Erdogan says Turkey has signed $3.2bn green climate fund deal

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey has signed a memorandum of understanding under which it will receive loans worth $3.2 billion to help it meet clean energy goals set out in the Paris climate accord, Reuters has reported

Sources familiar with the plan said earlier this month that Turkey will receive the loans under a planned deal funded by the World Bank, France, and Germany.

“We have put down the signatures in the past days for the memorandum of understanding to provide our country with $3.157 billion from the green climate fund, for which we have been holding negotiations for some time,” Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party.

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The Turkish leader’s announcement comes three weeks after his country became the last member of the G20 group of industrialised states to ratify the Paris climate agreement, and days ahead of a global climate summit in Glasgow.

Ankara held up this ratification for years, arguing that it was wrongly considered as a developed economy under the terms of the accord. This meant that it had less access to financial support to meet the Paris goals of switching to green energy.

According to Erdogan, funding available under the memorandum will support public and private sector climate projects. Up to $66.5 million will be provided in grants, he added.