$10 bln a year for Türkiye to achieve net zero by 2050: Report

ISTANBUL

Türkiye can achieve net zero emissions by 2050 by increasing its capacity in solar, wind and storage technologies and reducing fossil fuel consumption with an annual investment of $10 billion, according to a report by Sabancı University’s Istanbul Policy Center (IPC).

The total cost of the transformation the country needs to realize in order to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 is $101 billion in energy, transportation, buildings, industry and other productive sectors until 2030, which means around $10 billion per year, the report said.

According to the calculation made using Türkiye’s most up-to-date greenhouse gas emission data (2020), investments to be made in all sectors amount to $171 billion, while they generate $70 billion of income at the same time.

By transitioning to net zero, the country can expect a $42.1 billion reduction in health costs, the report estimated.

The report also pointed out that 1.35 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be prevented thanks to this transformation and the country’s total carbon dioxide emissions will decrease by 32 percent in 2030 compared to 2018.

While the investment required in the electricity sector, which is the most important for the transformation to combat the climate crisis, reaches $36.5 billion by 2030, this cost falls to $29 billion thanks to the decrease in coal and natural gas consumption, according to the report.

“If Türkiye wants to reach its net zero target in 2053, it has to act now. As time goes on, the cost we calculate will increase day by day,” said Ümit Şahin, a climate change studies coordinator at the IPC and editor of the report.

The figure obtained in the calculations showed that the ten-year transformation cost corresponds to approximately 1 percent of Türkiye’s national income, Şahin added.

On Oct. 6, 2021, the Turkish parliament approved the Paris Agreement and Türkiye become the 192nd country to be a party to the accord.

The agreement creates the legal environment that will ensure regulation in policies and laws in line with the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.

Within this framework, each country every five years shows efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The agreement targets a reduction in global emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.

Under the legally binding agreement, Türkiye has drawn a roadmap for its fight against climate change, containing 217 decision steps under seven titles.

The roadmap has been determined following three months of studies carried out by Climate Council organized by the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry.

While 76 of the decisions determined were on the topics of transportation, industry, agriculture and waste reduction, 34 were about science and technology.

In addition to 21 “green financing” and carbon pricing decisions, 20 decisions on adaptation to climate change, 24 decisions on local governments, and 42 decisions on health, education, just transition mechanism, climate justice and climate migration were determined.