Cooperation with the Gulf is strategic

IMF's meeting on October 11 highlighted discussions on managing the national debt that would arise from allocating resources to renewable energy investments to combat climate change. Although it may not be a prominent topic, the heightened attention that the EU, our largest export market, is paying to zero-emission criteria should also pique our interest. This is because, in the near future, exporting products that exceed carbon limits to the EU will not be possible.

According to the IMF, high levels of global debt and rising borrowing costs make it difficult for countries to allocate sufficient budgets for climate action. Vitor Gaspar, Director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, stated that "existing national goals and policies will potentially fail to deliver net-zero emissions, potentially with destructive consequences."

Ember, a research organization specializing in energy sector reports, released its mid-year report during the week of the IMF meeting, as the topic gained prominence. It's essential to review specific points from this report to understand the process.

According to the report:

Global electricity demand in the first half of 2023 increased by only 0.4%, significantly below the average growth rate. The annual average growth between 2012-2022 was 2.6%.

The decline in demand in high-income economies led to this situation. Major economies with decreased consumption include Japan (-5.6%), the EU (-4.6%), the US (-3.4%), and South Korea (-1.4%). This situation has led to a general decrease in fossil fuel production. The slowdown in global trade is the main factor behind this reduced consumption.

On the renewable side, global hydroelectric production saw a historic decline due to global drought. In the first half of the year, water-based electricity production decreased significantly by 8.5%.

Consequently, production from fossil sources increased slightly to compensate for the gap created by the decline in hydroelectric production. If hydroelectric production had remained at the same level as last year, it was estimated that emissions would have decreased by 2.9%. Therefore, production from renewable sources is progressing in preventing fossil fuel consumption.

In the first half of 2023, 50 countries broke records in new solar energy production. China played a significant role in breaking this record, accounting for 91% of global growth in wind energy and 43% of global growth in solar energy production.

The decline in global electricity demand led to significant decreases in coal energy, with coal energy production in the EU decreasing by 23%.

Wind and solar, as two sources of electricity that increased their share in global electricity production to 14.3% in the first half of 2023, continue to be the main driving forces of the electricity transformation by preventing 142 million tons of CO2 emissions with the additions in the first half of 2023.

According to the report, Türkiye is considered one of the countries that have started to make rapid progress in energy production from renewable sources.

In the agreements made during President Erdoğan's Gulf visit, investment in the renewable energy sector was the main focus in nearly all investment texts.

Renewable energy, including machinery, equipment production, and final energy production, was included in this framework. In this respect, the implementation of the agreements made during the Gulf visit is of strategic importance. Both politics and bureaucracy need to prioritize this matter. We don't have time to waste.