The Directorate of Communications organised the third leg of the environment and climate media tours in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change, from 9 to 12 September 2026. Ankara and Trabzon hosted the third leg of the media tours held as part of COP31.
27 foreign media professionals from 17 countries, including Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, South Korea, China, Azerbaijan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Greece, the Philippines, Poland, India, Serbia, and Morocco, were hosted in Türkiye as part of the "Road to COP31: Sustainable Future International Media Program" organised ahead of the COP31 Summit, which will be held in November.
Through the programme, Türkiye’s environmental and climate policies, its vision for sustainability, and its efforts to combat climate change were presented to members of the international press.
In addition to exploring Türkiye's zero waste and environmental management practices on site, participants had the opportunity to closely follow international efforts to combat climate change and safeguard seas and oceans.
The media tour began with a visit to Ankara's Sincan Integrated Solid Waste Facility. After learning about the facility's operations, participants visited the Zero Waste Training Centre of the Altındağ Municipality. Here, media professionals were informed about the activities of the Centre and the zero waste practices implemented in Türkiye by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change. Moreover, they were briefed on activities undertaken as part of the Zero Waste Project, which was initiated under the auspices of First Lady Emine Erdoğan and has since evolved into a global environmental movement.
The programme continued in Trabzon, with participants attending the Oceans and Seas Summit on 10–11 September. The summit addressed the effects of climate change on oceans and seas, the protection of marine ecosystems, the blue economy, financing, and international cooperation.
As part of the programme, media professionals met with Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change and the President-Designate of COP31. During the meeting, participants were briefed on Türkiye’s efforts in the COP31 process and its environmental and climate priorities.
On the media tour's final day, participants visited the Central Fisheries Research Institute (SUMAE). Following a presentation on fisheries management, aquaculture, breeding and genetics, environmental and resource management, fisheries health, food technology, and agricultural economics, participants toured the institute's laboratories before taking part in fish tagging and release activities.
