As I waited for the ceremony, which was slated to begin at 8:30 a.m., I began to meet representatives from institutions and organizations around me who had proven themselves in the field of ‘sustainability’ and were doing significant work in this area. Naturally, the general topic of conversation revolved around sustainability, practices in different countries, and what needed to be done. As I discussed these issues and watched the following representatives from around the world from the balcony, a wealth of information and ideas flooded my mind. I can summarize what was going through my mind as follows:
For many years, since my university years, I had believed that fossil fuel-based economies were unsustainable. However, when I tried to talk about these issues, I couldn’t find many people around me who shared my vision. This included my close circle. They would often say, ‘Serhan, you’re talking with an idealistic side again. Let’s be a little more realistic.’
I constantly read articles on sustainability, renewable energy, and climate change because they intrigued me and strengthened my personal thesis. Therefore, since the early 2000s, I’d occasionally argue at meetings of our family company, Süzer Holding, that we should enter renewable energy. However, due to some crises the company was experiencing, these issues weren’t readily available. The environment, the current situation, and the people’s psychology weren’t conducive to discussing and implementing these issues.
After working in the family business for 10 years, when I decided to start my own business in 2011, I initially chose to invest in solar energy. While there were other sectors I had a strong grasp of that would generate much quicker returns, I was particularly drawn to solar energy. In fact, I went a bit overboard; because I believed that technologies in renewable energy and sustainability needed to constantly evolve, I made my first investment in a solar energy R&D company. I then sold the R&D company and focused on the commercial side of the business, thus implementing a strategy that is proving to be sounder every day.
While doing all this, I began sharing my views openly on my own blog. You can find links to some of my articles below:
http://www.serhansuzer.com/2015/03/28/turizm-sektoru-gunes-enerjisini-yakinda-kesfedecek/#more-1350
http://www.serhansuzer.com/2016/02/23/suya-kavusturan-gunes-enerjisi/#more-1689
http://www.serhansuzer.com/2012/08/10/turkiyenin-enerji-politikasi/
http://www.serhansuzer.com/2012/09/24/enerji-ve-cevre-dunya-nereye-gidiyor/#more-732
http://www.serhansuzer.com/2014/09/24/als-buz-kovasi-kampanyasi/
Why 100% renewable energy?
To share my views on these issues in more detail, I wrote an article in English for Turkish Policy Quarterly in 2013. In my article, entitled Why Türkiye Should Aim for 100% Renewable Energy?, I clearly shared my views on this subject. You can find the translation of the conclusion of this article, which can be found at http://www.turkishpolicy.com/article/632/why-Türkiye-should-aim-for-100-renewable-energy-summer-2013, below:
Considering that energy demand will increase further, Türkiye’s reliance on coal, oil, and natural gas imports will confront vulnerabilities such as energy dependency, environmental degradation, and a high current account deficit.
As Greenpeace declared in 2010, our planet is on the brink of uncontrollable climate change. If the average annual temperature increases by more than 2° C., the entire world will face natural disasters, hotter and longer droughts, the decline of agricultural land, and the mass extinction of species. Because climate change is a consequence of the burning of fossil fuels, there is an urgent need for an energy revolution that can transform the world’s energy landscape. To prevent dangerous climate change, global carbon emissions must decline after peaking in 2015 and reach as close to zero as possible by mid-century.
Combating climate change is our most pressing concern; therefore, it is essential to bring sustainable energy production closer to the point of decarbonization as quickly as possible. Renewable energy is the only solution in this regard.
Fossil fuels should be utilized as raw materials, for example, oil for petrochemicals and natural gas for fertilizer production. These materials should always be recycled and utilized.
A sun-rich country like Türkiye can meet most of its energy needs with solar energy, both through centralized systems like solar power plants and distributed systems for homes, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals, and factories. Our country also has great potential for other renewable energy sources, such as wind, geothermal, biofuel, hydro, wave, and hydrogen. Contrary to claims that renewable energy cannot meet basic power needs, it is possible to base 24-hour energy production 100% on renewable energy, provided that storage technologies can be utilized in areas such as heat and power, or geothermal systems and biofuels can be used to supplement solar and wind energy. Furthermore, because biofuels are produced on a large scale, they have the potential to replace fossil fuels in Türkiye. Türkiye should shift its energy policy to optimize consumption by promoting energy efficiency, refraining from encouraging environmentally harmful energy production based on nuclear, coal, or shale gas, and pursuing a 100% renewable energy target. This will help ease the economy by reducing energy imports, protect the environment by reducing carbon emissions, and achieve energy independence, a matter of national security. This will also position Türkiye among the leading players in the global energy sector. If it proves that 100% renewable energy is not a dream but a reality, even developed countries will be compelled to follow in Türkiye’s footsteps. The time to transition to renewable energy and carbon-free economies has inevitably arrived.
Recently, during a friendly conversation, my colleagues sent me a link to a TED talk about Bhutan, noting that there was a king who shared my vision. I’d like to share it with you:
Gross National Happiness
I would also like to share the important content of this speech:
Bhutan is a country between China and India. According to Bhutan’s 4th King, Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.
Bhutan
According to the Constitution, 60% of the country must remain forested. 72% of the country is currently covered by forests.
They argue that development must be achieved with values. In other words, they don’t sacrifice nature, which means so much to them, simply for the sake of development and growth. They prioritize these values over economic growth. The country isn’t carbon neutral, it’s carbon negative. In other words, it’s able to reduce carbon emissions rather than simply neutralize them. It produces 2.2 million tons of carbon and absorbs three times that amount from its forests.
They promised, “We will be carbon neutral in 2009 and maintain it” (though none of us were aware of this). Here are some of the actions they’ve taken to achieve this:
- They provide free electricity to farmers so they don’t have to burn wood for cooking.
- They allocate funds for the purchase of electric vehicles and LED lights.
- They are working to transition to a paperless system.
- They continue to plant trees across the country.
- More than half of the country is under protection (natural parks, nature reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries).
- All these protected areas are connected by biological corridors. Animals can move freely from one end of the country to the other.
- They assist the communities living in national parks. They undertake the responsibility of caring for the forests and adapting them to global warming, while living in harmony and preventing poaching, mining, and pollution.
The Bhutanese state that these magnificent practices initiated by their king require funding, and that a fund has been established for this purpose, which they call the “Bhutan for Life” program.
As they say this, they utter the most crucial sentence:
“We are united in the whole world, living on the same planet, breathing the same air. We are bearing the brunt of the mistakes made by major countries. Droughts and natural disasters caused by climate change in other countries have begun to cause serious damage in our country as well,” sharing examples. Have I better explained why the Paris Agreement, signed at the United Nations headquarters to prevent climate change, is so important?
I’ll be sharing all the details of the program in my next post. For now, take care.
Tag: ecology
