Turkey's top business association calls for cooperation to achieve sustainable development

Turkey's largest business organization has called on all stakeholders to achieve sustainable development goals in line with the United Nations' 2030 agenda. 

"The U.N. adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals to alleviate poverty, to fight inequality and injustice and to overcome climate change by 2030… In order to be able to realize these global goals, there are key roles that need to be played by all stakeholders, from national authorities to local authorities, from non-governmental organizations to academics and businesspeople," Metin Akman, a board member of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), said at a press meeting announcing the organization's newly-released report on the fight against climate change from the perspective of economic policies. 

Akman said the fight against climate change was one of the most challenging sustainable development goals, as this fight had no boundaries and covers many distinctive areas ranging from energy supplies to food security. 

"The solution requires a radical transformation. Carbon emissions need to be slashed by 60 percent until 2050 through a number of key transformative steps," he said, adding that Turkey should not be out of this process. 

"One of the most crucial agenda items for Turkey will be to focus on climate change, in the near future, as the country is located in one of the regions most affected by climate change.  We have already started seeing such effects, including drought and natural disasters. With this, the steps to adapt in our fight against climate change are as important as the measures to cut emissions," he said, adding that complete cooperation was needed to fulfill these goals. 

Conducting economic activities with an understanding that...