Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar held a series of meetings in Berlin, where he was attending the 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue.

26 March 2025

Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar held a series of meetings in Berlin, where he was attending the 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue. 

Accompanied by Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Fatma Varank, Director Hasar took part in the 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue meetings, attended roundtable sessions, and carried out active engagement in support of Türkiye’s candidacy for COP31.

Attending the meeting—where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also present and representatives from 35 countries took part—Director Hasar articulated Türkiye’s rights on the international stage during two days of intensive discussions. On the final day of the meetings, Director Hasar joined a roundtable session and underscored several key issues regarding the COP processes. At the meeting, where he shared proposals on a wide range of issues, Director Hasar’s key remarks were as follows:

“Consultations should be conducted without leaving any Party behind”

The Conference of the Parties stands among the most influential and significant global platforms. First and foremost, the effectiveness of COP processes requires joint efforts by the Presidency, the Secretariat, and the Parties. COP agendas are highly intensive. We believe it is important to streamline agenda items. In this regard, the subsidiary body sessions in Bonn and their chairs have a major role to play. Another issue concerns the quality of the decisions adopted. Transparency is also critically important. We believe that, rather than a group-driven process, the COP should fundamentally be a Party-driven process. Consultations should be conducted without leaving any Party behind.

“Youth participation plays a key role in raising awareness”

We have strong examples of good practice when it comes to inclusiveness. In particular, the engagement of private sector and youth participation play a key role in raising awareness. These good practices should be expanded. For example, similar processes could also be introduced for women and children. With respect to efficiency and agility, there is a need to establish a dedicated space to examine how all COP decisions are implemented in each country. This approach would prevent us from spending time adopting decisions that will not be implemented. Under a mandatory COP activity, Parties could exchange views on the progress they have made in implementing the decisions adopted at the previous COP.

“We must free the COP from an increasingly cumbersome structure weighed down each year by the burden of the previous one, and transform it into a more dynamic and needs-responsive process”

Climate change has now become a major item on the agenda across nearly every platform. However, first and foremost, there is a need to establish synergy among the Rio Conventions. However, first and foremost, there is a need to establish synergy among the Rio Conventions. We also need to make more effective use of the OECD’s data- and evidence-based work. At the same time, we believe that the dozens of existing initiatives should undergo comprehensive status reviews. In this regard, we should hear from the respective presidencies on the status of all initiatives under the Action Agenda since 2015. 

Finally, we must discuss innovative solutions to free COP meetings from an increasingly cumbersome structure weighed down each year by the burden of the previous one, and to transform them into a more dynamic, flexible, needs-responsive, and high-impact process.