Is it possible for Turkey to step out of coal in 2030? What arrangements are needed for this? What are the benefits of exiting coal? The report «The First Step on the Road to a Carbon Neutral Turkey: Getting Out of Coal 2030», which seeks answers to all these questions, has been published.
According to the report titled “The First Step on the Road to Carbon Neutral: Coal Exit 2030” prepared by APLUS Energy, the revenue from the carbon pricing mechanism and the savings from the cancellation of coal subsidies can facilitate a fair transition for the Turkish coal industry.
According to experts, if emissions of pollutants are prevented, pollution costs are paid, and public resource subsidies are terminated, Turkey’s exit from coal in electricity generation by 2030 may take place in its natural course.
The main outputs of the report, which examines three scenarios covering the 2021-2035 period: “current situation”, “exit from coal” and “exit from non-nuclear coal” are as follows:
-If power plant operators bear the costs of coal, electricity generation from coal becomes uneconomical. This means the end of domestic coal use in 2029.
-Within the scope of the report’s coal exit scenario, carbon emissions from the energy sector will decrease by 82.8 percent between 2021 and 2035 and will decrease to 27.6 million tons of emissions by 2035.
-According to the current situation scenario, the fact that coal remains a part of the energy mix indicates that it will be difficult for Turkey to reach its 2053 carbon neutral target.
-In the next period, if 0.5 percent of annual Gross Domestic Product is transferred to new energy investments, it may be possible to realize the Exit Coal Scenario.
* Report; 350th anniversary with Europe Beyond Coal, European Climate Action Network (CAN EUROPE), Sustainable Economics and Finance Research Association (SEFiA), WWF-Turkey (World Wildlife Fund), Greenpeace Mediterranean, Climate Change Policy and Research Association. org by APLUS Energy.