Coal in Turkey

Government-owned Turkish Coal Operations Authority mine in Yeniköy, Milas

Coal supplies a quarter of Turkey's primary energy.[1] The heavily subsidised coal industry generates over a third of the country's electricity[2] and emits a third of Turkey's greenhouse gases.

Coal is a major contributor to air pollution, and damages health across the nation, being burnt even in homes and cities.[3] It is estimated that a phase out of coal power in Turkey by 2030 instead of by the 2050s would save over 100 thousand lives.[4] Flue gas emission limits are in place, but data from mandatory reporting is not made public.

Over 90% of coal mined in Turkey is lignite (brown coal),[1] which is more polluting than other types of coal.[5] Turkey's energy policy encourages mining lignite for coal-fired power stations in order to reduce gas imports;[2] and coal supplies over 40% of domestic energy production.[6] Mining peaked in 2018, at over 100 million tonnes,[7] declined considerably in 2019,[8] but increased again in 2022.[9] Most coal is imported,[10][11] as in contrast to local lignite production, Turkey imports most of its bituminous coal from Russia.[12] Coal consumption probably peaked in 2022.[9] The largest coalfield in Turkey is Elbistan.[13]

  1. ^ a b "Türkiye - Countries & Regions". IEA. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Coal". Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Turkey). Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Turkey failing to adopt international air quality standard values, groups say". Ahval. 30 March 2022. Homes and businesses in many Turkish cities burn coal, including the cheap and highly polluting lignite, to produce energy for heating and other purposes.
  4. ^ Curing Chronic Coal: The health benefits of a 2030 coal phase out in Turkey (Report). Health and Environment Alliance. 2022.
  5. ^ "Lignite coal – health effects and recommendations from the health sector" (PDF). Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). December 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  6. ^ Ersoy (2019), p. 5.
  7. ^ "Turkey breaks local coal production record in 2018". Anadolu Agency. 16 January 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Yackley, Ayla Jean (3 March 2022). "Turkish inflation pushes past 54% as food and energy prices soar". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Social and Employment Impacts of Climate Change and Green Economy Policies in Türkiye | United Nations Development Programme". UNDP. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  12. ^ Türkiye Electricity Review 2024 (PDF) (Report). Ember.
  13. ^ "Turkey transfers operating rights of seven coal fields to private companies". Hürriyet Daily News. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.