Abu dhabi: Trkiye needs significant investments in its electricity infrastructure, with a projected requirement of at least $80 billion by 2035, according to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar. Speaking at the Istanbul Climate Finance Summit, Bayraktar emphasized the necessity of affordable, long-term climate finance for emerging economies like Trkiye as the world seeks to rethink and strengthen its electricity systems.

According to Emirates News Agency, Bayraktar highlighted that public finance alone will not suffice to meet the investment demands. He called for the mobilization of private capital, international financial institutions, development banks, and long-term institutional investors to address this challenge. The minister stressed the importance of creating financing mechanisms that reduce risk, lower the cost of capital, and make clean energy investments commercially attractive.

Bayraktar pointed out that the energy transition cannot succeed globally if financing remains expensive or inaccessible in countries where energy demand and investment needs are rapidly growing. He noted that global warming and climate change necessitate a rethinking and redesigning of electricity infrastructure, as extreme-weather events such as heatwaves, floods, storms, droughts, and wildfires increasingly impact electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.

The minister emphasized that climate finance should support not only emissions reductions but also resilience and adaptation. He underscored the importance of designing infrastructure for future climate conditions, which requires substantial financial resources. Bayraktar described the energy transition as unprecedented in scale, requiring investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear power, energy storage, electrification, and transmission and distribution networks.