Day: November 1, 2021

US President Joe Biden said Sunday he was disappointed by the lack of new climate commitments from China and Russia.

“Not only Russia, but China, basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change,” said Biden at a press conference at the end of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rome, Italy. “And there’s a reason why people should be disappointed in that. I found it disappointing myself.”

Earlier in the day, leaders of the world’s 20 richest nations reiterated their commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Biden will also attend the world leaders’ summit at the start of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, on Monday in Glasgow, Scotland. But Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are not attending in person.

“We passed a number of things here to end the subsidization of coal. We made commitments here from across the board, all of us, in terms of what we’re going to bring to COP26,” said the US president.

“The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. I think you’re going to see we made significant progress and more has to be done. It’s going to require us to continue to focus on what China’s not doing, what Russia’s not doing, and what Saudi Arabia is not doing,” he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Saudi Arabia deposited $3 billion each in the central banks of Egypt and Pakistan, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported early on Monday.

The report by the SPA was cited a statement by the Saudi Finance Ministry, saying that Riyadh is considered one of the leading countries supporting the foreign exchange reserves of nations in need during the pandemic.

It noted that Saudi Arabia provided a deposit of $3 billion to the Central Bank of Egypt, while extending the term of a previous $2.3 billion deposit.

According to data from the Central Bank of Egypt, Saudi Arabia holds long-term deposits in the lender, totaling $5.5 billion as of the end of March.

The statement also said that Saudi Arabia had deposited $3 billion in the Central Bank of Pakistan, with $1.2 billion in trade finance to support the South Asian country’s balance of payments.

It also said that these facilities, which reached a total of $9.5 billion, were equivalent to approximately 70% of the special drawing rights recently allocated to Saudi Arabia from the International Monetary Fund.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey will conduct cross-border operations to fight terrorism – such as its operations in northern Syria or northern Iraq – “whenever necessary,” said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in remarks released Monday.

“There is no stepping back from it,” he told reporters on his Sunday return flight from the G20 Leaders’ Summit held in Rome.

He again called on Turkey’s NATO ally US to “not support terrorist groups,” in a clear reference to the YPG/PKK, an offshoot of the terrorist PKK based in Syria whose longstanding US support Turkey has long cried foul about.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched several cross-border operations into northern Syria to block the formation of a terror corridor there and protect locals, in addition to its occasional strikes at PKK bases in northern Iraq, where the terrorist group plans attacks.

“We can spare no effort in our fight against terrorist groups,” said Erdogan.

On his weekend meeting with US President Joe Biden on the summit sidelines, Erdogan said they discussed Turkey’s procurement of F-16 fighter jets from the US.

“I didn’t see any negative approach,” he said of their meeting, adding that he hopes to conclude the “sensitive issue” concerning relations between the two countries.

Erdogan said both countries’ foreign and defense ministers would also discuss the issue with each other.

“We had a frank and constructive meeting with Biden,” Erdogan said, adding that Biden said he will do his best to resolve the issue.

Erdogan said Turkey and the US also agreed to focus “more intensely” on economic ties, and discussed cooperation in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

He added that he told the US and French presidents how establishing a base in Alexandropolis, Greece near the Turkish border “seriously disturbs” Turkey.

Erdogan said Libya, Afghanistan, and the South Caucasus were among the main topics of his 50-minute, closed-door discussion in Rome with French President Emmanuel Macron.

F-16 fighter jets as compensation for owed F-35s

Earlier, Erdogan said the US proposed the sale of F-16 fighter jets as compensation for Turkey’s payment for F-35s that the US never delivered.

In 2019, Washington announced that it was taking Turkey out of the F-35 stealth fighter jet program over Ankara’s purchase of the S-400, a Russian defense system it bought after its efforts to buy US Patriot missiles were rebuffed.

The US claimed the Russian system posed a safety risk. Turkey, however, stressed the S-400s would not be integrated into NATO systems, and thus pose no threat to the alliance or its armaments.

Ankara also repeatedly proposed setting up a commission to clarify the issue.

Turkish vaccine to be made available to all

Erdogan said his country will share the locally developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate Turkovac with the entire world “without any jealousy” once production starts by year’s end, calling this an unprecedented step.

He stressed that once Turkovac enters mass production, Turkey “will hopefully change the world balances a bit.”

The vaccine, co-developed by the Turkish Health Ministry, Health Institutes of Turkey, and Erciyes University, has successfully completed Phase 1 and 2 trials in Turkey.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca recently said the vaccine is close to an application for emergency use approval.

UN climate conference in Glasgow

Asked about the current UN climate conference in Glasgow (COP26), Erdogan said he decided not to go as Turkey’s “demands were not met,” adding that this was not only about security, but also about “the country’s reputation.”

Telling how there are security protocol standards applied to all leaders in international visits, Erdogan said: “However, we were told that these could not be met at the last moment.”

“Later, we learned that the standards in our rejected request were provided exceptionally for another country. This also did not conform to diplomatic practices. We couldn’t accept this,” he added.

