Two developments in London this August have drawn a direct line between Türkiye’s polar research programme and the international climate diplomacy building towards COP31, which Türkiye is due to host. A new book on zero waste in the Arctic and Antarctic and a fresh cooperation agreement with London Climate Action Week together signal an expanding role for Turkish environmental policy on the world stage.
The Zero Waste Foundation is behind both initiatives. On 7 August it launched “Zero Waste in the Polar Regions”, a book produced with TÜBİTAK’s (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) Polar Research Institute, which applies zero waste thinking to scientific work in the Arctic and Antarctic. Ten days later, on 17 August, the Foundation signed a cooperation protocol with London Climate Action Week (LCAW) covering climate action, zero waste and the circular economy.
Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology of Türkiye, said the book united two national programmes that both started in 2017. “The Zero Waste initiative launched under the leadership of H.E. Emine Erdoğan has grown step by step from a national initiative into a global one,” he said.
He added: “At the same time, we began organising scientific expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Türkiye, enabling Turkish scientists to strengthen the country’s presence in polar research. Through this book, these two initiatives have come together.”
A polar research programme built around resource efficiency
“Zero Waste in the Polar Regions” draws on scientific data to examine climate change, environmental pollution and waste management across the Arctic and Antarctic. It brings together 18 articles written by scientists who have taken part in polar expeditions, covering the scientific, technical, administrative and communication sides of applying zero waste principles in some of the world’s most remote research settings.
Rather than focusing narrowly on collecting and sorting waste, the book examines how scientific expeditions are planned from the outset: how materials and resources are chosen, and how energy, water and logistics are managed throughout a mission. The underlying argument is that waste is best addressed before it is created, through efficient use of resources and a reduced environmental footprint for research activity itself.
The publication frames the polar regions as key indicators of global climate change, arguing that environmental shifts recorded there carry consequences well beyond the Arctic and Antarctic themselves. That framing is intended to give the research relevance to audiences and policymakers far removed from the poles.
The book is also presented as an extension of the wider zero waste vision associated with H.E. Emine Erdoğan, who founded the Zero Waste Movement, chairs the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste, and serves as Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation.
A formal link to London’s climate action network
The second strand of the announcement is the cooperation protocol signed with London Climate Action Week. It establishes a formal partnership between the Zero Waste Foundation and LCAW intended to strengthen knowledge exchange, joint initiatives and international dialogue on zero waste and the circular economy.
The agreement was signed by Samed Ağırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, and by Nick Henry, Climate Action Founder and CEO. Ağırbaş said: “After this cooperation protocol, I hope we will carry out strong work and organize joint events at COP31 and London Climate Action Week.”
London Climate Action Week brings together participants from government, city administrations, business, finance, academia, civil society and local communities, making it one of the more broadly based platforms in the international climate calendar. Through the new protocol, Türkiye’s zero waste and circular economy work now has a direct institutional channel into that network, rather than relying on ad hoc contacts or one off events.
Why COP31 sharpens the significance
Both developments arrive as Türkiye prepares to host COP31, giving the London partnership and the polar research book added diplomatic weight. For a general audience, the immediate practical outcome is fairly narrow: a published collection of scientific articles and a signed cooperation agreement. But the broader context is one of Türkiye positioning its domestic zero waste programme, first launched in 2017, as a model with international application, from remote polar research stations to a major global city’s climate network.
Officials involved are careful to note that the cooperation is not intended to reduce zero waste to a narrow question of recycling or waste disposal. Instead, the emphasis across both the book and the LCAW protocol is on resource efficiency, planning and reduced environmental footprint as principles that can be applied across very different settings, from a scientific base in Antarctica to a city-wide climate action programme in London.
The practical next steps are likely to become clearer as COP31 approaches, with Ağırbaş’s stated hope for joint events at both COP31 and future editions of London Climate Action Week suggesting that the current protocol is intended as a starting point rather than a one off gesture. For now, the two August announcements mark a formal, documented link between Türkiye’s polar science programme, its zero waste policy and one of the world’s established international climate action networks, set against the backdrop of Türkiye’s role as COP31 host.
