During a panel on “Turkey's Energy Transformation” at the Turkish Pavilion on the fifth day of COP29, Taha Meli Arvas, General Manager of the Turkish Electricity Market (EPİAŞ), stated that a mining component will be added to the energy exchange and argued that being against mining means "hating the environment".
Stating that EPİAŞ, where electricity and natural gas are being traded, aims to "help finance the energy transformation", Arvas said that commodities and critical minerals required for renewable technologies will also be traded on soon.
EPİAŞ was also tasked with establishing a carbon market in Turkey and developing the Emissions Trading System (ETS). The fight against climate change requires the mining of critical minerals, Arvas said, adding that their aim was to help find these minerals.
“Unless there is an unheard of, magical technology”, Arvas elaborated, those who “don't believe” in mining have a big problem: ''If you don't believe in mining, you don't believe in energy transition. If you don't believe in battery storage or transmission lines that need mining, then you are against the environment. You hate the environment. If you don't realize that, then we have a bigger problem.”
Experts, however, point out that Arves' approach to the mining sector as a whole is an attempt to whitewash mining activities in Turkey by using green transformation as an excuse.
“The minerals produced in Turkey are not being used in such cutting-edge technologies,” said Dr. Cihan Erdönmez, a faculty member at Istanbul University's Faculty of Forestry.
This story was produced as part of the 2024 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. It was first published in Turkish in Yesil Gazete on November 18, 2024. It has been translated to English and lightly edited for length and clarity.
Banner image: EPİAŞ General Manager Taha Meli Arvas speaking at the Turkish Pavilion at COP29 / Credit: Selin Urgutas.
Selin Ugurtas
