Turkey to present natl climate change strategy at Copenhagen conference

In the wake of signing the Kyoto Protocol earlier this year, Turkey designed a strategy of short-, medium- and long-term goals to cope with the impact of climate change and global warming. President Abdullah Gul, along with Environment Minister Veysel Eroglu, plans to share Turkey's climate change strategy at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen tomorrow and Friday. The project, whose theme is "Turkey is part of the solution," is aimed at reducing emissions through eco-friendly measures for industry and transportation. As renewable energy sources are championed, power plants will not be permitted to exceed 7 percent of gas emissions in 2020, under the long-term plan. The government plans to extend the railway network and encourage people to use eco-friendly cars or bicycles to commute in cities. The recycling of waste materials and reforestation efforts are also planned. Eroglu earlier said industrialized countries such as the US have a historic responsibility for the existing problems related to climate change. Turkey has not set a specific goal to reduce gas emissions, instead drawing a road map of what to do through 2010. Turkey isn't obliged to make specific reduction goals because it is not a part of the annex-B list of the Kyoto Protocol, Eroglu said. "However, we hope to prevent 181.4 million tons of gas emissions through 2020 thanks to those measures," he added.