Sustainable energy production and consumption in Turkey: A review

In this century, energy has been the driving force of the global economy and it will, for sure, continue to be one of the most important element for the sustainable socio-economic development for the coming centuries. Therefore, energy producers and governors have a vital duty to provide enough energy in good quality continuously with low cost for the sustainable development. The subject of energy production and energy politics in Turkey generally comes at first privilege. Ahead of the 21st century, Turkish energy diplomacy started to affect the future course of Turkey's relations with the Eurasian countries as well as the Western countries. This paper describes energy production and consumption strategies in Turkey and criticizes Turkish energy policies. If the present pattern of energy production and consumption in Turkey is maintained, there will be serious problems to meet future energy demands due to shortages of resources and low financial inputs, combined with the environmental care for the country. As a result, major components of Turkey's strategy for sustainable development should include changing the present energy production and consumption patterns, expanding energy sources and the structure of power production, and creating an energy structure that is less or not at all risky to the environment. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.