Greenhouse gas emissions in Turkey reached the equivalent of 523.9 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2020, a 3.1 % increase compared to 2019, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) revealed Wednesday.

In 2020, the energy sector had the largest share of total greenhouse gas emissions with 70.2%, ahead of the agriculture sector with 14%, the industrial processes and product use sector with 12.7% and the waste sector with 3.1%.

TurkStat figures also offered a comparison with two decades ago. Energy sector emissions increased by 163.3% compared to 1990 figures while emissions from industrial processes and product use increased by 190.5% compared to 1990.

Approximately 85.4% of total carbon monoxide emissions originated from the energy sector, including 31.6% of total carbon monoxide emissions originating from electricity and heat production. The remaining 14.2% of carbon monoxide emissions originated from the industrial processes and product use sector and 0.4% from the agriculture and waste sectors in 2020.

Turkey, which became the last country in the G-20 group of major economies to ratify the Paris climate agreement, seeks to cut emissions. It currently ranks 14th among the countries with high greenhouse gas emissions according to Global Carbon Atlas. The climate deal it ratified requires countries to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve a "net-zero" emission goal by 2050.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had pledged last year that they were expecting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 21% by 2030.

Last year, the government had announced a new plan for the fight against climate change, including an action plan involving support for environmentally friendly production practices and investments, and the recycling of waste, among other steps.

Renewable energy resources play a critical role in scaling back emissions. In recent years, the country increased those resources and last year, some 97% of the country’s electricity generation capacity that came into operation was from renewable energy plants. In total, 3,446 megawatts (MWs) of licensed electricity generation capacity was activated in Turkey in 2021, according to the data of the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry. Wind power plants accounted for 51.5% of this capacity with 1,772 MW, and solar power plants for 14.5% with 498 MW.