Turkey has prevented an annual 100 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions with the improvements it has made in the field of energy, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday.
"Turkey is the 12th in the world and fifth in Europe in terms of its installed capacity in renewables. We rank first in Europe in geothermal installed capacity and second in Europe in hydroelectric installed capacity," Erdoğan told the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) via video link.
In this way, 54% of the country's installed electrical power is made up of renewables, while 97% of the power plants it built last year with a capacity of 3.5 gigawatts are powered by renewable sources, Erdoğan said.
"With the improvements, we've made in the field of energy, 100 million tons of additional greenhouse gas emissions per year have been avoided," he said, underlining the role of renewables in fighting climate change.
Erdoğan stressed that fighting climate change, which is one of Turkey's "top priorities," and environmental problems are worldwide issue that needs to be resolved through global solidarity.
"With this understanding, we ratified the Paris Agreement and declared our net-zero emissions target for 2053, as well as our Green Development Revolution," he said.
Turkey ratified the Paris Agreement in October 2021 and announced its ambition to achieve net zero in greenhouse gas emissions by 2053.
The country has been updating its nationally determined contributions under the 2016 agreement and will announce its long-term climate strategy and action plan at the end of this year.
Erdoğan said that under its Green Action Plan, Turkey was making its ports more environmentally friendly and expanding forests and protected areas, adding that the country was also one of the world's leaders in combating desertification and erosion.
Highlighting Turkey's efforts on reducing emissions in transportation, Erdoğan said that its indigenous Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) would be rolling out its first electric car by the end of the year.
"We're making sustainable and climate-friendly modes of transportation more widespread," he said, stressing the importance of technology and "groundbreaking research and development."
The president also noted the progress made through the "zero waste" initiative in environmental protection, recycling and emission reduction.
"We're also pursuing our studies on green hydrogen with determination," Erdoğan said. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen fuel produced through renewable power, as opposed to natural gas.
The war in Ukraine has once again revealed the importance of energy security, he said, underlining that energy efficiency, the transition to clean energy, and energy transformation were inseparable parts of this.
