Türkiye’s energy transition is electrifying COP31

My city is buzzing with preparations to welcome the world’s leaders in just a few months. I live in Antalya, the tourism capital of Türkiye and host of COP31. This is a historic moment for Türkiye. Hosting COP31 could accelerate the investments and partnerships that are needed to achieve the country’s clean power targets. It also has the potential to raise awareness of the energy transition, not only among the Turkish public but also on the world stage.

When I joined Ember in early 2021, our main focus was electricity generation. But as clean alternatives became available and affordable across sectors, we’ve expanded our work to include electrification, recognising it as a vital piece of the energy transition puzzle. The COP31 President recognises this, too. He recently called for 35% of the world’s final energy to come from electricity by 2035. This is a valuable target to reach for, but it risks becoming just a number unless it is backed by concrete plans for each sector.

In this edition of Ember Current, I’ll showcase how the COP31 host country is progressing its own energy transition. I hope to see you in Antalya in November!

Insights, analyses and commentaries

My top picks

Türkiye’s energy system reflects a mix of opposing trends. Wind and solar reached record levels of deployment in 2025, and the country aims to triple their combined capacity to 120 GW by 2035. Yet coal remains the largest source of electricity generation, supported by government-backed, dollar-indexed power purchase guarantees for domestic coal.

Türkiye has also emerged as a major electric vehicle market, with its own national EV brand helping accelerate the transition. However, there are no clear public plans to significantly increase domestic electric vehicle adoption. The lack of a clear strategy to reduce fossil fuel dependence poses an economic risk, particularly as Türkiye remains exposed to global fossil fuel price and supply shocks.

There’s more!

• What does the Turkish Emissions Trading System introduce? | Read the report
• Solar helps Europe’s grid withstand extreme heat | Read the report
• Batteries have unlocked the era of anytime solar | Read the report
• The take-off in African solar that official statistics can’t yet see | Read the report
• The ASEAN Power Grid: Why every year of delay matters | Read the report

Ember in the news

• Güneşin Türkiye’nin Elektrik Üretiminde Payı Yüzde 11 Oldu [Solar reaches 11% share in Türkiye’s electricity generation] | BloombergHT
• Geothermal energy promises a domestic energy supply – the EU needs a strategy | Euronews
• Aligning India’s Power Systems with Energy Transition | The India Energy Hour

What I’m reading

• Türkiye Transition Factbook 2026: Clean Power Growth Positions Türkiye for the Next Phase of Its Energy Transition (BloombergNEF) | Read more
• Power Sector of Central Asia: Modernization and Energy Transition (Eurasian Development Bank) | Read more
• Powering the Transition: Rebuilding Central Asia’s Electricity Grids for Regional Resilience (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung) | Read more

Visual storytelling corner

Chart of the month

Record-breaking solar generation helped Europe meet surging electricity demand during this summer’s heatwaves. I particularly like this chart because it shows how closely solar output aligns with the daytime demand created by extreme heat, particularly in Italy, Spain and Hungary. As hotter summers drive greater use of cooling and push electricity demand higher, growing solar capacity can help meet these peaks with clean power. Visually as well, the bright green solar profile makes that relationship immediately clear, filling much of the space between underlying generation and demand precisely when electricity use climbs during the day.