A vision will be determined and coordination will be ensured with national institutions and organizations to realize future breakthroughs in the technologies under the 2053 Net Zero Emission in Türkiye, the president of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) said in a statement.
TÜBİTAK President Hasan Mandal stated that they started the "Target 2053 Net Zero Emission R&D and Innovation Breakthrough" under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, adding, "We will set our country's targets for different time dimensions in breakthrough technologies for the 2053 net zero emission target."
In his statement on the "Target 2053 Net Zero Emission R&D and Innovation Breakthrough," Mandal pointed out that climate change threatens the energy, water and food supply security of all countries, and this problem also disrupted the supply chains and led to a decrease in the trade volume.
Mandal reiterated that with the Paris Agreement, to which Türkiye is a party, countries are fighting against climate change and its reflections.
Türkiye will be affected by the effects of climate change by 20% more than other regions in the world due to its location. "In this case, our country needs to become self-sufficient by increasing the resilience of its domestic and foreign supply chains and seizing opportunities for repositioning in regional and global supply chains," Mandal also said.
"Erdoğan set our net zero mission target of 2053 and the majority of the issues that need solutions for combating climate change and adaptation are issues that can be solved by studies and investments in future technologies instead of today's technologies. These include green hydrogen and ammonia, carbon capture, use and storage, new generation nuclear reactors, advanced energy storage, synthetic biology, digital agriculture, low carbon steel, and aluminum; breakthrough technologies are needed in many areas, including cement and green chemistry," he pointed out.
Some 27 critical technology areas were analyzed during the meeting as well as the steps to be taken.
Mandal said, "In line with our 2053 net zero emission target, we will ensure that global risks are eliminated, opportunities are captured, and our country takes a leading role in technologies that will serve green transformation by developing groundbreaking technologies that will meet the needs of our country's green development locally."
Mandal stated that within the scope of the 2053 Net Zero Emission Project, a shared vision would be determined, and coordination will be ensured with national institutions and organizations to realize the breakthroughs in the technologies of the future.
In his assessment, he said: "First of all, by examining the examples of other countries, we formed the framework of the strategic approach that will accelerate our R&D and innovation breakthrough in line with the needs of our country and the fight against global challenges. In this direction, we focused on creating medium- and long-term national technology policy proposals by identifying areas of technological transformation rather than short-term solutions. We have adopted a perspective that prioritizes socioeconomic benefits and holistically takes the process from idea to commercialization."
To contribute to determining the priority technology areas that Türkiye will focus on, 27 critical technology areas that come to the fore in terms of global trends and national needs are comprehensively analyzed in two basic dimensions: impact and feasibility.
Reiterating that the importance of green development is emphasized in the Turkish Economy Model, Mandal said: "Our green development process includes many aspects such as energy, agriculture, ecosystem and biodiversity, clean production and circular economy, health and transportation. It directly concerns many different sectors and fields of application. In this context, we will develop science and technology-based solutions in the coordination of all ecosystem stakeholders within the scope of the 2053 net zero emission target."
Emphasizing that President Erdoğan will personally follow the research, development and innovation breakthroughs that will be carried out within the scope of the breakthrough they have started, Mandal said that as the board, they will carry out studies to contribute to this national goal at the highest level with a wide consultation network.
Mentioning the work to be done in the future, Mandal said: "We will ensure that R&D and innovation activities are jointly planned and followed up for the targets we have set. Another important issue is the current situation in the field of green technologies, an area with a high level of international financing, and we will ensure that these opportunities are used effectively in favor of our country."
Priority needs and global risks are also taken into account as TÜBİTAK is working for a self-sufficient and pioneering Türkiye within the scope of the breakthrough.
Emphasizing that they will continue to increase their work based on science, technology, innovation and success, Mandal said: "In line with TÜBİTAK's 2053 net zero emission target of our country in 2022, we continued to determine plans and implement them in an agile manner to support the fight against climate change, environmental problems and green-digital bilateral transformation in R&D and innovation issues.
"TÜBİTAK, with its strategic approach that puts the production of qualified knowledge and the training of qualified human resources at the center, takes into account global risks, national needs and priorities in science, technology and innovation. It will continue to support the creation of innovative solutions to create a target-oriented impact in the ecosystem."
