But local environmental campaigners say it sidesteps the “elephant in the room” of Turkey’s ongoing reliance on coal and obscures the fact it has effectively become “Europe’s dumping ground” for plastic waste. As the CO climate summit approaches, host nation Turkey is putting electrification front and centre, touting its renewables boom while pushing its Zero Waste agenda as a way to reduce methane emissions.
When the UN summit opens Monday in Antalya, CO President Murat Kurum, who is also Turkey’s environment minister, will be pushing Ankara’s flagship initiative to make electricity account for 35% of global energy demand by 2035.
The non-binding “35 by 35” target is key to a 10-point Action Agenda that Turkey says will speed up the shift to renewables while shoring up energy security. Yet with a third of its electricity derived from coal, no date for phasing it out and plans to expand two existing coal-fired power plants alongside its electrification drive, CO will be a test for Turkey’s climate leadership, campaigners say.