TUSIAD Addresses Green Transformation, Climate Finance, and the Acceleration of Clean Energy Transition at COP29 Events
The event, hosted by TÜSİAD in collaboration with Chapter Zero Turkey and Deloitte, focused on good practices in climate action and green financing, the challenges faced in this area, and methods to overcome these challenges. Under the moderation of Deloitte Turkey Partner Murat Günaydın, the speakers included Mehrali Ecer, Deputy Chairman of the Climate Change Directorate at the Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change; Irmak Kara Gül, Sustainability Manager at Garanti BBVA (BME:BBVA) International NV; Yasemin Sırali, Sustainability (ESG) Director at Fiba Group; and Özlem Ünlüer, Global Sustainability Director at BEKO.
“Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition” Side Event The side event was moderated by Cevdet Alemdar, a Board Member of TÜSİAD and the Chairman of the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Roundtable. Speakers included Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope; Ahmet Cemal Dördüncü, Chairman of the UN Global Compact Turkey; Elif Düşmez Tek, Strategy Partner and Head of Strategy at Deloitte Turkey; and Kamil Emre Erciyas, CEO of Erciyas Holding. The discussion covered bottlenecks in the clean energy transition, Turkey’s role in the wind energy supply chain, decarbonization priorities in high-emission sectors; the increasing share of electrification and intermittent energy sources, the role of digitalization and artificial intelligence in response to the changing structure of grids; and the socio-economic risks posed by climate change along with measures needed for a just transition.
Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, highlighted that the clean energy economy would reach a size equal to the crude oil market within a decade; as the share of commodities diminishes in all trade and economy, the share of technologies will increase. Birol pointed out that despite Europe being a long-time champion of climate change, it has fallen behind China, the USA, and India in clean energy technologies. He stressed that Europe needs partnerships to compete in areas where it holds a competitive advantage, such as wind energy, electrolyzers, and heat pumps, noting that Turkey presents significant opportunities and complementary elements to the EU in this field. He mentioned that the closer economic relations and reevaluation of the Customs Union between the EU and Turkey would be beneficial for everyone.
November 16 - “From Vision to Action: Business Strategies Driving Green Transformation” Side Event This event examined the various dimensions of green transformation from the perspective of the business world, including climate transition planning, just transition, technology and innovation, and energy transition. Moderated by Cevdet Alemdar, the speakers included Hakan Göral, Group Companies Chairman at Tekfen Holding; Mehmet Özalp, Deputy General Manager at Schneider Electric Turkey and Central Asia Power Systems; and Barbara Rambousek, Director of Gender Equality and Economic Inclusion at EBRD.
In his speech summarizing the goals and scope of the event, Cevdet Alemdar stated, “To limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by at least 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. This goal means a profound change in the way we do business. In this context, we aimed to discuss the fundamental challenges encountered in green transformation and how these challenges are overcome in the business sector from various perspectives. We covered a broad range, from energy transition to resource efficiency, the strategic and key role of collaboration, and inclusive growth in the context of a just transition.”