Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Turkey 2009 Review

This review analyses the broad range of energy challenges facing Turkey and provides critiques and recommendations for further policy improvements. Turkey will likely see the fastest medium- to long-term growth in energy demand among the IEA member countries. It has a young and urbanising population and energy use is still comparatively low. Therefore, ensuring sufficient energy supply to a growing economy remains the government’s main energy policy concern. Turkey has also progressed significantly in all other areas of energy policy over the past few years. Large investments in energy infrastructure, especially in electricity and natural gas, are needed to avoid bottlenecks in supply and to sustain rapid economic growth. To attract that investment, the country needs to continue reforming its energy market. Power sector reform is well under way, but in the natural gas sector reform has been slower and needs to be accelerated. Improving energy efficiency is essential for responding to Turkey’s energy policy challenges, and considerable potential remains in all sectors. In a country where private cars are rapidly becoming more common and where significant new construction is foreseen, transport and buildings merit particular long-term attention from the decision makers. Energy-related CO2 emissions have more than doubled since 1990 and are likely to continue to increase rapidly over the medium and long term, in parallel with energy demand. The IEA urges Turkey to intensify efforts to further develop its approach concerning its post-2012 regime to combat climate change, and to consider setting a quantitative overall target for limiting emissions.