Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu spoke at the "Green Logistics Certificate Award Ceremony" within the scope of COP31. Minister Uraloğlu said, "Climate change has become a global reality that requires radical transformation in a wide range of areas, from energy production to agriculture, from urbanization to transportation and logistics infrastructure. The share of transportation activities in greenhouse gas emissions constitutes one of the most critical areas of this transformation." he said.
Stating that the transportation sector in Turkey ranks first in greenhouse gas emissions with a share of 17.6 percent, Uraloğlu said, "This table makes it necessary to consider our infrastructure investments and logistics activities together. We have implemented nearly 355 billion dollars of services and projects in the field of transportation and infrastructure in the last 24 years. We have implemented these investments not only to provide physical connections, but also to increase energy efficiency, shorten travel times and reduce carbon emissions." he said.
Minister Uraloğlu stated that, with the responsibility of being the first ministry in Turkey to calculate corporate carbon footprint, they are carrying out "Turkey's Net Zero Emission Road Map in Transportation" to cover all modes. Minister Uraloğlu continued his words as follows:
"We are standardizing the Zero Waste Movement, initiated under the leadership of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, from our ports to our logistics centers. With the divided road mobilization, we increased our network from 6 thousand 101 kilometers to 30,292 kilometers. We more than doubled our highway network to 3 thousand 848 kilometers. Today, our divided roads constitute 44 percent of our total road network, and thus our citizens spend 807 million hours annually "And it saves 2 billion 640 million liters of fuel. At the same time, we prevented the release of approximately 6.6 million tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere."
Explaining that strengthening railway and intermodal transportation is one of the most critical pillars of this transformation, Minister Uraloğlu said, "By strengthening our port-connected junction lines and logistics centers, we are accelerating the transition from road-based transportation to railway and maritime integrated systems. We aim to increase our national railway network, which is 14 thousand 272 kilometers, to approximately 17 thousand kilometers in 2028 and to 28 thousand 500 kilometers in 2053. The share of the railway in freight transportation is 100 percent." "We aim to increase it from 3.5 to 22 percent and to increase the electrification rate from 53 percent to 90 percent to 100 percent. We also make a difference with environmentally friendly solutions in urban transportation. The length of the urban rail system line, which was 281 kilometers across Turkey in 2002, reached 1,056 kilometers in 2026."
Stating that in all these studies, they are based not only on reducing emissions but also on establishing a transportation infrastructure compatible with nature, Uraloğlu continued his words as follows:
"We are carrying out a holistic transformation, from ecological bridges that enable the passage of wildlife to renewable energy investments, from electric and hydrogen vehicles to green ports and sustainable aviation practices. Our goal is to follow the path shown by nature; that is, to manage to live in harmony with it without destroying it."
Stating that all these steps are part of the holistic approach that supports the low-carbon transformation of the logistics sector, Uraloğlu said, "The Green Logistics Certificate Award Ceremony, which brings us together, is an important tool that certifies and encourages the contributions of our companies to this transformation at international standards. As you know, our awards are given every two years. This period, we determined the award winners in four categories as a result of a meticulous evaluation among the businesses whose certificates are still valid." He made a statement.
Announcing the award-winning companies, Minister Uraloğlu said, "We will be giving the Green Logistics Application Award to Alışan Lojistik A.Ş., the Railway Transportation Achievement Award; Greenlog Intermodal Logistics Services Inc., the Maritime Transportation Achievement Award; T.G.L. Tet Global Logistics Nakliyat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., and the Integrated Transportation Achievement Award to Mars Logistics Transport and Logistics Inc.. This is “I wholeheartedly congratulate our companies and all our certified businesses. When every step you take is considered together with our infrastructure investments, it becomes clear that sustainable logistics is possible.” he said.
Uraloğlu said that more efficient roads, strengthened railway connections and intermodal systems can only contribute to the 2053 Net Zero Emission target when completed with the green practices of the private sector, and continued his words as follows:
"Sustainable logistics is not only about reducing emissions. It is also about increasing competitiveness, reducing costs and making supply chains resilient. I also call on all our businesses that are candidates to receive the Green Logistics Certificate: Participate in this transformation, get your certificate, be the pioneer of sustainable transportation. Because we know that no matter how much a country strengthens its roads, railways and ports, the real transformation is not complete unless the will behind the vehicles traveling on those roads and the containers loaded in those ports is green. The award here today is Our companies have not only received a certificate, they have actually demonstrated what is possible, proving that it is possible to carry more load with less carbon, compete more strongly with more efficient operations, and grow in harmony with nature, without conflict with it.”
