Turkey emerges as Europe's largest coal power producer in June

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece here in Reuters or enjoy below

🗞️ Driving the news: Turkey surpassed Germany and Poland to become Europe's leading coal-fired electricity producer in June. Emissions from this output reached a new high, topping 44 million tonnes, positioning Turkey as a major source of coal pollution in Southern Europe.

🔭 The context: Despite coal power declining across Europe, Turkey's coal generation capacity has expanded in 9 of the last 10 years
• However, Turkey has also boosted clean power generation, with wind and solar sources increasing over 80%.

🌎 Why it matters for the planet: Turkey's increasing coal emissions underscore global challenges in reducing fossil fuel reliance and combating climate change

⏭️ What's next: Despite growing coal dependence, Turkey aims to significantly increase solar and wind capacity by 2035 to decarbonise its power sector and improve energy independence.

💬 One quote: "Turkey's rising coal-fired generation could soon narrow the gap on Europe's top coal user, Germany." (Gavin Maguire,Global Energy Transition Columnist)

📈 One stat: Since 2018, Turkey's clean electricity generation has risen by 40%, while fossil fuel generation fell by over 8%
• Natural gas generation, in particular, dropped by 18% from 2018 to 2022 due to global price surges and supply disruptions

Click for more news covering the latest on environmental sustainability