A Turkish waste plant becomes a test case for COP31's climate agenda beyond fossil fuels
As COP31 approaches, a biogas facility near Ankara is being used to argue that the climate summit's agenda should extend past fossil fuels to methane, waste and other emissions sources, a framing critics say risks diluting the focus on oil, gas and coal.
A waste treatment facility near Ankara that generates 17 to 25.4 megawatts of biogas electricity is being held up as an example of the kind of climate action Turkiye's COP31 presidency wants the summit to prioritize alongside, not instead of, cutting fossil fuels. Turkiye's recycling rate has risen from 13% in 2017 to 37.53% in 2025, and methane is estimated to account for roughly 30% of current global warming.
"Other items on the action agenda are as important as transitioning away from fossil fuels," said Murat Kurum, Turkiye's COP31 president-designate. Fatih Simsek, an energy operations manager at the facility, known as ITC, said the plant wants to "develop renewable energy opportunities from waste, with COP31 approaching."
Climate advocates warn the emphasis on waste and methane could shift attention from the dominant driver of warming. Fossil fuels account for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, compared with about 3.5% from waste. "Fossil fuels cause more than 20 times more emissions than waste," said Andreas Sieber of the advocacy group 350.org. The debate echoes discussions from an April conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, where 57 countries gathered to discuss a fossil fuel transition.
Based on reporting by Hannah Alcoseba Fernandez for Eco-Business. Read the original: https://www.eco-business.com/news/at-a-turkish-waste-plant-cop31s-case-for-climate-action-goes-beyond-fossil-fuels/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