“We are responsible for protecting the reputation of our nation. We will not allow the dignity and honor of our country to be damaged anywhere. Thus, we have shown once again that we can build a fairer world only with an egalitarian approach.”

The COP26 UN Climate Change Summit kicked off in earnest in Glasgow Sunday with the attendance of nearly 25,000 delegates from 200 countries to lay out concrete steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions across the planet.

The summit is seen as critical for countries to submit updated and more ambitious climate action plans, with broader steps expected from nations contributing the most emissions, including the US, China, India, and Russia.

Yet, the presidents of Russia and China – two of the world’s top five emitters – have confirmed that they are not attending the event.

Hosting the summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that “if Glasgow fails, the whole thing fails.”

He said agreements at the summit on coal, moving to electric vehicles, support for developing nations, and reforestation would be crucial.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s president held separate talks with world leaders during the G20 Leaders’ Summit held in Rome on Oct.30-31.

After attending a family photo shoot on the first day of the summit, Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a special session on global economy and health.

Before the session, Erdogan had a short talk with US President Joe Biden, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Erdogan first met with EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for a 30-minute talk. The closed-door meeting was also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Later, the Turkish president met Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. The 35-minute closed-door meeting was also attended by Cavusoglu and his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, as well as Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesman Omer Celik.

The Turkish leader also met Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for a 30-minute talk.

Erdogan held another 30-minute closed-door meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.

Following the talks, Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan attended a dinner which Italian President Sergio Mattarella hosted in honor of the leaders participating in the summit.

On the second day of the summit, Erdogan started his bilateral talks by meeting with US President Joe Biden. The meeting lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes.

During the meeting, expressing a common will for the further strengthening and advancing of the bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed on forming a joint mechanism in this direction.

In a positive atmosphere, bilateral relations and regional issues were discussed.

Mutual steps to be taken in line with the shared perspective on increasing the bilateral trade volume were discussed, and the basis of strategic partnership and NATO alliance was underscored.

Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held a 50-minute closed-door meeting. He later met with European Council head Charles Michel for a 40-minute talk

The Turkish leader held his last meeting as part of the summit with Merkel. Olaf Scholz, the likely successor of Merkel, also joined her in the meeting with Erdogan.

After the bilateral meetings, Erdogan answered questions from reporters in a press conference.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday approved the confiscation of a Palestinian land in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, according to a local Palestinian official.

“The court rejected a petition by Palestinian owners of the land against being confiscated by the Israeli Municipality,” Kamal Obeidat, the head of the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce, told Anadolu Agency.

He said Israeli municipal authorities have been seeking to confiscate the land for the past 20 years.

“This plot of land is owned by four Palestinian families and is used as a parking lot,” he added.

The confiscated land is 4,700 square meters and adjacent to homes of Palestinian families, who are threatened with evictions in favor of Israeli settlers.

Verdicts by Israel’s Supreme Court are final and cannot be appealed.

International law regards both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.

Source: Anadolu Agency

As world leaders are put to the test on Monday at the ongoing UN climate conference in Glasgow (COP26), Norway’s premier struck a hopeful tone for the planet’s future as “the alternative is very bad.”

“I think we know what it takes. It takes continued commitment to take down emissions,” Jonas Gahr Stoere told Anadolu Agency during a press appearance at the COP26 venue.

“It takes a willingness to protect the forests to reduce methane, to help fund developing countries, that they can make their transition without going for coal, but to go for renewables,” he said, signaling his country’s ambition on reducing emissions.

“We come to this conference with a will and an ambition,” underlined Gahr Stoere, arguing that achieving all these climate goals would be possible.

According to the International Energy Agency, Norway ranks 13th and eighth, respectively, in the production of oil and natural gas worldwide, causing environmental pollution in the Arctic region and leaving a large carbon footprint in the world.

The country deposits most of its hydrocarbon revenues in a wealth fund for future generations.

China, Russia absent

Responding a question on the absence of China and Russia in the climate talks, Stoere said: “They’re here, but not with the leaders. That’s their choice. I think, it should be the responsibility of all leaders to make contributions.”

“We will listen to what they say and we will expect that they participate and contribute.”

The COP26 UN Climate Change Summit kicked off in Glasgow with the attendance of nearly 25,000 delegates from 200 countries to lay out concrete steps towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the planet.

The summit is considered a deadline for countries to submit updated and more ambitious climate action plans, with broader steps expected from nations contributing the most of emissions across the globe, including the US, China, India, and Russia.

Yet, the presidents of Russia and China — two of the world’s top five emitters — have confirmed that they are not attending the event.

Hosting the summit, the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that “if Glasgow fails, the whole thing fails.”

He said agreements on coal power, the move to electric vehicles, support for developing nations, and reforestation would be crucial at the summit.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Amid growing criticism of world leaders for failing to do enough to fight climate change, there has been “enough of treating nature like a toilet,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a key climate change meeting Monday.

“Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. Enough of brutalizing biodiversity,” Guterres said at the opening at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference.

He said recent announcements of steps to fight climate action might give the impression that “we are on track to turn things around.”

