Turkey pushes methane cuts and electrification pledge at COP31
At the COP31 climate summit in Antalya (9‑20 Nov), Turkey is foregrounding methane reduction and a global electrification pledge. The country ranks fifth worldwide for solid‑waste methane emissions, and satellite analysis identified 70 methane plumes from its ten largest waste sites, with rates of 0.8 kg to 7.4 t per hour, located near Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya. Turkey will also urge nations to adopt the 35 by 35 Global Electrification Pledge, aiming to lift electricity’s share of global energy use from 23 % to 35 % by 2035. A Zero Waste Day, led by the First Lady, highlights domestic waste‑reduction efforts.
Key facts
- More than 180 major companies, including Volvo and IKEA, back the electrification pledge, totalling $1.69 trillion in annual revenue.
- Turkey has approved over 33 GW of battery storage projects since 2022, enough to power 27 million homes.
- Wind and solar now supply 22 % of Turkey’s electricity, up from 4.5 % a decade ago.
- Coal‑fired generation in Turkey has risen by roughly one‑third over the past ten years.
- Legislation to ban single‑use packaging has been introduced to parliament but not yet passed.
Summarised with AI from 5 sources · Updated 16:41Read our AI policy
Why it matters
Methane cuts and electrification are key to meeting near‑term climate targets.
What changed
Summary updated
First published from The Straits Times, Al-Monitor, Bangkok Post, The National and Al Jazeera English