The Global Climate UN – COP24 in Katowice ended in success.

Negotiators from 196 countries and the European Union worked for two weeks on the Katowice Climate Package, implementing the Paris Agreement.

More than a dozen intense meetings enabled negotiations to be successful on different topics regarding principles aimed at implementing the Paris Agreement, which was signed in 2015. For two weeks, a wide range of issues were discussed – some fundamental, others very detailed and technical – which gave birth to a complex and difficult document. Finance, transparency and adaptation are some of its aspects.

“We have been working on this package for three years. When we have to deal with positions of almost 200 Parties, it is not easy to find an agreement concerning a multi-aspect and technical deal. Under these circumstances, each step forward was a great achievement. And I thank you for that. We can be proud of ourselves” said the COP24 President Michał Kurtyka during the plenary session concluding the summit. “Our common efforts didn’t consist solely of producing texts or defending national interests. We were conscious of our responsibility to people and commitment for the fate of Earth, which is our home and the home of future generations who will come after us” he added.

In Katowice, within the framework of COP24, many heads of state, government and almost 100 Ministers of the Environment and of Foreign Affairs from all over the world were present. Thanks to the consensus, which has been agreed on by the Parties because of their commitment, Katowice has become, after Kyoto and Paris, another milestone on the way towards a sustainable global climate policy. In the Katowice Rules, different parties adopted a path that will be followed by each of them when it comes to stepping up actions for climate protection.

“I can say it aloud now – interests of all the parties have been taken into account in the Katowice Package in a sustainable and honest way”, said the COP24 President Michał Kurtyka. “But, more importantly, its impact on the world will be positive. Thanks to it, we have taken a big step towards achieving the ambitions set in the Paris Agreement. Ambitions thanks to which our children will look back at some point and consider that their parents made the right decisions in an important historical moment.”

The Polish Presidency at COP24 also initiated three declarations, which have been broadly supported by the Parties. On the first day at COP24 President Andrzej Duda made a statement about the just transformation based on solidarity. Its adoption was the most important point of the Summit of Heads of States and Governments. The next day, a common initiative of Poland and the UK Katowice Partnership for Electromobility, presented in the presence of the UN Secretary General António Guterres, was presented by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the COP24 President Michał Kurtyka. In the second half of the conference the “Forests for Climate” declaration was announced. The Minister of the Environment Henryk Kowalczyk, COP24 President Michał Kurtyka, and Paola Deda representing the UNECE took part in the event.

Tofaş Türk won the first prize in the category of “Large-Scale Business Environment and Sustainability Management.” Unilever Sanayi ve Ticaret Türk A.Ş., a member of ÇEVKO Foundation got the second place in the same category while Sütaş Süt Ürünleri, also a member of ÇEVKO Foundation received the Jury Special Prize. At the ceremony, which was held with the participation of the Minister of Environment and Urbanization Mr Murat Kurum, awards were given in three categories as KOBİ (small and medium businesses) and large-scale businesses.
Another member of ÇEVKO Foundation, Sarten Ambalaj (Packaging) got the third place in the Innovative Environmentally Friendly Product category.

The General Assembly of The European Parliament gathered together in Strasbourg has approved the legal regulation to increase the share of renewable energy in the total energy consumption to 32% by 2030. With the regulation that was adopted with 104 to 434 votes, the 2030 objectives of the use of renewable energy sources of the EU to adapt to the climate targets were increased to 32% from 27%.

Also with the regulation, the energy productivity objective of the EU for 2030 was set at 32,5 % while the EU mandated a national energy and climate plan for each member country for the 2021-2030 period.

Sarten donated its ‘Endless Recycle’ themed “Metal Packaging Wall” project, which it exibited at the Eurasia Packaging Fair together with Metal Packaging Europe, to Kızılay (Red Crescent). The CEO of Sarten Ambalaj, Zeki Sarıbekir said that the previous year they had prepared “Metal Packaging Wall” as a joint project with the non-government organization Metal Packaging Europe and displayed a ‘guitar made from metal packaging’. He added that they were continuing with the project this year as well.

Sarıbekir pointed out that the theme of the project this year was ‘endless recycling’ and in order to attract the attention of the visitors, they put up a ‘Metal Packaging Wall’ themed ‘Endless Recycling’ in the fairground. He said that the project which consisted of metal packages containing tuna fish provided by Sarten was donated to Kızılay when the fair ended, and this way, 4,000 packages of tuna would be delivered to the needy. He thanked the Güngören Branch President of the Turkish Red Crescent Erhan Tan for their support during the process.
While 640 kilos of tuna fish were used on the Metal Packaging Wall, with the donation to Kızılay, an average four-person family will have 1,600 meals provided for them.