Turkey’s president calls the war in Gaza an ‘ecocide’ at the UN climate summit

Israel was not invited to the COP31 climate summit hosted by Turkey, according to Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum. His exclusion was due to Israel's actions in Gaza. Kurum stated, "As the host country for the leaders' summit, we did not send an invitation to Israel... We say that there can be no climate justice where peace does not prevail."

The decision, however, is seen as a political issue rather than a technical one, according to Zaghloul Samha, the chairman of the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority. The summit, which brings nearly 200 countries together, aims to reach an agreement on a Turkish proposal to increase electricity usage in global energy and revive efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Nevertheless, discussions at the summit have increasingly centered around geopolitical conflicts, particularly Israel's role in the region. This has raised concerns about whether climate talks are being overshadowed by political disputes. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a worsening climate crisis, emphasizing the urgent need for action to avoid catastrophic consequences.