ISTANBUL, Nov 8 — As the COP31 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.
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.
When the UN summit opens tomorrow in Antalya, COP31 President Murat Kurum, who is also Turkey’s environment minister, will be pushing Ankara’s flagship initiative to make electricity account for 35 per cent 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.
