World Bank Türkiye director praises country's efforts on climate change

By Tugba Altun

ANKARA (AA) – The World Bank's country director for Türkiye on Tuesday praised its efforts to fight climate change, saying that initiatives in this field will also contribute to energy security.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Türkiye Carbon Market Development Project, which was also attended by Mehmet Ozhaseki, Turkish minister of environment, urbanization and climate change, Humberto Lopez indicated that they had the opportunity to launch an implementation program for market partnership.

Pointing to the steps Turkey has taken towards solving climate change and its leadership in this field, Lopez underscored that Türkiye comes first among 17 countries they are working for the World Bank’s Partnership for Market Implementation (PMI), adding: "I'm going to event after event where I'm highlighting the leadership that the country is showing in climate change.

"And I think that it has to be recognized for that. It's not only what you are doing, it's the leadership that you are showing as a country."

On Türkiye’s 12th National Development Plan and the role of climate change in it, Lopez said the progress made in this area can be seen in Türkiye's activities.

Pointing to Ankara's renewable energy initiatives, he said plans for these initiatives are positive and can help fight climate change.

Lopez also said these plans will contribute to energy security and high efficiency in the country.

He said that the World Bank has announced a package of $18 billion for Türkiye's activities in this field in the next three years, of which $12 billion are allocated to support the private sector.

Stating that they also have programs to support the fight against forest fires, the official said that they also work on issues such as water use, drought, and floods.

Stressing that they are trying to increase the intensity of energy sources with low carbon emissions, Lopez underlined: "This is going to be supporting the energy security of the country and reducing the cost."

*Writing by Serdar Dincel from Istanbul