Energy sustainability: Bridging the nexus between sustainability and development in Türkiye

Date

2025-2-24

Author

Yıkmaz, Rıza Fikret

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Energy is central to sustainable development, balancing economic growth, social progress, and environmental sustainability. This thesis examines Türkiye’s energy and development policies within the context of sustainable development, evaluating progress towards energy sustainability. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study combines policy analysis and comparative benchmarking. A key contribution is the development of a novel Energy Sustainability Index, assessing Türkiye’s energy sustainability progress while considering interlinkages among Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Comparative analysis with Spain, Poland, South Korea, Mexico, and South Africa provides global context for Türkiye’s sustainable energy transition. Contrary to some views arguing that there is a weak coherence between Türkiye’s energy policies and sustainability principles, the findings of the study reveals that Türkiye has made significant progress in aligning national energy and development policies with international sustainability frameworks, particularly the SDGs. Despite strengths in renewable energy capacity and energy access, challenges persist in dependency on imported fossil fuels, emission reductions, energy efficiency, and biodiversity conservation. Comparative analysis highlights gaps in integrating energy policies with socioeconomic and environmental goals. To address these challenges, this study recommends accelerating renewable energy investments, enhancing energy efficiency, reducing fossil fuel dependency, and improving policy coherence on sustainability. This research contributes to global efforts by emphasizing the need for integrated policies to reach a sustainable energy future and offers strategic guidance to Türkiye and other developing countries navigating the sustainable energy transition.

Subject Keywords

Energy, Environment, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Energy, Sustainability

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/114066

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis