Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz attended the "Business World and Investment Summit" organized by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) within the scope of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Antalya.
In his speech here, Yılmaz said that while the world economy is going through a radical transformation, green transformation and digitalization create a new policy agenda that affects the whole economy.
Stating that energy costs, carbon intensity, resource use and the structure of supply chains increasingly affect investment decisions, access to finance and competitiveness, Cevdet Yılmaz stated that with the right policies and investments, climate transformation can be transformed into a process that paves the way for more efficient production, strong energy security, new technologies and more resilient value chains.
"WE BELIEVE THAT ECONOMY AND ECOLOGY OVERCOME"
Yılmaz pointed out that the radical transformation in the world economy connects many areas, from energy policies to industrial production, from the course of trade to investment preferences, and said, "As Turkey, we are determined to manage this transformation with policies that improve our production capacity, strengthen our energy supply security and increase the competitiveness of our industry. We consider ecological policies in integrity with economic policies. We believe that economy and ecology overlap." he said.
Stating that they believe that holistic policies and investments will pave the way for more efficient production, new technologies and more resilient value chains, Yılmaz said, "The 2053 Net Zero Emission target, which we have determined under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, draws a long-term horizon for Turkey's climate policy. The green and digital transformation, which we focus on in our development policies, provides our economy with a more qualified and sustainable basis while achieving our environmental goals. Fossil, which is the main reason for our current account deficit." “Transformation processes that reduce the import of resources are extremely valuable not only in terms of the environment but also in terms of macroeconomic stability.” he said.
“WE SUPPORT INVESTMENTS FOR ENERGY AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY WITH LOW CARBON PRODUCTION”
Yılmaz stated that while global climate finance will exceed 2 trillion dollars in 2024, current analyzes indicate that the annual need will increase to at least 6.2 trillion dollars by 2035, and that the fact that climate finance directed to emerging markets and developing economies, excluding China, remains at approximately 426 billion dollars, shows the size of the gap in access to resources.
Stating that with the Climate Implementation Bridge, they support countries in transforming their climate and development priorities into investable project portfolios and providing these projects with financing appropriate to their needs, Yılmaz said:
"In order for projects to turn into investments, we must strengthen the project preparation capacity, risk sharing, predictable market rules and demand for low-emission products, as well as financing tools. Success depends on bringing together the right project with the right capital, the right risk sharing and the right partnership. Green industrialization is one of the areas where climate targets and economic competitiveness directly intersect. While a cumulative investment need of over 500 billion dollars is envisaged for the production of low and near-zero emission steel and cement in the 2026-2035 period, the final investment decision is made "The difference shows the importance of access to finance, infrastructure, reliable demand and long-term market predictability for turning technological solutions into investment decisions. The Antalya Green Industrialization Agreement focuses on the development of investable clean industrial projects, facilitating access to finance and strengthening markets for low-emission products."
Yılmaz pointed out that the trend of increasing the global share of electricity in final energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035 creates a new investment agenda from networks to storage and system flexibility, and said, "Artificial intelligence-supported clean technologies and digital energy management can only produce real economic value when applied in the field and gain scale. We are updating our policy framework with the 2026-2030 Green Deal Action Plan, and investing in low-carbon production in industry and energy and resource efficiency." "We also provide support to our export companies for their sustainability road maps and transformation projects." he said.
Explaining that for the climate transformation to be permanent, large companies and SMEs must also participate in this process, Yılmaz said:
"In an environment where global uncertainties and risks are rising and technological change is accelerating, it is no longer a choice but a necessity for the public to develop more active industrial policies and to develop a much stronger relationship between the public and the private sector. In this risky environment, in an environment where uncertainty is rising, we need to re-discuss the role of the state in the economy. At this point, the state needs to act with more active policies and industrial policies. The most appropriate and meaningful way to achieve this is for the public and private sectors to shape policies together in a strong dialogue and to act with a strong partnership in practice." "
