A Retrospective Assessment of Türkiye’s Recent Energy Policy in Terms of Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation

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Gül H. H. M., ERCAN H., AKINOĞLU B. G., Açıkgöz Ş.

Energies, vol.18, no.4, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 18 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.3390/en18040951
  • Journal Name: Energies
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aerospace Database, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, CAB Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, INSPEC, Metadex, Veterinary Science Database, Directory of Open Access Journals, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Keywords: climate change mitigation, electricity, energy policy, energy security, Türkiye
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Countries prioritize secure and cheap energy over clean energy in their energy policies, and Türkiye is no different. The Strategy Plan 2015–2019 of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources emphasizes the exploitation of domestic coal for energy security, while Türkiye intends to curb its emissions by 41% by 2030. These two targets contradict in terms of climate change mitigation. In retrospect, this study aims to determine the role of coal, wind, and solar power in energy policy-making through scenario analyses. The results indicate that if Türkiye continued its pre-2020 energy policy, its use of domestic coal would be important for energy security. On the other hand, both wind and solar have the capacity to contribute to the country’s efforts towards energy security and climate change mitigation.