Renewable energy top priority for economic development of Turkish society

ISTANBUL

The majority of Turkish society is in favor of renewable energy, which is beneficial for economic development and increasing life quality, new research by Konda Research and Consultancy showed Friday.

The research was conducted in different villages and neighborhoods in 34 cities of Turkiye with 2,475 participants from different backgrounds and socio-economic conditions.

According to the Turkiye Climate Change Perception Report, 79% of the participants see renewable energy as a good opportunity for economic development and 75% of them favor renewables for increasing the country's exports.

When asked what source of electricity would they prefer if they had the chance to choose, 74% of the participants responded solar, while 66% wanted to choose wind. Only 8% and 5% of the participants, respectively, say coal and nuclear.

About 91% of the participants think phasing out thermal power plants and installing only solar and wind plants would have no negative impacts, while 75% of them is against nuclear power plant near their neighborhoods. This rate is 59% when it comes to coal plants.

Heatwaves and forest fires most evident results of climate change

Every three out of four people in Turkiye think that environmental pollution should not be endured for the sake of economic development and 83% of them say it is possible to successful economic development without harming the environment and nature.

A high majority, 94%, of the respondents agree that protecting the environment and nature is everyone's responsibility, while 70% of them say Turkiye should have more ambitious climate targets.

According to the participants, heatwaves, forest fires, and floods are the top results of climate change.

About 76% of them see heatwaves as the biggest and most evident result of climate change, while 69% and 62% of them see forest fire and floods as the most evident results, respectively.

According to the research, 64% of the participants think climate change will impact everybody equally. However, 35% and 27% of them think children and those in need will be impacted most, respectively. A 24% of them see villagers as the most disadvantageous group against the impacts of climate change.

About 50% of the participants see the government and the ministries as the responsible bodies for the solution to climate change, while 41% of them think major companies share this responsibility.

Every 9 out of 10 participants says they are eager to combat the impacts of climate change individually.