This is an illusion, he stressed, citing a recent report which showed that the world is still on track to face a calamitous 2.7C temperature rise.

Even in the best-case scenario, temperatures will rise well above 2C, he said, warning: “So, as we open this much-anticipated climate conference, we are still heading for climate disaster.”

‘Developed, emerging economies must build coalitions’

He also urged both developed countries and emerging economies to build coalitions to create the financial and technological conditions to accelerate the decarbonization of the economy.

“These coalitions are meant to support the large emitters that face more difficulties in the transition from grey to green for them to be able to do it,” he underlined.

If commitments fall short by the end of this meeting, he warned, countries must revisit their national climate plans and policies.

Confusion over emissions cuts

Arguing that there is a deficit of credibility and a surplus of confusion over emissions reductions, he said:

“That is why – beyond the mechanisms already established in the (2015) Paris Agreement – I am announcing today that I will establish a group of experts to propose clear standards to measure and analyze net zero commitments from non-state actors.”

He also called on all donors to allocate half their climate finance to adaptation, adding that public and multilateral development banks should start as soon as possible.

“This COP (meeting) must be a moment of solidarity,” he said, adding the $100 billion a year in climate finance commitment to support developing countries must become a reality.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Climate change and biodiversity loss “pose an even greater existential threat to the extent that we have to put ourselves on what might be called a war-like footing,” Britain’s Prince Charles said at the UN Climate Change conference on Monday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, Prince Charles told world leaders and delegates that he knew “you all carry a heavy burden on your shoulders, and you do not need me to tell you that the eyes and hopes of the world are upon you to act with all dispatch, and decisively because time has quite literally run out.”

“The recent IPCC [UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report gave us a clear diagnosis of the scale of the problem,” he said, adding that “what we will do with a growing global population, creating ever increasing demand on the planet’s finite resources.”

Prince Charles, who is at the conference representing the Royal family, after Queen Elizabeth II was advised to take a two-week long rest by her doctors, warned that the world has to “reduce the emissions urgently and take action to tackle the carbon already in the atmosphere, including from coal-fired power stations, putting a value on carbon, thus making carbon capture solutions more economical is therefore absolutely critical.”

“As we tackle this crisis, our efforts cannot be a series of independent initiatives running in parallel, the scale and scope of the threat we face a call for a global systems level solution based on radically transforming our current fossil fuel based economy to one that is genuinely renewable and sustainable,” he added.

“So there’s going to be my plea today is for countries to come together to create the environment that enables every sector of industry to take the action required.”

Prince Charles said this will take “trillions, not billions of dollars” and “countries many of whom are burdened by growing levels of debt, simply cannot afford to go green.”

“Here we need a vast military style campaign to marshal the strength of the global private sector with trillions at his disposal, far beyond global GDP, and with the greatest respect, beyond even the governments of the world’s leaders.”

Charles also spoke about what the private sector can do to increase efforts.

“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the private sector is ready to play its part,” he said, adding that the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of prevention.

“I can only urge you to find ways to work together,” Charles said, “to save this precious planet.”

He said: “Crucially, investment is needed to help transition from coal to clean energy.”

“I can only urge you as the world’s decision makers, to find practical ways of overcoming differences. So we can all get down to work together to rescue this precious planet and save the Stretton future of our young people.”

The COP26 will continue until Nov. 12 with numerous panels, meetings and side events, all looking for remedies to reduce the levels of global warming by keeping it at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

More than 25,000 delegates from 200 countries are in the conference, where the first two days will see sessions attended by leaders.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US President Joe Biden sought to rally the international community to take action on climate change on Monday, telling global leaders at a pivotal summit they face a “moral imperative.”

Biden said world leaders are in the midst of a “decisive decade” that presents an “opportunity to prove ourselves” and unite as scientists warn that a failure to keep warning to within 1.5 degrees Celsius will have disastrous effects worldwide.

“Glasgow must be the kick off of a decade of ambition and innovation to preserve our shared future. Climate change is already ravaging the world,” Biden said in the Scottish city as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, began.

“In an age where this pandemic has made so painfully clear that no nation can wall itself off from borderless threats, we know that none of us can escape the worse that’s yet to come if we fail to seize this moment. But ladies and gentlemen, within the growing catastrophe I believe there’s an incredible opportunity, not just for the United States, but for all of us,” added Biden.

The US president’s appeal comes as he faces congressional deadlock at home that has jeopardized his plan to combat climate change, which he laid out last week before departing Washington for Europe.

Biden said his “framework” will reduce more than 1 billion metric tons of carbon emissions, which will build towards a 52% emission reduction by 2030. It includes some $555 billion in spending on key agenda items for Biden, including expanding clean energy tax credits, and investments in renewable energy domestic supply chains and technologies.

The package is currently in limbo amid congressional maneuvering between progressive and centrist Democrats. A vote could happen as soon as Tuesday.

COP26 will continue until Nov. 12 with numerous panels, meetings and side events, all looking for remedies to the climate crisis.

Source: Anadolu Agency