Economic program to help green transition: Şimşek

ANKARA

The government’s medium-term program attaches great importance to structural transformation as well as ensuring macro financial stability, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, adding establishing financial discipline will make it easier for Türkiye to achieve its goals in green and digital transformation.

“We have great potential in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” Şimşek wrote on Dec. 26 on the social media platform X, after his meeting  with the International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol in the Turkish capital Ankara where the two discussed energy-related issues.

Türkiye, by taking advantage of this potential, is reducing its dependence on foreign energy resources and strengthening its own supply security, Şimşek added, reiterating that Türkiye aims to reach net zero emissions in 2053.

During the meeting with Birol, also attended by leading businesspeople, they discussed the development in the global energy markets, China’s growing importance in renewable and clean energy, the framework drawn at the COP28 summit and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, Şimşek said.

Türkiye’s reliance on imported energy resources declined to 67.8 percent in 2022 from around 70 percent in the previous years, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said last week.

Bayraktar also said that carbon emissions trading under the Energy Exchange Istanbul (EPİAŞ) is planned to be launched next year.

While meeting the growing demand for energy, the share of renewable energy in total energy production and its share in installed capacity will be increased to 55 percent and 65 percent, respectively, Bayraktar said.