Deniz Kılınç / İstanbul, August 25 (HNA) – The energy crisis, which “now holds a political stance” due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, emphasizes “the importance of” indepence in energy, according to Erdal Bahçıvan, Chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI).
Talking at ICI’s monthly meeting, Bahçıvan said “The most essential fact that the ongoing energy crisis showed us is that how it is important for countries to be self-sufficient and not being dependent in terms of energy.” He added:
“The necessary renewable energy investments must be continously encouraged with the most powerful instruments for us to achieve the ’Green Transformation in Energy’”.
Mehmet Öğütçü, the President of the Global Resources Partners & The Bosphorus Energy Club, Dr Sohbet Karbuz, Director of OEM Oil and Gas at the Energy Companies Association of the Mediterrenean Countries (Akdeniz Ülkeleri Enerji Şirketleri Birliği), Cüneyt Kazakoğlu, Director of Facts Global Energy and Ali Arif Aktürk, Energy Consultant and Former President of BOTAŞ Gas Purchases attended the ICI’s meeting, “The Impact of the Developments in Energy Supply on Europe and Turkey”.
Bahçıvan reiterated that the rising energy crisis will increase the social burden in the near future. “Countries have started to take action against these negative social calls. While France plans to nationalize the electricity system and renew its nuclear power plants, the UK is discussing to impose additional and large taxes on energy companies. Germany and Belgium are shelving their plans to abandon nuclear power. France, Denmark, and the Netherlands are launching electricity curtailment and light-out campaigns,” he said.
Bahçıvan also underlined that critical news regarding some European industrial companies have halted production due to rising energy costs, the possibility of low-income families spending the winter without heat and energy companies going bankrupt are becoming more and more pressing matters. He added:
“On these most recent developments, we can make the following conclusion: We are on the verge of a global energy crisis that resembles the 1970s but this one differs in cause and effect relationship. If we look back to the past, while the oil shock that happened 50 years ago was caused by geopolitical tensions, today’s crisis was triggered by the failure to meet demand due to disruptions in the supply chain and the stock depletion due to the pandemic. As I just said, Russia reducing energy supply to Europe because of the sanctions has played a significant role in the deepening of the crisis and it continues to do so.”
Stating that one of the causes of the ongoing crisis is the decrease in energy investments, Bahçıvan said International Energy Agency (IEA) data shows that in 2022 energy investments are expected to increase by 8 percent to reach 2.4 trillion dollars, mainly in clean energy. “However, it is a fact that these investments are far from meeting neither the expectations of the future not the current energy crisis,” he added.
Bahçıvan noted that the interaction of the energy crisis with the climate crisis has brought the world to an inextricable situation. “While fossil fuels are seen as the main cause of the climate crisis, the revival of electricity production from coal in Europe and Asia due to the energy crisis increases the carbon emissions. On the other hand, with the impact of climate change, extreme temperatures increase energy consumption, while efficiency decreases by 30 percent due to cooling water in nuclear power plants.
“As I mentioned, Russia is using gas as a trump card against the economic and financial sanctions imposed on Russia. It seems inevitable that the energy crisis, which has become politicized in this way, will increase the social burdens in the future. So much so that the negative calls that have begun to rise in countries due to the high energy and food prices experienced on a global scale also point to this.”
“The most important fact the energy crisis we are going through shows us is that countries should be self-sufficient and not be dependent on energy,” Bahçıvan said and made the following statement:
“For this purpose, we follow with appreciation the exploration activities for natural gas and oil resources in our country, and the activities aimed at increasing our gas storage capacity and diversifying different energy sources. We have rich solar, wind and other renewable energy sources to be self-sufficient in energy. In order for us to make the ‘Green Transformation in Energy’ real, the necessary renewable energy investments must be continuously encouraged with the most powerful instruments.
“The unlicensed regulation published in May 2019 encouraged our industrialists to invest in solar energy on their roofs, and also allowed the surplus energy produced to be sold. However, with the decision published on August 11, the amount of electricity that can be sold is limited to the amount consumed. This practice may adversely affect existing and new investments. I would like to emphasize that investments in energy are long-term investments and that policies and incentives for investments should be determined from this perspective.”