Türkiye’s COP31 chief condemned the backsliding of global climate action as “unacceptable”, but said efforts to cut emissions in the coal-dependent nation should not come at the expense of economic growth.

Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s environment minister, warned countries that flexibility in implementing climate targets “is now at zero”, speaking in Istanbul after a first strategy meeting with officials from Australia – the summit’s co-hosts – and joined by last year’s host Brazil and the UN climate body.

But when pressed about the country’s own reliance on fossil fuels, he said it was important to keep a balance between growth and climate action in developing nations.

“We are exerting efforts to reduce emissions on one hand, but continue the growth and development of our country on the other,” Kurum said, speaking through an interpreter.

He added that “we cannot simplify things down to only fossil fuels” and that, while “one branch of the struggle [in the climate crisis] is oil, there are 80-85 topics including renewable energy, organic agriculture, resilient cities”.

Fossil fuel dependence

Burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of global warming, responsible for nearly 68% of global human-made greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2025, coal generated around a third of Türkiye’s electricity – a slight decline compared to 2024 – followed by fossil gas, which rose to 23% of the power mix, and hydropower (15.8%), according to figures published by the country’s energy ministry.

Days before the COP31 meeting in Istanbul, state oil company Turkish Petroleum signed new oil and gas exploration deals with Chevron and ExxonMobil in an effort to increase production from the Gabar field in the country’s Southeast, as well as in the Black Sea.

Clean energy has been growing in Türkiye in recent years, with record installations of wind and solar. But experts have warned that Ankara is still failing to seize its “huge” renewables potential and instead keeps heavily subsidising coal power.

Kurum said the Mediterranean country “will continue taking steps regarding renewable energy” and enhance its nuclear energy capabilities so that it would “no longer need fossil fuels in time”.

‘Safeguard development priorities’

After countries disagreed at COP30 on starting a formal process to craft a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, Brazil has promised it would deliver a blueprint through an informal initiative before this year’s climate summit in Antalya.

Referring to the roadmap, the COP31 incoming president said his team “would focus on topics that enable us to maintain those efforts”. He added that “in our consultations, we will safeguard the development priorities of the countries because the needs of developed and developing countries can vary”.

Late last year, Australian climate minister Chris Bowen – who will formally hold the title of “President of Negotiations at COP31 – said he would “continue to argue” for a transition away from coal, oil and gas.

Türkiye is officially classed as a developed nation under the UN climate regime, but, when it signed up to the Paris Agreement, it said it would pursue emission-cutting efforts as a developing one.

The COP31 incoming president said Türkiye is battling the negative impacts of climate change, like floods and droughts, and is “approaching the point where we are experiencing water scarcity”.

“We always talk about fossil fuels,” he added, “but water will become more valuable and more significant than oil”.

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COP31 chief slams climate backsliding, but rejects priority focus on fossil fuels