Istanbul (AFP) – As the COP31 climate summit approaches, host country Turkey is putting emphasis on electrification with renewable sources and pushing its “Zero Waste” agenda aimed at reducing methane emissions.

First modification: 11/09/2026 - 14:36

However, local environmentalists warn that his agenda ignores the most glaring problem, Turkey's dependence on coal, as well as the fact that Turkey has become "Europe's dumping ground" for plastic waste.

The UN summit begins on Monday in Antalya, in the south of the country, and will be chaired by Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum. There, it will promote Ankara's star initiative: that electricity supply 35% of global energy demand by 2035.

The non-binding goal "35 by 35" is part of the 10-point Action Agenda that, according to Türkiye, will accelerate the shift towards renewable sources.

"This year's energy crisis shocked us (...), now everyone understands that imported energy is energy that is not controlled. Electrification is the answer. It protects communities from the volatility of global markets and reduces emissions," Kurum said on Thursday.

COP31 aims to "usher in the era of electricity," he said.

Renewable energies

Turkey has made great strides in renewable infrastructure, with its Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar presenting an ambitious $500 billion roadmap to electrify its economy and quadruple its wind and solar energy capacity.

However, a third of its energy comes from coal and there is no date for its phase-out. Rather, Ankara plans to expand two coal-fired power plants as part of its electrification effort.

"What electrification should do is end dependence on fossil fuels, that should be the ultimate goal," said Emel Turker Alpay, an activist with Greenpeace Turkey.

According to her, the "35 by 35" goal does not indicate that electricity must come from clean sources.

"The most important thing would be a commitment to no more coal in Türkiye and defining a date for a just transition away from fossil fuels," he told AFP.

Last year's COP host, Brazil, put emissions reduction at the center of its agenda.

Turkey, on the other hand, has avoided the debate on exiting fossil fuels, with Minister Bayraktar pointing out that, to abandon coal, the country would have to increase nuclear energy production.

In principle, Turkey's first nuclear plant will begin operating this year and the country plans to open two more.

"Weak" goals

Turkey and COP31 co-host Australia, which is leading the negotiations, set goals to reduce emissions of global warming gases, but neither set a national roadmap for moving away from fossil fuels.

Türkiye aimed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2053, but Climate Action Tracker warned in October that its interim goals were not met.

"Turkey (...) faces a crisis of contradiction: it calls for accelerating climate action, but its own goals are weak and lack the necessary ambition to drive urgent emissions reductions," he declared.

Yagiz Eren Abanus, from the Center for Spatial Justice – a member of the Turkish Climate Network – considered that these goals need a radical reformulation.

"Türkiye does not reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, it increases them," he explained.

Despite Ankara's commitment to reduce projected emissions by 41% by 2035, in real terms it allows for a "16% increase" from current levels.

Plastic waste

Turkey is also promoting the Zero Waste initiative, a diplomatic campaign promoted by Emine Erdogan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which seeks greater international cooperation to reduce methane emissions from waste.

The initiative's agenda seeks to "reduce the global increase in waste by 50% by 2035, which is positive," said Greenpeace's Alpay.

"But these policies only focus on managing waste after it is produced, without preventing waste at its source. Without a stronger commitment to waste prevention and methane reduction, we will not have a significant reduction in emissions," he told AFP.

Türkiye has not supported the Global Methane Pledge and still imports plastic waste, especially from Europe.

"The plastics industry is the Trojan horse of the fossil fuel industry because when they can't use the extracted fuels for energy production, they redirect it to the petrochemical industry," he explained.

"If we limit waste management to recycling, it doesn't mean much for climate change or emissions," he said.

© 2026 AFP

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