Turkey active in fight against greenhouse gases

By Gokhan Ergocun and Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey is doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization said Thursday.

Cement and concrete are produced from ash in thermal plant funnels and electricity is generated from animal manure, said Prof. Dr. Mustafa Ozturk.

Greenhouse gas emissions are the problem of all humanity, and everyone must fulfill their responsibilities in this regard, Ozturk told Anadolu Agency.

"We recover the iron and aluminum from the slag produced in the iron and steel factories. We use also the retained materials in construction materials such as sewer pipes, parquet and keystone," he said.

"The ash from thermal plant funnels is used as raw material in cement and ready-mixed concrete production. This prevents destruction of natural resources.”

Ozturk also said 154 million tons of animal manure is produced annually, and over 50 biogas plants are generating energy from manure.

"We allow an average of 4-5 renewable energy projects every month," he said.

China, India and the U.S. lead the way in global greenhouse gas emissions, he emphasized.

"When we look at greenhouse gas emissions per person, China and India are exceptionally low, but not in America."

He said while 6.07 tons and 6.7 tons of greenhouse gases per person are released annually in Turkey and EU countries, respectively, this figure is 16.5 tons in the U.S.

Ozturk underscored that U.S. President Donald Trump's negative attitude toward greenhouse gas emissions is not right.

Turkey will reduce greenhouse gas emissions until 2023, he said.

Turkey has the second largest autogas market in the world after South Korea, according to the latest report by the European LPG Association.