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28 December 2025
Director of Climate Change Prof. Halil Hasar attended the “3rd Sustainable Century Summit and Awards Ceremony,” organized by Inbusiness Magazine. Hosted by Turkuvaz Media, the summit stands among the most comprehensive gatherings bringing together the business community and public institutions in the field of sustainability. Addressing the summit, which featured a broad agenda ranging from green development and the circular economy to climate policies and artificial intelligence, Hasar opened his remarks by outlining the process that led Türkiye to host and chair COP31.
“Our COP President is our Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, Mr. Murat Kurum…”
Prof. Hasar indicated that Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Murat Kurum led the negotiations during the final week of COP30 and demonstrated a firm stance to secure Türkiye’s COP presidency, saying: “When we thought during the final week that we might not secure COP31 hosting, our Minister, Mr. Murat Kurum, arrived and led the negotiation process for Türkiye to assume the COP presidency and host the conference. Through his resolute stance, he offered innovative solutions whenever the negotiations reached an impasse. In this context, the United Nations recognizes a single COP President, who serves as the sole official point of authority. That role now belongs to Türkiye. Let me also note that this decision was published in yesterday’s Official Gazette—may it serve our country well. Our COP President is our Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, Mr. Murat Kurum. That is all. The entire world recognizes this as such.
Continuing his remarks, Hasar stressed that the green transition is not a matter of choice but a necessity, saying: “To reach the 1.5-degree target set under the Paris Agreement, we need a technological transformation. This is precisely where the green transition comes into play. The green transition does not simply mean an energy transition or battery technologies. We missed the industrial revolution and the information revolution, but we must not miss the green transition. If we do, the gap will widen even further. The green transition is not merely about technology transfer. We would make a serious mistake if we limited ourselves to installing solar or wind power alone. We need to produce technology. From critical minerals to conventional processes and innovative systems, we must pursue all of these in a balanced and integrated manner. At this point, the Climate Law assigns responsibilities to all relevant ministries.” The summit, which brought together the business community and the public sector, was attended by private-sector leaders, senior officials from various institutions, representatives of civil society organizations, academics, and numerous invited guests.