Turkey sends mixed messages in climate change stance

Heavy rains brought various provinces such as Erzurum, Gaziantep, Siirt, Malatya and Antalya to a standstill due to excessive flooding. However, Turkey’s stance on climate change remains hazy.

A signatory to the Kyoto Protocol but a poor renewable energy producer, Turkey is currently seeking the answer to optimize energy production. At the same time, Turkey is trying to ensure that energy production doesn’t increase the level of greenhouse gases released. Turkey has one of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in Europe.

Dr. Mikdat Kadıoğlu, the director of the Disaster Management Research and Application Center at İstanbul Technical University (İTÜ), suggested that Turkey has not felt the detrimental effects of climate change as of yet. He argued that climate change would drastically affect the weather, suggesting that there would be both “city floods” and droughts, adding that the State Waterworks Authority (DSİ) did not have the capacity to deal with “city floods.”

Kadıoğlu also criticized Turkey’s stance on climate change by suggesting that no organization in Turkey has the capacity to deal with climate change, arguing that there is no forward-looking perspective on how to deal with the future environmental consequences of climate change.

Yunus Muluk, a political representative from the Greens Party, based in İstanbul stated that “climate change is a big problem that is affecting the entire world. Naturally, climate change will affect Turkey. Weather inconsistencies are an example of how climate change has affected Turkey. Previously, the Akdeniz region never witnessed weather inconsistencies. Recently, weather inconsistencies have become common in the region. Similar inconsistencies have been witnessed in İstanbul. Additionally, typhoons and storms never really occurred in Turkey. However, they seem to be much more common now.”

The government is currently seeking to establish alternative energy methods that will reduce the level of greenhouse gases and minimize Turkey’s international dependence on energy. As a result, hydroelectric power plants continue to open at a rapid pace. Three new nuclear power plants are set to be built by 2023.

Nuclear energy, an effective preventative measure for climate change?

In order to deal with the detrimental affects of climate change, Turkey recently made the decision to construct nuclear power plants, which are seen to be a viable option for combating climate change. Much controversy surrounds this recent decision. Muluk argued: “Scientists in Turkey believe that nuclear energy will solve the climate change problem. This, however, is not completely true. Firstly, the construction of a nuclear power plant takes a large amount of time. Secondly, once the power plant is functioning, it can negatively affect its surroundings. Hence, climate change will continue with or without the nuclear power plants.”

International criticism has also followed Turkey’s decision to go nuclear. Recently, the Guardian newspaper outlined the potential risks of Turkey building a nuclear power plant so close to a fault line. “Turkey meanwhile is planning three nuclear power plants at Akkuyu on the Aegean Sea. The site is only a few kilometers from the active Ecemis fault line and is in an area where large earthquakes have occurred in the past. A 1999 earthquake in Turkey killed nearly 20,000 people.”

Germany, once a strong supporter of nuclear power plants, has confirmed that they will shut down all their nuclear power plants by 2022. This decision re-sparked debate in Turkey regarding the nuclear decision.

Hydroelectricity more viable?

Turkey also has the capacity for developing hydroelectricity. Necdet Pamir, an energy expert and instructor at Bilkent and İstanbul Kültür universities, earlier told Sunday’s Zaman that Turkey’s energy needs could be easily met through alternative and renewable energy sources that Turkey has not yet fully realized.

According to Pamir, the potential of the hydroelectric energy sector in Turkey is vast. He suggests arguments that claim Turkey lacks sufficient alternative energy sources are not completely true, adding that hydroelectric power is one of the most important energy sources to be explored, since its technical and economic potential is around 140 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) and could be increased to 170 billion kWh with the proper technology. Of such potential, only 35 percent of the hydroelectric energy is being realized and around 65 percent is waiting to be developed for Turkey’s energy needs, Pamir says.

Currently, there are 172 operational hydroelectric power plants in the country, while 148 more are being constructed at this time. Nevertheless, a large number of environmental nongovernmental organizations in Turkey are strongly against the existence of hydroelectric plants. Hydroelectric power plants have significant environmental disadvantages, including ecosystem damage, loss of land and methane emissions.

Turkey, which imports approximately 70 percent of its energy, currently faces the dilemma of trying to minimize its impact on climate change by producing homemade, safe and viable long-term options for energy.

‘Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change’

A project titled “Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change,” which was jointly run by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), was aimed at developing “capacity for managing climate change risks to rural and coastal development in Turkey.”

“This was achieved by mainstreaming climate change adaptation into the national development framework, building capacity in national and regional institutions, piloting community-based adaptation projects in the Seyhan River Basin, and integrating climate change adaptation into all UN agencies in Turkey.” The project had a $7 million budget, and has just been completed, running from June 2008-June 2011.

However, the project has attracted a large amount of criticism for not properly addressing climate change issues. The Ankara Photographers Association (AFSAD) and Middle Eastern Technical University Alumni Association (ODTÜ-MD) suggested that Turkey’s plan on tackling climate change is still not clear. Arguing that the plan does not deal with Turkey’s climate change reality, like dealing with the hydroelectric power plants, which will destroy a large amount of Turkey’s ecosystem. Additionally, Dr. Günay Can, a regular writer for the Yesil Gazete (Green Newspaper) suggested that the plan did not address significant climate change issues, such as Turkey’s energy dilemma.