Browsing by Author "Evrensel, Ecem"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

Neoliberal kalkınmacılığın gölgesinde dekarbonizasyon: Türkiye'nin kömür sektörü örneği
(2022) Evrensel, Ecem; İşeri, Emre
The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) on November 10, 2021, after a delay of 6 years. Finally, Turkey has become a party to this Agreement. The Agreement's main objective is undoubtedly to combat climate change and, in parallel, to reduce carbon emissions. It aimed to limit the global temperature change to 1.5 degrees by the end of this century. Paris Agreement has paved the way for a progressive transformation from carbon-intensive sources to clean, renewable energy. The International Energy Agency's (2021a) road map for the exit from carbon has emphasized that policy revisions should be made in various fields at the national and international levels. In addition, a green economy has taken its place on the agenda with the Green Deal being enforced by the European Union. This process paid particular attention to the role of national governments and their policy priorities. In this context, some countries undertaking the decarbonization process are determining their commitments and policies in parallel with international agreements. On the other hand, other countries have made less progress than others. Turkey, defined as a developing country, has taken various steps and has adopted action plans in line with international climate agreements. For instance, Turkey's National Renewable Energy Action Plan (2014) supports this agenda. Likewise, targets for renewable energy have been specified with a focus on sustainability in development plans (Eleventh National Development Plan, 2019). However, carbon emission rates have increased since 1990. While developments regarding the fight against global climate change and the transition to renewable energy continue, the dependence on fossil fuels continues, and a clear roadmap has not been established. Turkey, a developing economy with increasing energy demands, has found its solution in energy imports. In 2020, the country became a net importer of energy with a rate of 70.0% (IEA, 2021b). At that time, this situation concerned energy security. Reducing the effects of climate change, being a part of the international trend, and showing the adverse results of fossil fuels are all significant themes in the discussion of Turkey's decarbonization process. This study, as mentioned above, endeavors to answer the question of why it is that especially developing countries have shown limited progress in the decarbonization process by analyzing the Turkish case at the national level. In light of the background above, the main argument of this thesis is that the reason Turkey has not made sufficient progress is because of the neoliberal developmental model it has adopted. This economical approach prioritizes rapid growth which is carbon intensive and has left environmental and renewable energy policies in the background. The study examines Turkey's dependency on fossil fuels to support this argument. Data was collected from financial reports and statistics on the adverse economic effects of coal and national plans, which highlight various incentives for the coal industry. According to this analysis using qualitative and quantitative research data, the neoliberal developmentalist approach shows a negative correlation and contradictions between economic, environmental, and renewable energy policies. The resulting recommendation of this analysis is to change the status quo by adapting the current growth model into a greener capitalist development model. As a result, Turkey will be compatible with Paris targets by reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and, most significantly, gradually phasing out coal. For this reason, it has been concluded that it will be possible to change this course through the evolution of Turkey's growth model to a greener capitalist development model. Keywords: Political economy, neoliberal developmentalism, climate change, brown capitalism, fossil dependency, renewable energy transition
Turkey’s Political Parties’ Asia Policies: Visions Contacts Issues
(Routledge, 2024) Ecem Evrensel; Defne Gönenç; Sinan Ünlüsoy; Evrensel, Ecem; Ünlüsoy, Sinan; Gönenç, Defne
Traditionally Turkey has been an ally of the transatlantic bloc. As a NATO member with a majority Muslim population and a free market economy it was even hailed by Western powers as a model country in the 2000s. However due to its acquisition of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia its desire to be a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its military presence in Syria and Libya many analysts have argued that Turkey’s foreign policy has experienced a pivot to Asia recently. This article systematically examines the current positions of various political parties in Turkey in this context using first-hand data. Through semi-structured interviews with 14 political party representatives and by analysing their party programmes the vision of different political parties in respect of Asia their relations with Asian actors their stance on Asian foreign direct investments and its environmental impacts the Uyghur issue and their thoughts on the period that will follow the Ukraine-Russia war are studied. © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.