate change,” Mr Erdogan told the UN in September.

But China overtook the US as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases back in 2006, and developing states such as Turkey have been exploiting resources for decades. At some point, Ankara will need to acknowledge its exploitative policies and fully join the global fight against climate change, rather than going halfway and passing the blame.

For the welfare of Turkish citizens let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TO A LAND UNKNOWN

Director: Mahdi Fleifel

Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa

Rating: 4.5/5

Five healthy carbs and how to eat them

Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand

Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat  

Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar

Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices

Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants

Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique

Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

While you're here
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Klipit%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Venkat%20Reddy%2C%20Mohammed%20Al%20Bulooki%2C%20Bilal%20Merchant%2C%20Asif%20Ahmed%2C%20Ovais%20Merchant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Digital%20receipts%2C%20finance%2C%20blockchain%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%244%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Privately%2Fself-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry

Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm

Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BRAZIL%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EGoalkeepers%3A%20Alisson%2C%20Ederson%2C%20Weverton%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EDefenders%3A%20Dani%20Alves%2C%20Marquinhos%2C%20Thiago%20Silva%2C%20Eder%20Militao%20%2C%20Danilo%2C%20Alex%20Sandro%2C%20Alex%20Telles%2C%20Bremer.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EMidfielders%3A%20Casemiro%2C%20Fred%2C%20Fabinho%2C%20Bruno%20Guimaraes%2C%20Lucas%20Paqueta%2C%20Everton%20Ribeiro.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EForwards%3A%20Neymar%2C%20Vinicius%20Junior%2C%20Richarlison%2C%20Raphinha%2C%20Antony%2C%20Gabriel%20Jesus%2C%20Gabriel%20Martinelli%2C%20Pedro%2C%20Rodrygo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Intercontinental Cup

Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19

Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27

About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

Updated: November 08, 2021, 4:00 AM`