Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, "It is now time to take action." he said.
Bayraktar made evaluations about Türkiye's energy policies and the COP31 process in his speech at the 25th World Petroleum Council Energy Congress (WPC Energy Congress) held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Before starting his speech, Minister Bayraktar condemned the attacks of the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and stated that the Turkish government and people are in solidarity with the country and provide strong support to Saudi Arabia.
Stating that global energy markets are constantly tested due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Russia-Ukraine War, supply chain disruptions, high capital costs and the recent developments in the Gulf, Bayraktar said that cooperation between countries and companies is important for the durability of energy markets.
Minister Bayraktar pointed out that energy demand is constantly increasing in Türkiye and said, "Areas such as artificial intelligence-supported data centers, cooling needs, electric transportation and desalination of water in the future support the increase in electricity demand. Türkiye's dependence on energy imports is an important problem in current global conditions. Our investments in different resources continue to meet the increasing demand and ensure energy supply security. We aim to give a strong message to the global community on electrification, energy security and combating climate change through COP31. It is time to take action." he said.
Reminding Türkiye's 2053 net zero emission target, Bayraktar stated that they attach importance to investments in renewable energy, efficiency, oil and natural gas, nuclear energy and mining to achieve this target.
Minister Bayraktar stated that they evaluated all renewable energy options, including solar, wind, offshore wind and geothermal energy, and that energy efficiency potential exists not only in the energy sector, but also in different areas such as agriculture, transportation and buildings.
Emphasizing that Türkiye continues its nuclear energy investments in order to meet its increasing electricity needs and achieve its carbon neutral target, Bayraktar said:
"We aim to reach a nuclear energy production capacity of 20 gigawatts by 2050. Critical minerals are also very important in the energy transformation. Investments are being made in this field in Türkiye and abroad. Increasing interconnections and connection capacity in the fields of oil, natural gas and electricity is also critical in terms of resource diversity and energy security. We are working on various pipeline projects with neighboring countries such as Iraq and Syria."
Minister Bayraktar stated that the issue of electrification has an important place on the COP31 agenda and that the existing energy infrastructure must be transformed to meet the increasing electricity demand.
Referring to the importance of transforming the aging coal infrastructure into cleaner alternatives, Bayraktar pointed out that access to natural gas is becoming increasingly difficult and stated that nuclear energy offers a significant potential in this process.
Bayraktar stated that the goals of energy security and combating climate change should be addressed together and continued his words as follows:
"Especially in today's turbulent conditions, it is unrealistic to achieve our goals without addressing energy security with a correct and rational approach. Therefore, energy security will become a top priority. However, we also need to develop more consistent policies that take into account the fight against climate change. COP31 offers the opportunity to strengthen international cooperation on these issues. We hope to send a message to take action on a global scale on electrification through the conference to be hosted by Türkiye."
