Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar spoke at the opening of the Istanbul Climate Finance Summit.
Stating that energy transformation is not a single goal for Turkey and that three critical goals must be achieved at the same time, Bayraktar said, "The first is to ensure energy supply security. The second is to reduce our dependence on imported energy, which continues to be an important vulnerability for our economy. The third is to fulfill our climate commitments, especially our 2053 Net Zero Emission target set by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan." he said.
Bayraktar stated that none of these goals can be considered independently of each other, and that in today's conditions, achieving these 3 goals at the same time has become more challenging than ever.
Drawing attention to the difficulties experienced around the world in recent years, Bayraktar continued as follows:
"Today, we are experiencing serious pressures again in the global oil and natural gas markets. Energy prices have risen significantly. European natural gas prices have reached their highest levels in recent years again. This picture reminds us of a fundamental fact, energy security has not been off the agenda along with the energy transformation. On the contrary, energy security and energy transformation have to go together. For Turkey, the key to this is electrification."
RENEWABLE ENERGY IS AT THE CENTER OF ENERGY CONVERSION
Minister Bayraktar stated that renewable energy will be at the center of this transformation and said, "Turkey has significant potential in terms of solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal resources. We are rapidly increasing our renewable installed power, and at the same time, we are building an electricity infrastructure that can integrate a much higher amount of variable renewable generation into the system." he said.
Stating that energy efficiency should be considered as a strategic energy source in itself, Bayraktar said, "Our current National Energy Efficiency Action Plan foresees investments of over 20 billion dollars in both the public and private sectors in the 2024-2030 period. These investments will cover the industry, buildings, transportation, agriculture and energy sectors. Moreover, our target is not limited to 2030. We will prepare the Third National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which includes much more ambitious targets for the next 10 years." he said.
Bayraktar emphasized that nuclear energy will be one of the indispensable elements of Türkiye's carbon-free electricity generation portfolio and said, "In an increasingly electrified economy, we see nuclear energy and renewable energy not as competitors, but as two basic components of a safe and clean energy system that complement each other." he said.
"WE NEED VERY LARGE SCALE INVESTMENTS IN BOTH TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS"
Stating that a major transformation is being prepared in transportation and that battery storage systems will play an increasingly critical role, Bayraktar said, "All this brings us to perhaps the most important topic of the coming period, electricity infrastructure. It is not enough to focus only on production investments. We need very large-scale investments in both transmission and distribution networks. Our electricity networks need to become larger, stronger, smarter and more flexible." he said.
Regarding the importance of investing in critical minerals required for transmission lines and batteries, Bayraktar said, "Just as there was a 'gold rush' in the 1800s, today there is a global race for critical minerals. Countries that cannot access these minerals will be left behind in many areas, from renewable energy to data centers, from artificial intelligence to the industries of the future. In short, the extraction of these minerals and the financing of mining projects are of strategic importance." made his assessment.
ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SHOULD BE REDESIGNED AND STRENGTHENED
Pointing out the extreme weather events experienced in many parts of the world and stating that these can directly affect electricity production, transmission and distribution, Bayraktar said, "We have to rethink, redesign and strengthen the electricity infrastructure due to global warming and climate change." he said.
Minister Bayraktar said:
"Climate finance should not only finance the reduction of emissions. It should also finance climate resilience and adaptation investments. The infrastructure we build today should be designed according to the climate realities of the next decades, not the climate conditions of the past. For this, huge financial resources are needed. Public financing alone will not be sufficient. We have to mobilize private sector capital, international financial institutions, development banks and long-term institutional investors. Financing that reduces risk, reduces the cost of capital and makes clean energy and climate resilient infrastructure investments commercially attractive." Access to affordable and long-term climate finance is vital, especially for developing economies like Turkey. It is not possible for the global energy transition to succeed as long as financing remains expensive or inaccessible in countries where energy demand and investment needs are increasing most rapidly.
Saying that the energy transformation is an unprecedented transformation in terms of its scale, Bayraktar said, "This is not only an environmental agenda. This is also an energy security, economic development and industrial competitiveness agenda. If we can mobilize the necessary investments and establish the right financing architecture, we can build a safer energy system, a more competitive economy and a cleaner future together." he said.
