Chapter 1-Present_situation_and_future_prospect_of

Chapter1PresentSituationandFutureProspectofEnergyUtilizationandClimateChangeinTurkeyİbrahimYüksel,KamilKaygusuzandHasanArmanAdditionalinformationisavailableattheendofthechapter‐nesburgWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopmentin2002highlightedboththeopportuni‐tiesandthelackofprogresssincetheEarthSummitinRiodeJaneiro,adecadepreviously.Decision-makersarelookingtosustainabledevelopmenttoprovidepracticalapproachesthatcouldaddresstraditionalissuesaswellasthenewerchallenges.Althoughnouniversallyacceptedpracticaldefinitionofsustainabledevelopmentexistsasyet,theconcepthasevolvedtointegrateeconomic,socialandenvironmentalaims[1,2].Recentincreasesinenergypricesarelikelytobetheprecursorofalongertermtrend.Whiletheywillencouragemuchneededenergyefficiencyandstimulateinvestment,theyposeseveredifficultiesforexpandingaccesstomodernenergyservicestotheonethirdofpeoplewhostilldonothaveit,orwhoseaccessisinadequateforeconomicdevelopment.Anenergysystemembodyingsuchinequitiesisneithersustainablenoracceptable[3].However,developingtheremaininghydropowerpotentialoffersmanychallengesandpressuresfromsomeenvironmentalactiongroupsoveritsimpacthastendedtoincreaseovertime.Hydropowerthroughouttheworldprovides17%ofourelectricityfromaninstalledcapacityofsome730GWiscurrentlyunderconstruction,makinghydropowerbyfarthemostimportantrenewableenergyforelectricalpowerproduction.Thecontributionofhydropower,especiallysmallhydropower(SHP)totheworldwideelectricalcapacityismoreofasimilarscaletotheotherrenewableenergysources(1-2%oftotalcapacity),amountingtoabout47GW(53%)ofthiscapacityisindevelopingcountries[3,4].Affordableenergyservicesareamongtheessentialingredientsofeconomicdevelopment,includingeradicationofextremepovertyascalledforintheUnitedNationsMillenniumDevelopmentGoal(MDGs).Modernenergyservices-mainlyprovidedbyliquidandgaseous©2013Yükseletal.;licenseeInTech.ThisisanopenaccessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense(),whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited.fuels,aswellaselectricity-areessential.Convenient,affordableenergyisalsoimportantforimprovinghealthandeducation,andforreducingthehumanlabourrequiredtocookandmeetotherbasicneeds[3-6].Meanwhile,globalclimatechangeposesanunprecedentedthreattoallhumanbeings.Whilethisproblemisimportantinthelong-run,mostdecision-makersrecognise(especiallyinthedevelopingcountries),thattherearemanyothercriticalsustainabledevelopmentissuesthataffecthumanwelfaremoreimmediately.However,evenintheshortterm,climateisanessentialresourcefordevelopment.Forexample,inmanycountries(especiallythepoorestones),existinglevelsofclimaticvariabilityandextremeeventsposesignificantrisksforagriculture,economicinfrastructure,andvulnerablehouseholds.Climatichazardscontinuetotaketheirhumanandeconomictolleveninwealthycountries.Suchclimatethreats,whichunderminedevelopmentprospectstoday,needtobebetteraddressedinthecontextofthelong-runevolutionoflocalandregionalclimates[1,7].Thereisagrowingconcernthatlong-runsustainabledevelopmentmaybecompromisedunlessmeasuresaretakentoachievebalancebetweeneconomic,environmentalandsocialoutcomes.Sincetheearly1980s,Turkishenergypolicyhasconcentratedonmarketliberali‐zationinanefforttostimulateinvestmentinresponsetoincreasinginternalenergydemand[8].Turkey'snewgovernmenthascontinuedthispolicydespitelowerenergydemandinducedbythe2001economiccrisis.Ontheotherhand,CO2andothergreenhousegasemissionsofthecountryareincreasingrapidlyduetoenergyandelectricityutilization[9].Moregenerally,climatechangeandsustainabledevelopmentinteractinacircularfashion.Climatechangevulnerability,impactsandadaptationwillinfluenceprospectsforsustainabledevelopment,andinturn,alternativedevelopmentpathswillnotonlydeterminegreenhousegas(GHG)emissionlevelsthataffectfutureclimatechange,butalsoinfluencefuturecapacitytoadapttoandmitigateclimatechange.Impactsofclimatechangeareexacerbatedbydevelopmentstatus,adverselyaffectingespeciallythepoorandvulnerablesocio-economicgroups.Thecapacitytoadapttoclimatechangegoesbeyondwealth,tootherkeypre-requisitesofgooddevelopmentplanning,includinginstitutions,governance,economicmanagementandtechnology[1,10].Thekeytoaneffectiveclimatechangeresponsestrategyisabetterunderstandingofrelevantpolicylinkages.Developmentplanners,naturally,placedevelopmentfirst,andtherefore,climatepoliciesneedtobeintegratedwithinnationalsustainabledevelopmentstrategies.Inparticular,theywouldliketoknowwhetherspecificclimatechangeimpactsandresponsemeasureswillmakeexistingdevelopmenteffortsless,ormore,sustainableintermsoftheireconomic,socialandenvironmentaldimensions[1].2.Climatechange,energyandemissionprofileinTurkeyTurkey’stotalcarbondioxide(CO2)emissionsamountedto239milliontons(Mt)in2006(Tables1-3).Emissionsgrewby5%comparedto2001levelsandbyjustover50%comparedto1990NewDevelopmentsinRenewableEnergy4levels.