**1. Introduction**

Sustainable development has emerged as the key challenge for the 21st Century. The Johan‐ nesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 highlighted both the opportuni‐ ties and the lack of progress since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, a decade previously. Decision-makers are looking to sustainable development to provide practical approaches that could address traditional issues as well as the newer challenges. Although no universally accepted practical definition of sustainable development exists as yet, the concept has evolved to integrate economic, social and environmental aims [1,2]. Recent increases in energy prices are likely to be the precursor of a longer term trend. While they will encourage much needed energy efficiency and stimulate investment, they pose severe difficulties for expanding access to modern energy services to the one third of people who still do not have it, or whose access is inadequate for economic development. An energy system embodying such inequities is neither sustainable nor acceptable [3].

However, developing the remaining hydropower potential offers many challenges and pressures from some environmental action groups over its impact has tended to increase over time. Hydropower throughout the world provides 17% of our electricity from an installed capacity of some 730 GW is currently under construction, making hydropower by far the most important renewable energy for electrical power production. The contribution of hydropower, especially small hydropower (SHP) to the worldwide electrical capacity is more of a similar scale to the other renewable energy sources (1-2% of total capacity), amounting to about 47 GW (53%) of this capacity is in developing countries [3,4].

Affordable energy services are among the essential ingredients of economic development, including eradication of extreme poverty as called for in the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDGs). Modern energy services-mainly provided by liquid and gaseous

fuels, as well as electricity-are essential. Convenient, affordable energy is also important for improving health and education, and for reducing the human labour required to cook and meet other basic needs [3-6].

levels. Oil has historically been the most important source of emissions, followed by coal and gas.Oilrepresented45%oftotal emissions in2004,while coalrepresented40%andgas 15%.The contribution of each fuel has however changed significantly owing to the increasingly impor‐

Present Situation and Future Prospect of Energy Utilization and Climate Change in Turkey

CO2 sectoral approach (Mt of CO2) 126.91 152.66 200.56 202.13 2007.25 239.74 CO2 reference approach (Mt of CO2) 138.20 157.28 203.48 203.45 209.50 242.61 Total Primary Energy Supply, TPES (Mtoe) 52.94 61.81 76.87 78.73 81.83 94.00 GDP (billion 2000 US\$ using PPPs) 309.57 362.57 439.99 464.79 506.30 576.82 Population (millions) 56.20 61.64 67.46 70.71 71.79 72.97 CO2 / TPES (t CO2 per TJ) 57.30 59.00 62.30 61.30 60.50 60.90 CO2 /GDP (kg CO2 per 2000 US\$) 0.91 0.93 1.01 0.96 0.90 0.92 CO2 / GDP (kg CO2 per 2000 US\$ PPP) 0.41 0.42 0.46 0.43 0.41 0.42 CO2 / population (t CO2 per capita) 2.26 2.48 2.97 2.86 2.89 3.29

**IPCC source category (Mt of CO2) (%) total (%)** Production electricity and heat-coal/peat 42.32 12.6 12.6 Manufacturing industries-coal/peat 42.30 12.6 25.1 Road-oil 36.60 10.9 36.0 Production electricity and heat-gas 27.28 8.1 44.1 Residential-gas 14.45 4.3 48.4 Manufacturing industries-oil 12.35 3.7 52.0 Residential-coal/peat 10.10 3.0 55.0 Non-specified other sectors-oil 9.69 2.9 57.9 Manufacturing industries-gas 8.01 2.4 60.3 Non-specified other sectors-gas 6.51 1.9 62.2 Other transport-oil 5.36 1.6 63.8 Total CO2 from fuel combustion 239.74 71.1 71.1

**Table 2.** Key sources for CO2 emissions from fuel combustion for Turkey in 2006 [3,14].

**1990 1995 2000 2002 2004 2006**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/54319

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**CO2 emissions Level assessment Cumulative**

tant role of gas in the country's fuel mix starting from the mid-1980s [3,11,12].

**Table 1.** Key indicators in Turkey [3,13].

Meanwhile, global climate change poses an unprecedented threat to all human beings. While this problem is important in the long-run, most decision-makers recognise (especially in the developing countries), that there are many other critical sustainable development issues that affect human welfare more immediately. However, even in the short term, climate is an essential resource for development. For example, in many countries (especially the poorest ones), existing levels of climatic variability and extreme events pose significant risks for agriculture, economic infrastructure, and vulnerable households. Climatic hazards continue to take their human and economic toll even in wealthy countries. Such climate threats, which undermine development prospects today, need to be better addressed in the context of the long-run evolution of local and regional climates [1,7].

There is a growing concern that long-run sustainable development may be compromised unless measures are taken to achieve balance between economic, environmental and social outcomes. Since the early 1980s, Turkish energy policy has concentrated on market liberali‐ zation in an effort to stimulate investment in response to increasing internal energy demand [8]. Turkey's new government has continued this policy despite lower energy demand induced by the 2001 economic crisis. On the other hand, CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions of the country are increasing rapidly due to energy and electricity utilization [9].

More generally, climate change and sustainable development interact in a circular fashion. Climate change vulnerability, impacts and adaptation will influence prospects for sustainable development, and in turn, alternative development paths will not only determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels that affect future climate change, but also influence future capacity to adapt to and mitigate climate change. Impacts of climate change are exacerbated by development status, adversely affecting especially the poor and vulnerable socio-economic groups. The capacity to adapt to climate change goes beyond wealth, to other key pre-requisites of good development planning, including institutions, governance, economic management and technology [1,10].

The key to an effective climate change response strategy is a better understanding of relevant policy linkages. Development planners, naturally, place development first, and therefore, climate policies need to be integrated within national sustainable development strategies. In particular, they would like to know whether specific climate change impacts and response measures will make existing development efforts less, or more, sustainable in terms of their economic, social and environmental dimensions [1].
